Photography News

The Excire Foto 2027 interface is dominated by the central area to show off your images in Gallery view shown here. There is also a new feature called Survey view which shows selected images in an uncluttered environment.

 

It doesn’t matter if you're a photo enthusiast or a working professional, your photographs are invaluable and you should take care of them. Part and parcel of this process is rating, filing and culling your output and any software that helps you do this with greater efficiency and minimal stress is worth knowing.

We tested the award-winning Excire Foto 2025 recently and were impressed by its skills. Uniquely, it uses AI technology to analyze, rate and automatically keyword images and boasts a host of powerful search tools. Check out that review here. It’s a standalone app and for those using Adobe’s Lightroom Classic there is the option of Excire Search 2026 which works as a plug-in. 

The big news is the arrival of Excire’s Foto 2027, a software available for Mac and Windows that includes the core capabilities of Excire Foto 2025 but has added even more ways of searching for images and gives an even better user experience.

Excire Foto 2027 is available at a special launch price of £199 / $219 with the standard price being £229 / $249.

 

Quick Verdict

Excire Foto 2027 is an impressive software that is definitely several steps on from its predecessor, Excire Foto 2025. Survey view, Map view and AI text search are more than useful new features while the core search tools such as Find by Text Prompt, Find Faces and Find by Keyword remain central to the core proposition of Excire Foto 2027. For busy image creators, it’s a software that deserves a serious look.

 

+ Pros

• Works quickly even with massive image collections
• The uncluttered Survey view is excellent
• Map view will appeal to travel and landscape photographers
• Excire Foto 2027 runs locally so your data remains safe
• Excire Foto 2027 is a one-off purchase
• Suits stills and video
• Powerful search tools – text prompt, keyword, GPS, faces, people, similarity, duplicate
• Find by Text is a new search tool that works well
• Auto keywording saves time
• AI-assisted culling
• Aesthetic ratings can save time
• Video playback within the app

 

- Cons

• Excire Foto 2027 is a significant investment 
• Initialising large photo collections takes time but it’s a once only job
• Auto keywording works well with people shots but less well with general shots and scenics
• Aesthetic ratings won’t appeal to everyone

 

 

 

 

Excire Foto 2027 is the new kid on the block but that doesn’t mean Foto 2025 has gone. It remains available at the lower price of £159 for an outright purchase which is good value. So, for example, if you don’t need Map view or text search in Foto 2027 you could save yourself money by buying the older software which we know to be a very capable program that works quickly and has excellent search skills.

However, if Excire Foto 2027 appeals, try it before buying; it’s available on a free 14-day trial.

 

The interface’s top section has a new look in Excire Foto 2027. There’s a content search bar with the options of searching by text in photos, content or metadata. There’s also a timeline graph – the blue columns here.

  Excire Foto 2027 Getting started 

Open Excire Foto 2027 and you are greeted with an interface dominated by a large central area to view images or the map in Map view. This is surrounded by tools and icons but the interface is not as daunting as it is in some apps, probably because Excire has no image editing skills so there’s less to fit in.

You can’t enjoy the benefits of Excire Foto 2027 until your images are initialised which means images are analyzed by AI and keywords and aesthetic ratings are applied.

With Excire Foto 2027 open, go to File>Add folders or use the + symbol in the top left of the interface and that brings up the Add Folder dialogue box with options including Analyze photos and Include Subfolders. 

With a big collection of images, the initialisation process takes time and Excire suggests running the process overnight. That is advice worth heeding especially as you can’t do much in the software while images are being processed. You could of course have initialisation running in the background while you’re working in other apps. 

With the amount of time needed to initialise images I did it in stages. In one session, 127,614 photos took 31 seconds shy of 12 hours. This is a once-only process so once you have initialised your archive adding new images is much quicker. For example, a day’s shoot of 3884 images took just under 16 minutes.

One thing you need to do at the beginning is select a hard drive for Excire’s database. The options come up under File>Open database>Create Folder for new database. The database will grow as images are added so you need a decent amount of hard drive capacity. During this test my database grew to 439,357 images and that took up 108GB. 

You can have more than one database. For example, have one for personal images and another for commissioned work. In my test, I had one big database, and the software was always quick at producing previews with no time lost waiting for previews to sharpen up or even appear, which happens with large Lightroom Classic catalogues.

In my workflow, I store catalogues on an external 2TB NVMe SSD drive in a fan-cooled enclosure connected to the computer’s Thunderbolt 4 port. For this test, I used a M2 Max Mac Studio 32GB RAM running Tahoe 26.2.

 

Survey view can show from a single or several frames to many images. I selected 150 images and I got a view of 103 thumbnails on my 32in screen (right) with the remainder in a queue. If you have several images on show, the remaining previews grow larger as images are rejected.

