How to Travel Hack in Australia and New Zealand

One of the advantages of being a traveler from North America is that we have so many ways to travel hack. As you know, I’m a big, big fan of travel hacking (the art of collecting points and miles for free travel). It is way helps keep me in free flights, hotels, and other travel expenses. I earn over one million points a year and save many of thousands of dollars in travel expenses!

But, while North Americans have more travel hacking options than others, it’s not limited to just this reason. Today, I’m interviewing Keith Mason from Pointshack AU. Keith is the premier expert on travel hacking in Australia and New Zealand. In this interview, he shares his tips on how to collect points in miles in the lands down under!

Nomadic Matt: Tell us about yourself. How did you get started in travel hacking? 
Keith Mason: I’m originally from the UK<, but now I live in Sydney. Around five years ago, when my first child was born, I wanted to visit family back in Europe and figured that there had to be a way to ensure I didn’t end up traveling in economy the whole way.

I researched the hell out of this one trip and ended up using points to get the three of us into premium economy or business class for a round-the-world itinerary, without paying more than we would have for economy.

In the process, I realized that a lot of the information out there for someone in Australia wanting to learn more about earning and using points was either buried in forums or more relevant to overseas travelers.

My day job was making and managing websites, so starting Point Hacks was a logical next step — and now it’s my full-time gig, which is astounding!

There are some great news sites out there, locally and globally, covering the latest routes, airline news, and speculation — so we don’t try to do that. Instead, we’ve created a vast amount of frequent flyer and rewards program guides to earning and using the key currencies for us (Qantas Points, Velocity Points, Asia Miles, KrisFlyer Miles). And while we have a focus on Australia and New Zealand, many of our guides will be relevant for folks outside Australia too.

In the U.S., we have a ton of travel hacking options. What’s the industry like in Australia and New Zealand? 
I guess there are two ways to look that question: what are the opportunities when it comes to earning and using points effectively, and what’s the information on offer to help you do so like?

In terms of the opportunities, there are heaps. It’s a mature market. Qantas has half as many frequent flyer members as the total population of the country (how many of those are active, I don’t know!), a very advanced and profitable frequent flyer program, and a great and generally well-loved and well-known brand.

They have also done deals with almost every bank out there, so there a vast number of Qantas-branded credit cards. The competition between banks and retailers is generally good, so while there are only two local airlines and frequent flyer programs, consumers have a number of options to earn points.

On the redemption side, Qantas and Velocity are obviously the key players, and for the most part, burning points comes with a lot of carrier-imposed fees and surcharges. Using points for an economy flight to the US, for example, could add $500–700 in fees on what would otherwise be $1,200 cash fare.

That’s a common complaint, but it’s the first thing you realize and hopefully take into account when playing the points game here. It means it’s even more important to keep saving your points for premium cabins to get the most value from them — redeeming points for economy travel with either program is rarely great value.

There are a few outliers and hidden options to minimize fees, and this is one of the things we try to highlight on Point Hacks, when we can. For example, by using Qantas Points on American Airlines–operated flights to the US, taxes and fees are virtually nothing. Same applies for using Qantas Points on Fiji Airways to the US too.

That said, every Australian willing to look away from a Qantas-linked card has a heap of access to overseas frequent flyer programs from the various banks’ flexible points programs — Membership Rewards is a key player here. That puts Asia Miles and KrisFlyer firmly on the map for those earning points from credit card spending and bonuses.

In New Zealand, the market is quite different: the points earning and redemption opportunities seem to be a lot less lucrative, with Air New Zealand’s revenue-based program commanding a lot of consumer attention and brand loyalty.

What’s the #1 way to earn points where you are?
Like many places, it’s mostly about frequent flyer or bank rewards program credit cards. The credit reporting system here is not as transparent as in the US, so I think people need to be more wary about hitting many sign-up bonuses and constantly switching cards — it can impact their ability to get other forms of credit in future, which could be more important, for example, a mortgage or car loan.

But that said, the banks put a lot of good offers out there to convince customers to switch, so there is a lot of appeal to use card bonuses and applications to boost balances as fast as possible.

My focus is to try and help people choose the right card or card rewards program that will work for their preferences in the long term — and if a sign-up bonus is good too, then that’s even better. That seems more sustainable for everyone.

Otherwise the mix of points-earning opportunities — outside of flying, of course — is pretty diverse, with utilities, supermarkets, mortgages, bank accounts, cinema tickets, online shopping, and most other product segments all having a points-earning option.

I’ve noticed a lot of credit cards in your part of the world come with very high fees. Is that a hindrance to collecting a lot of points? 
Generally the bonuses on offer are relative to the annual fee you’ll pay — though this is not always the case, as banks are trying to stimulate customers to switch a lot right now.

There are a handful with low fees ($0–100, say) that earn well, primarily American Express–issued cards. Otherwise, yes, you’re looking at fees north of $150 for the better points-earning cards, but if you’re a good customer, you can often get these annual fees waived or discounted.

It’s a small barrier to entry, but by no means a deal-breaker.

How can someone can get started? 
Funny you should ask! I created a free email course to help people earn more points and understand the system better. There are around 10 emails that will get sent out over three weeks.

In short though, I’ve met a few ex-pats who have ended up staying in Australia and want to get cracking on building up their balances here, and there are a couple of levels of things to consider.

Given we all know the need to try and consolidate your attention on a key program to earn a large, usable points balance, the first decision is around how “all-in” with Qantas Frequent Flyer you are. If your (or your partner’s) job has you flying with Qantas a lot, or for some other reason you want to be loyal to Qantas, then that’s pretty much your decision — Qantas has almost no credit card program transfer partners here, with Qantas-branded and “direct earn” cards making up the bulk of the market.

Qantas is not a bad program — it’s easy enough to rack up a large number of points from retail purchases and credit card spending to offset their high points-redemption rates (when compared to Asia Miles, for example) — and Qantas Points are one of the best-value ways of redeeming for travel with Emirates, who have a key route network to and from Europe and the Middle East from Australia.

If you can afford to look away from being totally loyal to Qantas, then it’s usually worth doing so. KrisFlyer, as we know, has some great value redemptions on Singapore Airlines–operated flights, and Singapore Airlines has a massive presence here, while Asia Miles can offer some great redemption pricing to Asia, the US, and Europe too.

And finally, Virgin Australia’s Velocity program is slightly better priced, with generally better redemption availability for Australian domestic flights.

So in all, if you are earning the majority of your points in Australia from credit card spending, going for a flexible points program is usually the right way to go to get the most value.

Where do you see the future of travel hacking in your part of the world?
I hope we don’t move toward the US model! It seems US frequent flyer programs are forging a path toward revenue-based point-earning rates and redemption quickly, and we actually have it OK here by comparison if that fully materializes.

I also think that the relative simplicity in the Australian market is a good thing for consumers — there is some healthy tension and competition between Virgin and Qantas now — and this is relatively new, having grown over the last four years.

