Canon has launched its first set of cinema prime lenses made for PL-Mount cameras. The series is named Sumire Prime, and it consists of seven prime lenses covering focal lengths from 14mm all the way to 135mm. The lenses are rather fast, ranging from T3.1 to T1.3, depending on the model. Canon has also implemented the optical design that creates a nuanced look as the aperture approaches its maximum setting. According to the company, this new optical design “modifies the textural renderings of the human face close-up,” and also “smooths the transition to the fall-off portions of the scene....

I’ve been following the YouTube channel Breaking Taps for quite a long time. It’s a fun mix of science, engineering and technology covering physics and the occasional bit of chemistry with some just flat out cool experiments, crazy tech and fascinating slow motion in between – like that time when he made his own scanning laser microscope (it’s pretty cool, you should watch it). Well, now he’s having a go at making some optical lens elements....

Reaching into five counties, and seeing more than 10 million visitors each year, the Peak District offers some of the most amazing views of the English countryside. So, with around 27,000 people a day visiting the area it’s no surprise that some will occasionally become lost. After wandering from the footpath to explore areas less trodden, the couple who are believed to be in their early 20s, climbed a steep bank near the top of Winnats Pass in Derbyshire....

This is a pretty cool development from LibRaw (the company behind FastRawViewer) which lets you squeeze an extra stop of dynamic range out of your Canon 5D Mark IV raw files. Essentially, it exploits a quirk of dual pixel raw files. As they explain, a dual pixel raw file is essentially two exposures in one, a stop apart. Their new app, DPRSplit uses these two exposures to form a new DNG raw file containing the dynamic range of both exposures....

Less than a week ago, we posted about a possible drone collision with an incoming flight at an airport in Mexico. Now, we read about confirmed idiot sightings at Gatwick Airport in London, England. According to the BBC, at least two drones were spotted flying near the airport, which prompted them to ground all flights and shut the place down. This shutdown has stranded around 10,000 passengers, with a further 6,000 diverted, and 4,000 on planes that didn’t take off, says Mail Online....