 

Excire Foto 2027 Key Features

• One-off purchase, no subscription option
• Selection of search tools: Text in photos, text prompt, duplicate, GPS, people, faces, keyword, similar
• Survey view shows selected images against a plain black backdrop
• Organising tools: AI keywording, duplicate search, face-tagging
• Timeline viewing which goes down to days 
• AI-assisted culling 
• Focus peaking feature
• Map view for images with GPS co-ordinates
• Face-sharpness detection
• AI Aesthetic scores
• Ratings, keywords and aesthetic ratings can taken into Lightroom Classic 
• Fast preview rendering
• Raw, PSD, JPEG, TIFF files compatible with Excire Foto 2027 including large files
• Available for Mac and Windows

 

At a glance: Main updates in Excire Foto 2027 compared with Excire Foto 2025

• Text in photos search tool
• Map view
• Survey view for viewing images without distractions
• New Smart filter bar and Timeline Graph
• Focus peaking feature 
• Improved prompt search capabilities

 

New in Excire Foto 2027 is the ability to check critical using focus peaking which has an adjustable threshold. 

 

Excire Foto 2027 Map view

During initialisation, Excire Foto 2027 takes the GPS data from your images and places them on a map so you can see where you took pictures, how many you shot and clicking on the map point shows what you took at that spot. It’s a cool feature.

However, for this test I was stuck because only my iPhone snaps have GPS data, and I had no camera Raws with GPS co-ordinates. I downloaded the Sony Creator app to my iPhone, linked it with the camera by Bluetooth and went out and shot pictures.

Clicking on the Map view icon, which sits at the bottom left of the interface. Zooming in, I could see I had been photographing in London and the number in the single black dot showed I’d shot 491 photos. I had taken many more but for some technical reason (or user error!) the GPS data had not been recorded. This is not an Excire issue and it shows you need to get the technology set up correctly for reliable results. GPS data can be added in Excire Foto 2027’s metadata editor, which is easy to do in bulk although you won’t get street-level detail.

Zooming in much further into street view and the single black blob became many more and I could see how many shots I had taken and where. Location accuracy seemed pretty good although there were some inaccuracies due to GPS issues, but it was more than good enough for general location details.

 

I did a photo walk around London’s Covent Garden. Clicking on each map point, which shows how many were pictures were taken at that spot, changes it from black to blue and the images are shown along the bottom of the interface.

 

This is the maximum magnification of Excire’s map. Accuracy is pretty good but that of course depends on the GPS recording device rather than Excire.

 

Excire Foto 2027 Find by Text in Photos

A big new feature in Excire Foto 2027 is the ability to search by Text in Photos. If, for example, you were searching for a location you may find it, but you could be looking for a shop name, an event or a sponsor’s logo.

I went to Hong Kong last year and I know where the images are but as part of the test I tried a Text in Photos search looking for the words ‘Hong Kong’. Where text is found Excire places a yellow box over the word/s and hitting the space bar hides the yellow box. This search took a few seconds and Excire Foto 2027 found 277 images with the words ‘Hong Kong’, some were large and obvious, but many were small in the frame or even very faint thanks to poor exposure.

More randomly I tried the word ‘toilet’ and this occasion I got 26 images including the one shown below (which just happened to be in Hong Kong) and Excire Foto 2027 found it even though it was small and dark in the frame.

Searching by visible text showed itself to be a welcome addition to Excire Foto 2027’s search armoury with plenty of potential.

 

Searching for the words ‘Hong Kong’, Excire Foto 2027’s Text in Photos found them even when they are overexposed in the image. The inset shows how faint the original word was.

 

Showing what Text in Photos is capable of, a search for the word ‘toilet’ found it in this image even though it was tiny and in the shadows. The inset shows how small the original word was.

 

Excire Foto 2025 Find tools and the Timeline Graph

Excire Foto 2027 sees the arrival of the Timeline Graph. Checking out what you shot by date is possible with the Timeline/People icon on the left of the interface and this works down to days. The other option is to click on the Timeline Graph button in the top bar and zooming into the graph again means you can view what you shot by month, week and day.

The Find by text prompt we tested in Foto 2025 but for those who didn’t read that review (click here to see it) it’s worth a recap. Basically, when using Find by text prompt just type what you are looking for and Excire searches your database for images conforming to what you asked for. The search can be narrowed or broadened, and you can choose to limit the number of images to view.

You might search for a specific subject such as bridges, black cabs or airplanes but you can also search for photos that depict an emotion and a mood you want photos to illustrate. 

In another search, I needed some photos that showed creative use of depth-of-field, so I searched for ‘images that show the use of depth-of-field’ and in my database Excire Foto 2027 found 19,930 images in around 30 seconds, mostly showing selective focusing at wide lens apertures. You can see a sample of what was found in the screenshot below.