We aren’t at the point where we have a full roster of programs to choose from, so this actually makes life a lot easier in many ways: we have to look at how we maximize the opportunities from the programs we do have access to, instead of constantly hand-wringing about which program we should be using or splitting our hard-earned points across multiple programs.

For those earning from flying, it’s usually a choice between two carriers: Virgin or Qantas, which makes life pretty simple by comparison to many other markets.

As I mentioned before, both programs are very mature in their thinking and strategies in which they offer points earn opportunities, and the competition between them has generally kept redemption rates relatively steady. Qantas even reduced the cost of some economy redemptions earlier this year — I’m not sure I’ve seen that kind of move in many other markets.

So I feel like things are stable, and that’s a good thing.

When redeeming awards, how can consumers maximize their awards? Do you have three must-do tips? 
I’m going to focus on Qantas Points for these, given that’s the currency most people have ready access to here. (We just wrote up our best uses of 100,000 Qantas Points here.)

The first key idea is to get your head around who Qantas’s best partners are, versus their Oneworld partners, who are higher priced. American Airlines, Emirates, Jetstar, and Fiji Airways are the key redemption partners where you can redeem your miles at a cheaper rate (the same rate as redeeming for Qantas flights). Given how few frequent flyer partners Emirates has, using Qantas Points for Emirates flights ends up being a great use for them.

Qantas also has a very good multi-sector round-the-world award chart, too. This is a great redemption to aim for, which can be used for up to 35,000 miles of travel in economy, premium, business or first class, with stopovers in up to five cities over a 12-month period.

Pricing seems high at 280,000 points in business class and 420,000 in first class, plus $1,000–1,550 in fuel surcharges and taxes per person. But this is only a little higher than a return redemption to Europe or New York from Australia, so it’s an easy way to add on a heap of additional flights and destinations. This works for any class of travel too, not just premium cabins.

Finally, don’t forget about Jetstar redemptions as a good use of Qantas Points. They are priced even more cheaply than Qantas’s own flights, given that they are a low-cost carrier, and they operate a “premium” cabin, StarClass, which is priced similarly to premium economy levels, in terms of points, on many international routes. Jetstar has a massive route network across Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan — and Qantas Points are one of the main ways to redeem for Jetstar flights, if cash prices for tickets are high.

Here in the US (and in Canada) you can multiply your points earned and “juice” your account via dining programs, gift cards, shopping online, and a ton of other bonuses. Do you have similar programs? 
We sure do. I’d say we have as many as any other region. Qantas and Virgin’s Velocity program both offer the ability to earn points from dining, movies, wine, gift card purchases, and utility and phone bills — there’s probably a points-earn partner in almost every product category.

One of my favorite ways to pick up more points from everyday spending is by having the right credit card with bonus point categories to meet your spending habits. These are primarily American Express–issued cards, but Citi has an option too in the Citi Prestige Visa (which is a bit different here than the Prestige issued in the US).

We’ve run through some of the credit cards with bonus points for travel, bonus points for supermarket spending, bonus points for gas/fuel, bonus points for restaurants and cafés, and finally, one of my favorites, bonus points for overseas spending.

Supermarkets here have a lot of gift card partners, so you can then try and pick up three points per dollar in many, many other places too by being strategic about buying gift cards to use for other purchases.

Ok! Let’s end with some lightening round questions. First one, what’s your favorite airline?
It’s a tie between Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and, yes, Qantas, for me.

Least favorite?
I’m not that mean! I’m not a fan of Jetstar’s economy product, but mostly because I’m not built to fit in their seats.

Window or aisle?
Window, always.

Favorite business class?
Etihad A380.

Favorite lounge?
Qantas First Class Melbourne.

To stay up to date on the latest OZ and NZ travel hacks, follow Keith and his blog at Pointshack!

For more information on how to earn points and miles that you can use toward free travel, check out The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking. This book shows you exactly how to take money out of the travel equation and frequent flier programs to get free flights and hotel rooms.  The strategies in this book will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort.

Click here to learn more and start reading it today!

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from Nomadic Matt's Travel Site http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/travel-hacking-in-australia-new-zelannd/

An Interview with Street Photographer Valerie Jardin

Valerie Jardin is not only an accomplished street photographer, but also a podcaster, teacher, speaker and writer. Originally from France, Valerie currently lives in the United States. Valerie’s international workshops and speaking engagements often sell out over a year in advance. This is why I feel so lucky to have been able to attend one of her workshops this August in Vancouver, Canada.

After the first day of the workshop, Valerie was gracious enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions for Photography Life readers. Following is our conversation:

Valerie Jardin – Self-Portrait

I know you first started out photographing your children and this led to your portrait business. How did you move from portraits, to shooting food and interiors for commercial clients?

Well I never really said no! When somebody would ask me, “Do you shoot food?” I would say, “Sure I do!” I am one that always wants to learn. I always did my best, and it worked in my favour.

Can you tell us a bit about the transition to teaching and workshops?

I have some prior teaching experience and I think you either love to teach or you don’t. Teaching what you love and sharing that passion is so gratifying. Teaching workshops was just a natural progression for me.

When I started my workshops I jumped right into it. I started with a weeklong workshop in Paris. And even though I had a very small audience at the time, the workshop filled up. To sell workshops, it’s very hard; you need a very large audience. It was amazing that the first workshop sold and that I had a waiting list for the next one! It was just great! I went from teaching one workshop the first year to nine the following year. So I knew that was it, and I phased out my commercial photography business!

© Valerie Jardin

Did you have a career before photography?

Well yes and no! I have a background in teaching and international business. And I was a translator for many years before starting photography. I’ve always been self-employed.

© Valerie Jardin

When did you become an official Fujifilm X-Photographer and how did that come about?

Well, when I ditched my DSLR I switched to Fuji, and I really loved it. I am a very passionate person. And when I’m passionate about something, I’m very vocal! So it didn’t take Fujifilm very long to notice.

When Fujifilm approached me to become an Official X-Photographer I made it very clear that I didn’t want Fuji to be involved in my workshops. I wanted to keep them completely separate since I have worked very hard to make my workshops my brand.

I love the fact that through Fujifilm I can reach out to more people and share my passion and vision. Being an X-Photographer allows me to teach what I love by speaking at conferences and so forth. People are always so excited to learn that they don’t need to own big and expensive gear to make art. It’s been a great experience.

Although I’m really passionate about Fujifilm, I don’t talk about the gear any differently than I did before I became an official X-Photographer. They make great cameras, period. Anyone who has a chance to shoot with one will probably get hooked.

© Valerie Jardin

You just released your first eBook, “Street Photography: First Steps and Beyond,” and you are currently writing a print book. Can you tell us a bit about this new book?

The book is going to be a collection of photographs and the stories behind each one. I’ll describe what’s going on in my head as I approach a scene. How I see it, and how I shoot it, the whole feeling behind the process. It’s going to be a very personal approach to a selection of images.

© Valerie Jardin

Congratulations on episode 100 of your podcast “Street Focus” on the TWiP network! How do you juggle producing a podcast every week with your workshops, writing and family and when do you have time for your own photography?

