PhotoActive
Episode Archive
Episode Archive
174 episodes of PhotoActive since the first episode, which aired on May 30th, 2018.
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Episode 174: Photos Clean Up
November 18th, 2024 | 32 mins 5 secs
apple, apple intelligence, cameras, clean up, generative ai, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Aimless pedestrians wandering in the background of your photo? Trash on the ground in the foreground? Apple can help. In this episode we're looking at Clean Up, the new Apple Intelligence tool in the Photos app that uses generative AI to remove areas of a photo.
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Episode 173: iPhone Photo File Formats
November 4th, 2024 | 38 mins 28 secs
apple, cameras, heic, heif, iphone, jeff carlson, jpeg-xl, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, proraw
In our quest to better understand the often-confusing changes and additions to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro photo situation, we’ve decided to tackle the photo file formats. HEIF, ProRAW, JPEG-XL... there are a lot of options to choose from.
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Episode 172: Photographic Styles on the iPhone 16
October 18th, 2024 | 35 mins 14 secs
apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 16, iphone 16 pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photographic styles, photography, podcast
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro introduce a new twist on an existing feature, and the result is... confusion and complexity. Photographic Styles can be very powerful, but it really requires you to dig into the details.
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Episode 171: iPhone 16 Pro Hands-On
October 4th, 2024 | 35 mins 52 secs
apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 16 pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Now that Kirk and Jeff have received their iPhone 16 Pros, it’s time to take them into the world and see how the new photographic features work. Is the Camera Control all it’s cracked up to be? Does a 48 megapixel ultra-wide camera make much difference? We talk about our first hands-on experiences with Apple’s new pocket cameras—sorry, mobile phones. Oh, and what about all this Apple Intelligence stuff?
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Episode 170: iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro
September 13th, 2024 | 44 mins 5 secs
apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 16, iphone 16 pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
It’s that time again: new iPhones! By which we mean, of course, new Apple Cameras That Also Do Other Stuff. Kirk and Jeff are both upgrading their phones this year, largely due to the new Camera Control button but also the 48 MP (megapixel) ultra-wide camera and the new 48 MP Fusion camera that reads data fast enough to remove the shutter lag when shooting raw images. There’s a lot to discuss in this bonus-length episode!
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Episode 169: Peakto 2.0 with Matthieu Kopp
August 16th, 2024 | 38 mins 20 secs
apple, cameras, cyme, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, peakto, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Is your photo library spread out among different drives and apps? We’re not talking about maybe having a couple of Lightroom Classic catalogs—it’s not uncommon now for a photographer to have Lightroom libraries, Capture One libraries, Apple Photos libraries, even old iPhoto and Aperture libraries collected over the years. In this episode we welcome back Matthieu Kopp of CYME to talk about version 2.0 of the utility Peakto, which can bring sense to all of that accumulated chaos. As a bonus, Matthieu also shared a discount code for PhotoActive listeners to get 15% off any CYME app: PHOTOACTIVE15.
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Episode 168: Image Stabilization
August 2nd, 2024 | 38 mins 59 secs
apple, cameras, ibis, image stabilization, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Many cameras now feature IBIS: in-body image stabilization. But do you really need a stabilized body? Can you use just a stabilized lens? And for that matter, is image stabilization just a crutch for lazy photographers? Also in this episode, we ponder perfect photo destinations.
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Episode 167: Sensors and LUTs
July 19th, 2024 | 35 mins 48 secs
apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lumix, luts, panasonic, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, s9
Touting Panasonic’s new LUMIX S9 camera, a representative was quoted saying that Micro Four Thirds sensors are more difficult to understand than full-frame sensors, especially for people with “low camera literacy.” That piqued our interest, because many photographers assume that a full-frame sensor is just inherently better. But is that true? And is it really that confusing? We also touch on LUTs, which Panasonic is pushing on the S9 by dedicating a button to choosing different look-up tables for creative color rendering in camera.
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Episode 166: Pentax 17 and Photo Social Apps
July 6th, 2024 | 33 mins 34 secs
apple, cameras, film, film photography, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, pentax 17, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
If you're wondering whether film photography is really experiencing a resurgence in popularity, the announcement of the Pentax 17 is your answer. It's a brand-new film-only camera with some interesting design choices. Also in this episode, we talk about social media alternatives to Instagram for photographers.
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Episode 165: AI and Photography from WWDC
June 21st, 2024 | 31 mins 24 secs
ai, apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, machine learning, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, wwdc
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is where we learn about what’s coming in the company’s many operating systems, and this year was focused on machine learning features and AI - Apple Intelligence. That turns out to have a lot of significance on photography, such as in searching your photo library and making edits in the Photos app. We look at what was announced and how it will affect the way we work with photos in the fall.
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Episode 164: M4 iPad Pro
June 3rd, 2024 | 36 mins 29 secs
apple, cameras, ipad, ipad pro, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, m4, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Apple has released the new M4-powered iPad Pro, and Kirk bought one straightaway. Is it worth buying for photographers? Plus, we mention what’s changed in the new Lightroom releases and welcome a new sponsor: Photo Scout by Cascable!
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Episode 163: Photo Criticism
May 17th, 2024 | 39 mins 59 secs
apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo criticism, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Part of enjoying photography is understanding photography. What makes a “good” photo? How much of that is based on the circumstances around its creation? In this episode, we talk about looking at photography with a critical eye.
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Episode 162: Gear Acquisition Syndrome
May 3rd, 2024 | 34 mins 59 secs
apple, cameras, gas, gear, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) is a running joke among photographers (and musicians), but it's also a real thing that can spin us up with the desire to buy some new camera or lens. We look at what drives this compulsion, and try to be honest about whether it affects us as photographers.
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Episode 161: Nitro with Nik Bhatt
April 5th, 2024 | 39 mins 7 secs
apple, cameras, gentlemen coders, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, nitro, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, raw power
Gentleman Coder Nik Bhatt returns to talk about Nitro, his all-new photo editor for macOS (and soon, iOS and iPadOS). As the successor to RAW Power, Nitro has a lot to live up to. Nik talks about what prompted him to build a new app from the ground up, adding new features like masking, supporting cameras that Apple ignores, and more.
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Episode 160: Primed by Seeing
March 22nd, 2024 | 35 mins 35 secs
apple, cameras, creativity, inspiration, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo creativity, photo editing, photo influences, photo organization, photography, podcast
We were recently asked about where we find inspiration while making photos, which led Kirk and Jeff to muse on the idea of being primed to find photo subjects. It’s not enough to arrive at a destination with a blank slate—you’ll create better photos and enjoy the experience more if you prime yourself to see what’s in front of you. That can come from photo books, online photos of the same area, and more.
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Episode 159: Fuji X100VI and the Appeal of Small Fixed-Lens Cameras
March 8th, 2024 | 34 mins 23 secs
apple, cameras, fuji, fujifilm, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, ricoh, x100v, x100vi
The entire Internet - yes, the whole thing, trust us - is going crazy for the new Fujifilm X100VI compact fixed-lens camera. What’s the appeal of this not-inexpensive camera? Its predecessor was in such demand that Fujifilm just stopped manufacturing it because it couldn’t keep up...for more than a year. And now the X100VI is backordered until summer. Is it all just influencer hype?