That’s still my top priority, to be out with my camera, so I definitely make time for that. I never leave the house without my camera. As a street photographer it’s not like you have to go to an exotic location to practice. I still shoot a lot every week. It’s like therapy, like exercise. I need to exercise every day, and I need to shoot every day. If I couldn’t do that, everything else would suffer and nobody around me would be very happy! 

It is a juggle, and at this point it is probably way too much for one person. I’m working on finding some assistants to take over some of the tasks. My eBook for example, I didn’t do the layout. I hired somebody to do that. The new print book, of course I have to write it, but once it’s written I can hand it off to someone else and they will do the rest. Because I travel so much, I record several episodes of the podcast at a time. It is just a constant juggle!

I guess it’s mostly about prioritizing and being organized. The workshops and my clients are my top priorities.

© Valerie Jardin

Who have you learned the most from?

I think I learn from people everyday. I learn from my students, I learn from life. I learn from people I photograph on the street. I get inspiration from so many places.

For the podcasts, I learn from the best podcasters out there. They are my role models, and I just want to be as good as them some day.

As for photography, I never stop learning. My wish is never to feel I’m there. I think that would be very sad, to feel you have nothing left to learn.

What do you do to keep motivated, and not lose your passion for photography and teaching?

The students make teaching exciting. When you see that ah-hah moment when they start understanding light, or they just get it, it is so satisfying. You always see something waking up in a student and that is really gratifying.

For my photography, I try to raise the bar all the time. I’m always challenging myself. I challenge myself by either finding more difficult situations to shoot in, like more difficult light. Or, I limit myself with gear. There are so many ways you can push yourself and keep it fresh.

And I pace myself. I could probably teach five more workshops in a year, but I know that I would burn out if I did that.

I think I’ve reached a good balance. There is a thin line that you don’t want to cross, where what you love becomes a job and the fun goes away. And if you loose the passion, then why would people come and learn from you? The passion has to be contagious, and I want to keep it that way.

© Valerie Jardin

Is there an image that got away or one you have envisioned, but haven’t been able to nail yet?

There are always shots that get away. But that’s OK; there will be new shots to catch another day.

There are some photos I envision. You go to a location again and again, and then finally you capture it. That’s the saddest moment in a way, because once you capture what you have planned for so long, that shot is done. It is so bitter sweet. You’re excited because you caught the shot, but it’s sad because you have to try and find another location and shot to capture.

But, there are always new spots and new shots. I don’t like to think that far ahead though. I like the streets to surprise me! I think its actually working at getting the shot that is the most fun, that’s the most exciting part.

What is your favourite photography gadget?

I’m not actually too into gadgets. I really love my thumb grip on my X100T though, and I just couldn’t live without it. And of course, I love a cool bag and a cool strap! I recently got a Lúcida strap, its artisan made in Spain and custom made in the leather colour you want and the length you want. It’s just beautiful. It is so well made, it will last forever. It will outlast the camera and the photographer.

© Valerie Jardin

Do you have a favourite photograph that you took?

There is always one that stands out every year or every trip. It’s not usually because of its technical merit. It’s more about its emotion. I don’t think I have a constant favourite. I will look at a shot that I loved two or three years ago, and now I think it really wasn’t all that special. I try not to get too attached.

If you could go shooting in the streets today with any other photographer, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Today I would love to go out with Jay Maisel. I just love his personality. He is a typical New Yorker. I think it would just be awesome to hang out with him for a day. Unfortunately I never made it to any of his workshops, and I don’t think he is teaching any more. That is something I would love to have done.

© Valerie Jardin

If you were told that you could only keep one camera and lens combination, what would it be?

The Fujifilm X100T with the only lens it has, the fixed 23mm lens. I could be happy with that camera forever!

What is your favourite photography book?

I have a few. I really like “The Passionate Photographer,” written by my good friend Steve Simon. And “Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision,” by David duChemin too. It is one of my early favourite photography books. It’s not only about street photography; it’s just a beautiful and inspirational book.

What elements do you feel make a really good street photo?

To make a strong photograph, it depends. It could be a combination of things. A lot of amazing elements can come together. You could have a great composition, a wonderful subject and great light and everything falls together. But that is so rare. It’s all about finding an interesting subject, something you haven’t seen before. It can be finding something very timeless. Like when I’m in Paris and I photograph a scene that could have been shot 50 or 60 years ago. When there is nothing that will date the capture, I think that is very special. Often it’s all about the light, and at times when the light is bad, it’s all about the gesture and the story. It just depends!

© Valerie Jardin

Everybody seems to have different definitions of “street photography”. Do you adhere to rigid rules, or something broader? What is your definition?

To me it’s making life extraordinary, or looking at the ordinary in an extraordinary way. It’s about seeing the uniqueness in the mundane.

What do you like to shoot when you are on vacation with your family? Do you always have your camera with you?

I love shooting architectural details and still life. It’s hard for me not to incorporate people in my shots though. So for example, if I’m at dinner and I shoot my glass of wine, I’ll wait until a waiter walks into the background. I like the human element.

When I’m on vacation I try not to take too much time for photography. But I always have the camera with me, and I grab shots along the way. I try and turn it into a challenge: How many good shots can I get in just a couple of weeks without taking too much time? Sometimes it’s the power of limitations. If you don’t have a lot of time, maybe you will use those limitations to your advantage and see better.

© Valerie Jardin

Lastly, do you have any tips for photographers to help them grow artistically?

Just go out and shoot! It’s great to get inspired by reading books and watching tutorials and so forth, but you need to actually go out and take pictures. Don’t be afraid to get out there.

Also, it is very important to follow your heart. It’s great to be inspired by other photographers, but find your own voice. It will happen, it doesn’t happen over night, you just have to be true to yourself. Don’t try and fit to a mould. You have to shoot what makes you happy. Because when it comes down to it, you are the only person you have to satisfy. If you shoot with your heart, and you do something you really love, it will shine through. That is when you will do your best work, so find your own voice.

© Valerie Jardin

Valerie’s passion is infectious. If you ever get the opportunity to participate in one of her workshops, or listen to her speak, I would highly recommend it! For me, the experience was highly motivating!

To see more of Valerie’s work or find out about her workshops, visit her website valeriejardinphotography.com. Or, listen to her podcast, Street Focus, on This Week in Photo.

The post An Interview with Street Photographer Valerie Jardin appeared first on Photography Life.

from Photography Life https://photographylife.com/an-interview-with-street-photographer-valerie-jardin

On the Road: Two Days in Mount Rainier

After a few weeks of travel, the three of us — Nasim, John Bosley, and I — have made it back from our landscape photography road trip through the Western United States. From the Rocky Mountains to the Cascades, we visited some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes, and we captured some footage that we are very excited to add to our upcoming landscape photography video course. We’ve already written about our sunset and nighttime photography in the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone’s dramatic hot springs, and the incredible views at Glacier National Park. As the trip entered its final stages, our second-to-last stop was at Washington’s beautiful Mount Rainier.

We only had a chance to stay in Mount Rainier for a couple days, but we hit the absolute peak of wildflower season. I had never seen flowers like this before, and it was a pretty incredible place to take videos and film more of our Composition video. The best place to film was the Moraine Trail, off of Dead Horse Creek Trail, but there was a problem — it was quite a long hike to reach this beautiful location. (We later found a much shorter route, but hindsight is always crystal clear!) Carrying all of our video equipment up the side of the mountain was about as fun as it sounds. The view, at least, was worth the effort.

NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8 @ 20mm, ISO 100, 1/25, f/8.0

Of course, a landscape photography trip wouldn’t be complete without even more wildlife, which is why we were excited to see this little guy:

NIKON D800E + 70-200mm f/4 @ 200mm, ISO 400, 1/3200, f/4.0

Unfortunately, he was eating all the wildflowers:

NIKON D800E + 70-200mm f/4 @ 165mm, ISO 100, 1/640, f/4.0

But that’s ok, because marmots are cute.

After we left Mount Rainier, we headed to Seattle’s airport to drop off John. Along the way, we found patches of wild blackberries, which made for a wonderful snack! We also had time to take several behind-the-scenes photos and videos, both at Mount Rainier and at other locations we visited. We will be posting them along the way, but a few people have been asking, so here’s a group shot that we took our last night in Mount Rainier:

NIKON D750 + 24-120mm f/4 @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/30, f/8.0

Thank you all for following our adventures. I’m planning to post one more article about Olympic National Park, where Nasim and I went next, and then it’s back to work on editing our video!

The post On the Road: Two Days in Mount Rainier appeared first on Photography Life.

from Photography Life https://photographylife.com/on-the-road-two-days-in-mount-rainier

Lightroom 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and CC Performance Comparison

Ever since I started using Lightroom back in 2007, I have been keeping a backup of every single version on my computer, making sure that I had the latest version of that particular release. With the very first version of Lightroom having a few issues and not having 64-bit architecture support, I ended up deleting it, so the first release of Lightroom I actually preserved was Lightroom 2 (the latest build of that release was Lightroom 2.7). The next stable build I preserved was Lightroom 3.6. From there, it was Lightroom 4.4 that I used the most before Adobe released Lightroom 5. With the release of LR 5, Adobe introduced Lightroom CC, which was the first cloud version of Lightroom. From there, Lightroom CC 2014 was rolled out, which was equivalent to version 5.4 of LR standalone. The big release was Lightroom 6 (CC 2015), which is the most current version, the latest release being Lightroom 6.6.1, or Lightroom CC 2015.6.1 if you use the cloud version of the software. So what do you do when you have all these versions of the software? Well, I installed them all on my Windows 10 PC and decided to give them all a try and see how much Adobe has been improving the performance of the software over the years. The results are quite interesting to say the least!

What I decided to do, is see how fast each version of Lightroom imports images, generates 1:1 previews and exports images. With each new release, Adobe promises better stability and performance improvements. So how do we test this and compare the results? Due to potential camera compatibility issues, I converted a total of 823 images from their native RAW format to Adobe’s DNG format from my 2012 Lightroom catalog. This way, I did not have to worry about using cameras that are compatible with Lightroom 2. Images were mixed from different cameras such as Nikon D800, D4 and Df. During the import process, I set up the import dialog to add images into a brand new catalog for each release, then start the process of building 1:1 previews right after the import is complete:

Nostalgia: Lightroom 2 Import Dialog

For the export process, I only exported a total of 250 images, since it was enough of a sample to test the length of the process. Images were extracted in smaller resolution, 2048 pixels long, with JPEG quality set to 100% and export sharpening set to “Screen” and “High”.

I used my phone’s timer to see how long the first and the second process would take. I repeated everything 3 times and averaged out the numbers for the table you see below.

Computer Specifications

For these tests, I used my PC that has Windows 10 64-bit OS installed. It is not my latest Skylake build, but I still use this machine quite a bit, so I decided to use it instead. Also, realistically, many of our readers are probably not going to have the “latest and greatest” in terms of computer architecture, so showing results from an older build would probably be more relevant:

The machine has 32 GB of RAM and the two drives I used for this test were 240 GB Intel SSD 530 series. I put Lightroom catalog and previews on my OS drive, while the images were located in the second SSD drive. The main folder containing all images was about 20.7 GB in size.

Lightroom 2.7, 3.6, 4.4, 5.7 and 6.6.1 / CC 2015.6.1 Performance Comparison

Let’s now take a look at the numbers and see how the different builds compare in terms of performance:

Lightroom Version	Image Import	1:1 Previews	Image Export
Images were exported in down-sampled resolution of 2048 pixels long
Lightroom 2.7	00:00:35	00:21:39	00:06:17
Lightroom 3.6	00:00:21	00:27:03	00:06:47
Lightroom 4.4	00:00:15	00:43:05	00:08:35
Lightroom 5.7	00:00:17	00:41:39	00:08:15
Lightroom 6.6.1 / CC 2015.6.1	00:00:20	00:47:32	00:06:16

As you can see, the results of my research are quite interesting. Lightroom 2.7 was quite slow when adding images to a catalog, averaging around 35 seconds when importing 823 images. Lightroom 3.6 was a bit better in that regard, but the real performance improvement for importing images into a catalog was introduced in Lightroom 4, which cut the import time in half when compared to LR 2. From there, the import time stayed roughly the same, with the latest 6.6.1 / CC 2015.6.1 release slowing down slightly, most likely due to added complexity of Lightroom catalog structure and added features.

However, the key difference in performance is NOT the import time. Take a look at the second column, which represents the generation of 1:1 previews. In version 2.7, Lightroom was able to build previews for 823 images very quickly, averaging around 21 minutes. From there, everything pretty much went downhill – Lightroom 3.6 slowed down to 27 minutes, while Lightroom 4.4 onward slowed the process down significantly, adding a lot more time to the process. The latest version of Lightroom showed pretty disappointing figures, averaging around 47 minutes to generate the same previews.

On the bright side, the export process has been slightly improved in the latest version of Lightroom, bringing the numbers back to what they used to be back in the LR2 and LR3 days. Another important point to bring up, is that one can really speed up the export process by running a few export jobs simultaneously.

CPU Usage

An interesting fact that I discovered while running the different versions of Lightroom, is that every version seemed to utilize all available CPU cores and threads, as shown below:

However, overall CPU usage seemed to vary from LR2 to LR6/CC. Lightroom 3 used to eat up between 60-75% of CPU when building previews, whereas the later versions seemed to be capping around the 50% mark. When exporting images, CPU usage spiked up higher, especially when running multiple exports.

RAM Usage

In terms of RAM usage, LR2 and LR3 averaged around 2 GB, going up as high as 2.2 GB of RAM consumption during CPU-intensive jobs. However, starting from Lightroom 4, RAM usage went up pretty significantly. LR 4 and LR 5 seemed to eat up between 3.3 and 4.2 GB of RAM on average, whereas the latest version of Lightroom seemed to be a bit more RAM-hungry when running exactly the same process, averaging 4.5 GB of RAM of usage.

It is important to note that both CPU and RAM usage varied greatly depending on the job. When stitching panoramas, for example, CPU usage could climb up to 100% and RAM usage could take up 10+ GB of RAM, depending on the size of the panorama. Both CPU and RAM usage come down significantly after the jobs complete.

RAM Clean Up

Adobe is known for its memory leaks in software, which sometimes end up consuming much more RAM than needed, especially when re-running the same RAM-intensive process. For example, when one just launches Lightroom 6 / CC, the initial RAM usage is very low (on my PC, it is around 380 MB). However, as I work within Lightroom and start editing images, RAM usage can climb up to several gigabytes and just stay there, until Lightroom is shut down and re-opened. While some of this extra RAM usage could be related to process caching for more fluid Lightroom operation, sometimes leaks can be quite significant. I have seen patterns in the past, where Lightroom would eat up too much RAM after I stitched a few panoramas, eventually giving me errors, forcing me to shut down and reopen Lightroom.

Conclusion

For a number of years, Adobe has been actively pushing Lightroom as the ultimate all-in-one post-processing tool for hobbyists, enthusiasts and professionals. Without a doubt, it is a very capable software package that has many advantages over other similar tools on the market. However, it seems like with each new feature Adobe adds to Lightroom, it adds more layers of complexity to the software, which can result in slower overall performance with each new release. As can be seen from the above chart, Lightroom has been slowing down significantly from its early releases in terms of 1:1 image preview generation, making it a much less desirable tool for image culling. For this reason alone, I have permanently switched from Lightroom to FastRawViewer, as I no longer have to wait for hours for my computer to generate image previews, when I can do it instantly from my memory card.

At the same time, Adobe certainly has done a good job in making sure that both image import and image export processes are highly optimized, giving us excellent performance when compared to other software packages on the market. We have already provided our detailed post-processing software comparison, where Adobe Lightroom ranked overall #1 for both RAW and DNG image export. And when it comes to providing both post-processing and solid file management capabilities, very few software packages can compete with Lightroom at this time, putting Lightroom ahead of the game.

I hope Adobe works harder to provide properly tested and optimized software going forward. We have seen pretty disappointing Lightroom updates that had to be either recalled or fixed (remember the Lightroom 6.2 / CC 2015.2 update that replaced the import screen and introduced bad crashing bugs? Adobe had to issue a public apology as a result of this release failure), which only happens due to inadequate testing and poor QA before final release.

I would like to see Adobe refresh the development of Lightroom from grounds up, similar to what Microsoft did with the introduction of Windows 2000, after failing with Windows ME and other buggy releases in the past. Instead of adding layers and layers of complexity with each new release, which seem to make it worse in identifying particular bugs (especially the good old menu bug, which Adobe has no idea how to fully fix), Adobe’s development team should write a solid base code, then make everything else modular, so that it loads on-demand. This should allow the software to consume less computer resources and make it easier to end processes that are no longer used. In addition, Adobe should seriously pay attention to how GPU is used in Lightroom – I think there is significant room for improvement there. I have a pretty powerful GPU and yet even my most powerful PC seems to struggle with running Lightroom smoothly, which should not be the case. Many photographers end up turning off GPU acceleration, since they have more issues and slowdowns with that feature turned on.

The post Lightroom 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and CC Performance Comparison appeared first on Photography Life.

from Photography Life https://photographylife.com/lightroom-2-3-4-5-6-and-cc-performance-comparison

AK Monthly Recap: August 2016

It was the month of Colombia! I spent 19 days exploring my 64th country and getting back into the groove of long-term solo travel after several trips with friends and short solo excursions.

Between Colombia and some good times at home, here are the best and worst moments of August 2016.

Destinations Visited

New York, NY

Cartagena, Medellín, Guatapé, Salento, Valle del Cocora, Bogotá, and Zipaquirá, Colombia

Favorite Destinations

Salento. This small, colorful mountain town introduced me to slow-paced Colombian life.

Valle del Cocora. Easily the most visually stunning place in the country, with super-tall palm trees you can’t find elsewhere.

Bogotá. The rare city where I slipped in so well, even with the communication difficulties.

Highlights

I had a wonderful 32nd birthday. I spent it doing a lot of favorite things in New York, both old (Big Gay Ice Cream) and new (Museum of the City of New York), before grabbing dinner at Red Rooster (also known as the place that made me decide to move to Harlem!) and meeting up with lots of friends at a bar in my neighborhood.

And best of all were the Snapchat wishes! If you thought having a birthday on Facebook was great, wait until you’re on Snapchat! I got artistic creations, video messages, even songs from my readers! Thank you all! And to the person who made me the snap above, I’m honored that you took the time to make rainbow letters! (I’m adventurouskate on Snapchat if you want to follow me.)

Everything in Colombia. I want to repeat myself in future posts, so I’ll be brief, but some of my highlights were eating the best fruit in the world, photographing the doors of Cartagena, seeing some beautiful and otherworldly landscapes, going out dancing, getting my hair cut and colored for less than 25% of what it would cost in New York, and making lots of new friends — both locals and travelers! Expect far more on Colombia soon.

Visiting Governors Island. This little island south of Manhattan is only open during the summer months and well worth a visit. I explored by bike, watched the Drone World Championships, and got to see one of the most underrated views of Manhattan, pictured above.

And at the end of the month, I acquired a new possession. A Fuji 16mm f 1.4 lens. This wide-angle is the top-rated Fuji lens and I’d had my eye on it for awhile, so when the price dropped by 25% this month, I knew it was time to pull the trigger. (It’s still on sale, by the way. There’s an additional $50 coupon that appears at checkout.)

Challenges

The hives came back. If you’re a long-term reader, you may remember when I suddenly developed hives in Korea back in 2013. I don’t have any allergies, so I have no idea what the cause was — I just took antihistamines. Soon my lips started swelling up. I saw three doctors in Australia and they couldn’t tell me anything beyond, “Just wait it out and keep taking antihistamines, or prednisone if it gets really bad.”

It took nine months before the hives stopped appearing. Nine whole months.

So when I was in Bogotá and developed what I thought was a mosquito bite on my arm…then another bite…then three more bites, all expanding and connecting to each other, and more on my hip as well, I groaned and thanked my lucky stars that I had brought Zyrtec with me. They did appear again 24 hours later once the Zyrtec wore off, then another 24 hours after that, but since then I’ve been in the clear.

I still have no idea where they came from. I had only eaten eggs, fruit, coffee, a tamale, and an aguapanela (Colombian sugar cane drink) that day.

To my readers, even if you aren’t allergic to anything, please pack a strong antihistamine when you travel. I like Zyrtec because it’s non-drowsy and one pill lasts for 24 hours. You can get it for cheap on Amazon.

I really need to improve my Spanish. I speak “kindergarten Spanish” — I can communicate basic stuff and speak decently in the present and future tenses. French has always been my primary foreign language. I taught myself Spanish 1 over the summer when I was 15, then took Spanish 2, then dropped it after a year because I didn’t enjoy it (I think having an unenthusiastic teacher was a factor).

Colombia has a significant language barrier — more so than most places I visited in Central America. On top of that, Colombians speak very fast and the accent is thick. I struggled so hard to understand and be understood. Kindergarten Spanish is sufficient for traveling in Central America, but it’s not nearly enough for Colombia. I cannot imagine what it’s like to travel here without speaking any Spanish.

So I think it might be time to take a Spanish course focusing on grammar. Because while you do pick up a lot of vocabulary while traveling in Latin America, your grammar remains the same. And mine is atrocious.

Two brief instances of food poisoning. I usually have an iron stomach, but digestive issues got me one night in Salento and again while flying home to New York. It was…less than pleasant.

Most Popular Post

Notes from the Brink of Age 32 — Every year I write a birthday post and reflect on the past year, where I am now, and where I want to go. This was my latest.

Other Posts

Adventurous Kate’s Offbeat Guide to Cape Town — Everything you need to know to plan an awesome trip.

How I Choose Where to Travel Next — In a world of destinations, how do you narrow them down?

How to Survive Pre-Trip Anxiety — What do you do when you’re sick with worry right before a trip?

How to Rock a Trip to Johannesburg — All the best in this underrated city.

Most Popular Photo on Instagram

Easy — this photo of Guatapé. This famous view, from the top of La Piedra del Peñol (a giant rock in the middle of the lakes) was one of the reasons why I went to Colombia in the first place!

For more real-time updates from my travels, along with greatest photography hits, follow me on Instagram at adventurouskate.

What I Read This Month

On Writing by Stephen King — This is the first Stephen King book I have ever read, and it’s one of my favorite nonfiction reads of the year. This book is part memoir and part writing guide, and I’m already implementing some of his tips. “Killing my darlings” never felt so good.

I may avoid the horror genre, but I have so much admiration for Stephen King. For his work ethic, for his voracious readership, and especially for his marriage. The only thing I didn’t like? Nearly all of the authors he cited were white men, as were the authors of his book recommendations. I don’t know how you can read 60-70 books a year and end up recommending so few written by women or people of color. (Though it’s worth noting that his list of favorite reads from 2001-2009, included in the book’s 2010 edition, was somewhat more diverse than his original list. As an aside, I think more people are mindful about the literature they consume today compared to 15 years ago.)

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — Adichie is one of my favorite authors that I discovered last year, and since then I’ve been on a mission to read all of her works. This novel tells the history of Biafra, a region that seceded from Nigeria in 1967 following the ethnic cleansing of the Igbo people, and the war that ensued. I knew nothing about Biafra or this war before reading this book and it was eye-opening.

I love learning about Nigeria through Adichie’s books, but what I love is that she creates characters who are imperfect, yet so good at heart. And even when thrown into impossible circumstances, you can’t help but love them fiercely and want the best for them. That’s even more difficult when they’re living through war and starvation.

What I Watched This Month

The Get Down! I had been looking forward to this Netflix series since I saw the first previews, and I wasn’t disappointed. This show — or more of a mini-series — tells the story of the dawn of hip-hop (not to mention the height of disco) in the Bronx in the late 1970s.

It’s Baz Luhrmann, so you know exactly what you’re getting — light on plot and character development, but so damn gorgeous and sounds so good that it takes you to another place, just like the movie musicals of 50+ years ago. Moulin Rouge! was one of my favorite movies as a teenager; in my opinion, The Get Down is the only Baz production that lives up to it.

What I Listened To This Month

I’m waiting for Frank Ocean’s new album to come out on Spotify. Until then, I’m listening to his old stuff. Channel Orange is one of my favorite albums of the past few years. It’s good to listen to when you’re alone, particularly if you have a tendency to be melancholy in private.

I love when you forget an album for awhile and then rediscover how good it is. There are so many good songs here. I love “Sierra Leone.” I love “Monks.” But “Sweet Life” is one of my all-time favorites.

Image: Gabriela Fab

Coming Up in September 2016

I’m spending most of the month at home in New York and the rest in Europe! I’m starting in Inverness, Scotland, for the Social Travel Summit, where I’m speaking on two of my favorite blogging topics: passive income and Snapchat.

Next up is a culinary trip to South Wales. I’ve been to North Wales several times but this will be my first time in South Wales, including the Welsh capital of Cardiff. I’m looking forward to both the food and the landscape, especially the wild coastline!

After that, I have about a week free, and I’m almost positive I’ll be spending it in two new countries: Slovakia and Poland. My time is limited, but I think I’ll fly straight into Bratislava, head to Krakow, visit Zakopane if I have time (I really hope I do because it looks gorgeous) and then finish in Warsaw.

But before Europe, we’ve got Labor Day Weekend — and boy, do I have plans. My sister and I are going to Club Getaway in Connecticut — also known as Adult Summer Camp. Think all the fun of summer camp plus burlesque classes, Texas Hold’em tournaments, SUP yoga, bungee trampolines, theme parties, and plenty of free-flowing alcohol throughout.

Any recommendations for Krakow? Let me know! Where are you going next month?

from Adventurous Kate http://www.adventurouskate.com/ak-monthly-recap-august-2016/

Tamron 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 Announcement

Many Photography Life readers already know how much our team likes the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens – we have written a few articles on how amazing the lens is for reach and our detailed review of the Tamron 150-600mm attracted a lot of people, with over 200 comments in the review. Today, Tamron announced a big update to this lens in the form of SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. This second generation (G2) lens went through a number of changes, including improved image stabilization, faster AF speed and a few other mechanical and design tweaks. The biggest changes, however, are in the updated optical formula and weather sealing – the G2 now features better optical design with improved overall sharpness and a fluorine coated front element, while the lens barrel has been reworked in order to reduce both dust and moisture from entering the lens (which is one of the biggest issues of the previous design). Lastly, the new 150-600mm now joins the list of lenses compatible with Tamron’s TAP-in console, for future firmware upgrades and customization. The lens will retail for $1,399 and it is scheduled to start shipping at the end of this month. In addition to this lens, Tamron has also announced two new 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters, both of which will be compatible with the lens.

With the previous generation lens costing $1069, the new one is obviously noticeably more expensive, with a $330 price increase. However, the new lens looks drastically better compared to its predecessor, so the price increase might be well justified. Let’s take a quick look at the optical changes that Tamron is promising in this G2 optical design:

And here is how it compares to the previous generation 150-600mm:

While contrast levels are supposed to be practically the same, pay attention to the second thinner line, which is what indicates the resolving power of this lens – the first MTF chart clearly shows increased level of sharpness, particularly in the center of the frame. This is true for both 150mm and 600mm focal lengths, which is very promising, considering that the lens is going to be mostly used at the longest end of the zoom range. Because of these improvements, Tamron is now claiming that the lens couples well with their new teleconverters. While I personally would stay away from using teleconverters with a slow f/5-6.3 lens, the 1.4x combo might provide fairly usable results in bright light conditions. Obviously, we will be testing the lens rigorously with both teleconverters to see how practical the combinations could be in outdoor shooting environments.

When it comes to design and exterior changes, there are quite a few of those in place. First of all, you have probably already noticed that the lens looks quite a bit different compared to its predecessor – the exterior design of the lens resembles the new generation Tamron lenses with a gray line close to the lens mount. Second, the lens now features a “flex zoom lock” feature, which allows the focal length of the lens to be easily locked when shooting in the field, so that it does not creep when pointing up or down, which is pretty neat:

Third, the switches on the side of the lens now look sleeker, giving a fresher look to the lens. Last, but not least is the tripod foot. Check it out:

FINALLY! When I saw the above image, that’s what I shouted in excitement. How many manufacturers and generations of lenses did we have to wait for until we saw a lens announcement with a proper Arca-Swiss compatible foot?! Every super telephoto lens owner knows that their purchase does not stop with the lens – to make the lens usable with most gimbal and ballhead tripod heads, one has to get an Arca-Swiss tripod foot replacement, which is an unnecessary burden and additional cost. Why can’t manufacturers do the same for every lens? Sigma previously announced an Arca-Swiss compatible tripod foot for the 150-600mm Sport, but it is a separate accessory that must be purchased for $250, which makes it no different than purchasing from a third party vendor like RRS and Kirk. Thanks to Tamron, it looks like the company will be featuring Arca-Swiss tripod feet on all of its heavy telephoto lenses in the future, which is something to be excited about. I personally do not like attaching Arca-Swiss plates on the bottom of lens collars, because it is usually a single mount point and it makes the tripod collar bulkier than it should be. For this reason, including a proper lens collar with the lens for me already represents a $250 of additional value. Once you add in all the above-mentioned extras, the pricing on the updated Tamron 150-600mm G2 looks pretty reasonable. If I owned the Tamron 150-600mm, I would certainly want to upgrade to this new lens…

Official Press Release

Here is the official press release from Tamron:

INTRODUCING THE PINNACLE OF ULTRA-TELEPHOTO ZOOMS WITH ADVANCED FEATURES,
ENHANCED PERFORMANCE, AND IMPROVED ERGONOMICS

September 1, 2016, Commack, New York: Tamron, a leading manufacturer of optics for diverse applications, announces the launch of the SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (Model A022). This second generation “G2” lens builds upon the success of the SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD (Model A011), which launched in December 2013 and continues to successfully meet photographers’ needs in the ultra-telephoto category. The new G2 version was developed to provide superior optical performance with today’s high resolution DSLRs and to add improvements to several features including speed and accuracy of AF and VC (Vibration Compensation). Also, several new features have been added: FLEX ZOOM LOCK mechanism, Fluorine Coating and optional teleconverters. The new lens delivers outstanding performance and a luxurious, upscale appearance, including a metal lens barrel. Delivery of the new lens in Canon and Nikon mounts will start on September 23 in the Japanese market and soon thereafter in the U.S. market (Sony A-mount to be delivered at a later date) at a price of $1399.

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

1. Optical design refreshed to achieve even higher performance: Three LD (Low Dispersion) lens elements completely eliminate axial and transverse chromatic aberrations. The design also features an upgraded optical construction (21 elements in 13 groups) and leverages improvements in manufacturing technology. As a result, the lens delivers high resolution, improved sharpness and overall better performance.
2. Tamron’s sophisticated eBAND Coating for eliminating ghosting and flare: eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) Coating is a nano-structured layer deployed on the lens element surface. In addition to regular anti-reflection coatings, eBAND Coating offers higher light transmission and significant improvement in anti-reflection characteristics, especially against angulated incident rays. Combined with BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coatings, flare and ghosting are reduced to imperceptible levels.
3. MOD reduced to provide optimum tele-macro photography: Tamron’s advanced manufacturing technology has made it possible to reduce the MOD (Minimum Object Distance) to 86.6 in (2.2m), compared to 106.3 in (2.7m) for Model A011, and has allowed for the wonders of tele-macro photography with its 1:3.9 Maximum Magnification Ratio.
4. AF speed is faster and much more responsive with moving subjects: The Model A022 is equipped with a USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) ring-type motor that delivers excellent responsiveness and control. AF speed is significantly improved from the current model, and it enables accurate high-speed focus even when capturing moving subjects. When shooting with AF, the Full-time Manual Focus override allows you to instantly make fine-focusing adjustments manually, without having to switch between modes.
5. VC performance is now 4.5 stops and offers three modes optimized for different situations: The VC (Vibration Compensation) effectiveness is equivalent to 4.5 stops, based on image stabilization performance levels established by CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) when using VC MODE 3. Model A022 now has three types of VC modes, and it is possible to choose the optimum VC mode according to the situation for taking a photograph, such as when panning.
   • VC MODE 1 is the standard mode that strikes a great balance between the stability of the viewfinder image and the stabilization effects.
   • VC MODE 2 is exclusively used for panning.
   • VC MODE 3 prioritizes the stabilization of the captured images and forgoes the stabilization of the viewfinder image.

   A new VC Mode can be programmed with the optional TAMRON TAP-in Console^TM. You can overwrite VC Mode 1 with a new VC Mode that allows stabilization to be engaged constantly for videography purposes. In this mode, the LCD screen is used.

6. New FLEX ZOOM LOCK mechanism enables locking of the zoom ring at any position: The FLEX ZOOM LOCK mechanism quickly locks or unlocks the zoom at any position simply by sliding the zoom ring. Photographers can shoot from any angle without the zoom extending unintentionally. Additionally, the lens features the conventional Zoom Lock switch to prevent unwanted barrel extension during transportation.
7. Fluorine Coating and Moisture-Resistant Construction for a more user-friendly lens: The front surface of the lens element is coated with a protective fluorine compound that is water- and oil-repellent. The lens surface is easier to wipe clean and is less vulnerable to the damaging effects of dirt, dust, moisture and fingerprints. For greater protection when shooting outdoors, leak-proof seals throughout the lens barrel help protect your equipment.
8. Electromagnetic diaphragm system now used for Nikon-mount lenses: An electromagnetic diaphragm system, which has been a standard feature for Canon-mount lenses, is now employed in Nikon-mount lenses(1). More precise diaphragm and aperture control is possible because the diaphragm blades are driven and controlled by a motor through electronic pulse signals.
9. Lightweight and easy-to-hold tripod mount is compatible with an Arca-Swiss style quick release plate: A new textured grip and Arca-Swiss style tripod interface enhances both speed and utility. And because the tripod mount is made of lightweight magnesium, it is much easier to carry.
10. Compatible with TAMRON TAP-in Console^TM, an optional accessory product: The optional TAP-in Console provides a USB connection to your personal computer, enabling you to easily update your lens’s firmware as well as customize features including fine adjustments to the AF and VC.
11. Teleconverters exclusively for the Tamron lens now developed: Two exclusive teleconverters(2), which perfectly match the optics of the new SP 150-600mm G2 (Model A022), offer 1.4x and 2x magnification, and provide a maximum zoom range up to 1200mm. These new teleconverters extend focal length of the master lens, making it possible to take pictures in farther ultra-telephoto ranges.

    (1) Available only with cameras compatible with the electromagnetic diaphragm (D3100, D3200, D3300, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D7000, D7100, D7200, D300, D300s, D600, D610, D700, D750, D800, D800E, D810, D810A, D3x, D3s, D4, D4s, Df, D500, D5). (As of September 1; Tamron)
    (2) Additional information will be available on Tamron’s website at a later date.

12. Based on the rigorous quality standards worthy of the SP series, this new lens is manufactured with thorough attention to details: For the SP series products in particular, Tamron has established rigorous design and quality standards. These standards apply to the optical design, mechanical design and the cosmetic appearance, as well as to such wide-ranging areas as the product’s robustness and improvements in various individual functions. Tamron thoroughly reviews of all of the design and manufacturing processes in order to offer products to customers with ever-higher precision and quality levels.

    For the SP 150-600mm G2 (Model A022), the optical design was refreshed, mechanical parts were improved and a new exterior design was adopted. To maximize the optical performance intrinsic to this product, Tamron improved the accuracy of component parts and increased the precision of the overall zooming mechanism.

Design Concept
The new design adopted for the four SP series lenses already on the market is essentially the fusion of engineering and style, the pursuit of functional beauty and craftsmanship achieved by giving meticulous attention to minute details. Using metal as the exterior material creates a high-grade design based on the concept that emphasizes “Human Touch” characteristics, and significantly improves user-friendliness. The SP models feature a novel design for the switches, easy-to-read characters, an enlarged window over the distance scale and the adoption of organic forms easy for the photographer’s fingers to hold onto.

This design philosophy – the pursuit of functional beauty with a “Human Touch” – is applied even to the most minute details of the new SP 150-600mm G2 (Model A022) ultra-telephoto zoom. By using metal for the exterior material and adding new functions such as the FLEX ZOOM LOCK mechanism, the Model A022 achieves a size and weight that makes comfortable handheld shooting possible, with a slim and stylish appearance design to top it all off.

Pre-Order Options

You can pre-order your copy of the Tamron 150-600mm G2, along with the two new teleconverters from our trusted partner, B&H Photo Video:

1. Pre-Order Tamron 150-600mm G2 and Teleconverters from B&H Photo Video

Looks like Tamron scored another home run with the updated SP 150-600mm G2. Our team at PL is looking forward to testing the new lens – we will be reviewing the lens later this year once it becomes available.

The post Tamron 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 Announcement appeared first on Photography Life.

from Photography Life https://photographylife.com/tamron-150-600mm-di-vc-usd-g2-announcement

Dubai: The Las Vegas of the Middle East?

Dubai. It’s a city that conjures up images of Vegas-like glitz (minus the gambling and drinking). Before visiting last month, my friends had painted a picture of it in my mind: hot and filled with malls, expensive shops, restaurants, and expats. Modern and spread out, without a lot of “soul.” It would be artificial and not demand more than a day or two, they told me.

But when people tell me to zig, I always love to zag, so I decided to spend five days there, determined to find something redeeming about the city. (I picked an excellent time to visit too: an English friend had just moved to the city, so I had a place to stay and a tour guide!)

Since the work week in the Arab world runs from Sunday to Thursday, I decided to split my trip into two: the first three days would be with my friend seeing the new, international Dubai, followed by two days exploring old Dubai while she worked.

Given that Dubai is a Middle Eastern country with strict laws about vice, I didn’t imagine there’d be too much “craziness” there. My trip would be mellow, spent by the pool and in low key hotel bars and international restaurants.

I was very wrong!

“New” Dubai shocked me by how lubricated with alcohol it was. From the ritual of Friday brunch (more on that later) to the fall-down drunks in bars, the 2-for-1 specials, and endless happy hours, I was surprised at how much partying there was in a city that only allowed alcohol in very limited forms.¹ Everywhere you went, drinking — and drinking to excess — was common.²

In a way, Dubai reminded me of most expat-heavy places in the world. It seems whenever cities attract a lot of foreigners from various nations around the world, they in large part tend to live in a little alcohol-fueled bubble — going to a small selection of restaurants, bars, and neighborhoods, often with scant interaction with locals. They live a pseudo-Western lifestyle. I saw it Bangkok, Taipei, and Hong Kong.

I was seeing it now in Dubai too.

I think this has a lot to do with the fact that you’re in a culture you will always have outsider status in, that most of your new friends are met via work and will probably leave in a few years, and because there’s a sense that it is all temporary and fake. It’s not real life. It’s this little world we live in right now — a bubble — so why not have fun?

Take brunch, for example. In most of the world, it’s a late breakfast with some mimosas or Bloody Marys. Sure, it’s a chance to cut a bit loose on the weekend, but it’s a controlled event. In Dubai, it’s an all-day, all-you-can-eat-and-drink bender. More than that, it is a ritual. A tradition. “Have you experienced brunch?” people would ask. “You can’t come to Dubai and not brunch. It’s part of the city’s culture!” (By that I think they meant expat culture!)

It’s not cheap (250-700 AED, or $68-190 USD), so they make the most out of it. I’ve rarely seen people drink so much in so few hours. By the time we arrived at the bars later in the evening, I saw grown adults barely keeping themselves from falling down in a way that would make even the most ardent spring breakers cringe.

“New” Dubai was like an alternative reality that existed inside the hotels and bars. The local conservative culture didn’t apply there. Seemingly no rules did.

So, when Sunday rolled around and my friend went off to work, I was excited to explore “old” Dubai, set on the Dubai river, and get a peek at local life. In this part of town, there weren’t any skyscrapers, expats, or Western stores — just mosques, markets, small restaurants, and shops. The glitz and hotel bars and malls seemed a world away. I could take a dhow across the river, eat cheap food, mix with the locals, and get a sense of the day-to-day pace of the city.

Exploring the Dubai Museum, the gold markets, and the Jumeirah Mosque; haggling at local stalls; and marveling at the somewhat monolithically brown architecture, I felt more like I was in the Middle East. After three days, it was the first time I felt like I was some place foreign.

Yet, while I enjoyed seeing “old” Dubai, the city as a whole didn’t really thrill me.

But I’m not ready to write off Dubai yet. There’s still more of Dubai to see and explore. I didn’t make it into the desert, missed a number of attractions, and the oppressive August heat made it hard to wander the city’s streets and alleys.

Dubai is still a mystery to me. I can’t wrap my head around it and am determined to return, turn over more stones, and get under this city’s skin.

But one thing is for certain – this city is more than a stopover destination!

1 – Alcohol can only be served in places attached to hotels so you’ll often find long walkways from hotels to nearby entertainment complexes to get around this rule. Otherwise, alcohol can only be bought at duty-free or by residents with a special liquor license.
2 – This wasn’t just the expats either. I saw Emiratis and other Middle Easterners drinking in the same fashion.

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from Nomadic Matt's Travel Site http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/visiting-dubai/