As with all the searches in Excire Foto 2027, the results can be rated or flagged, and searches are saved as collections that you can revisit later.

 

Using Text in photos, I searched for ‘images that show the use of depth-of-field’ and got 19,930, mostly viable, candidates.

 

 

Two examples of Excire Foto 2027’s automatic keywording and Aesthetic rating capabilities. It’s interesting that Excire gave the portrait of the blond model Dolly the keywords of Bride and Wedding. Incorrect in both cases but you can appreciate why those keywords were added. With Big Ben it was correctly identified.

  Excire Foto 2027 Keywording and more

During the initialisation process, Excire Foto 2027 gives your shots an Aesthetic rating and adds keywords. Hit the Excire icon on the right side of the interface and you can view ratings and keywords for each image.

How deep Excire’s keywording goes depends on the subject. Often, with people shots there is much more detail with keywords so for a portrait of a woman you might get eyes open, face, female, smiling and hair colour and more. The keywords applied to an architecture shot can also be useful and might include window, skyscraper and city. You’ll probably get fewer keywords with scenic, nature and location shots although it‘s the case that famous sites and birds such as kingfishers are recognised and keyworded accurately. For example, for photos of Big Ben it was correctly keyworded and additional keywords include clock, travel, tower, sight, city and building.

 

Excire Foto 2027 Verdict

Excire Foto 2027 is an excellent image management program and its new headline features – Map view, Survey view and Text in photos search tool – work well and add even more functionality to what was already an awesome package. 

How you would work with Excire Foto 2027 is obviously your call but having one huge database with powerful search tools is a seriously big benefit that could save you a lot of time. The same applies to Excire’s ability to efficiently rate and cull shoots before taking the ‘keepers’ into Lightroom or any other post-processing program for editing. 

For busy image creators, Excire Foto 2027 is definitely worth serious consideration.

 

Excire Foto 2027 Pros

• Works quickly even with massive image collections
• The uncluttered Survey view is excellent
• Map view will appeal to travel and landscape photographers
• Excire Foto 2027 runs locally so your data remains safe
• Excire Foto 2027 is a one-off purchase
• Suits stills and video
• Powerful search tools – text prompt, keyword, GPS, faces, people, similarity, duplicate
• Find visible text in photos is a new search tool that works well
• Auto keywording saves time
• AI-assisted culling
• Aesthetic ratings can save time
• Video playback within the app

 

Excire Foto 2027 Cons

• Excire Foto 2027 is a significant investment 
• Initialising large photo collections takes time but it’s a once-only job
• Auto keywording works well with people shots but less well with general shots and scenics
• Aesthetic ratings won’t appeal to everyone

 

 

 

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4.5|R_handling=4.5|R_performance=4.5|R_value=4.5|R_overall=4.5|A_level=4.5|A_text=Fast, easy to use and offering plenty of search methods, Excire Foto 2027 is a powerful workflow software with much to recommend it.|E_id=8016[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

Brandon Woelfel, a New York-based portrait photographer and newly appointed Nikon ambassador, became known through constant experimentation with lo-fi props and effects posted daily on social media. His consistent behind-the-scenes posts amassed two million followers on Instagram and a reputation for dreamy, otherworldly images. Here he dishes on what he wishes he'd done differently, team building, and on letting embarrassment hold you back.

 

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Most people reach for a wide angle the moment they step into a city center, cramming as much of the skyline into the frame as they can. A long telephoto flips that instinct, letting you pull out single details and stack layers of a city in ways a 24mm never could. 

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Most photographers reach a point where making technically better pictures no longer changes much. The camera works, your technique is solid, and the world starts to look familiar. One way out has little to do with photography. Time spent with modern painting changes what you notice before you press the shutter by exposing decisions the camera normally makes for you without asking. 

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One of the greatest surprises photography has given me has almost never arrived while I was out walking with a camera. It has arrived afterward, sometimes the same evening, sometimes months later, when I have found myself looking at a photograph I believed I already understood and suddenly noticed something that had escaped me completely while I was making it.

 

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You come home from a shoot with hundreds of frames of a great subject and every one of them feels flat. The fix usually comes down to two things you can control on location, and neither requires new gear. 

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Show the same portrait to two working photographers and you can walk away with two opposite verdicts, one calling it strong and the other pulling it apart. Learning to read those reactions, and figuring out which ones are worth your attention, changes how quickly you grow. 

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Peak District Inversion, a stunning photograph by edrhodes, capturing a mist-filled valley at sunrise, has taken our Photo of the Week award.

There is plenty to admire in this image. A bare tree sits on the steep, grassy ridge up front. Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill stand above the blanket of low-lying cloud. The golden light of the sun just coming over the peaks creates a nice contrast with the darker clouds above and the cooler mist below, giving a calm morning atmosphere.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2027, we'll crown our 2026 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards! 

Want to be our next POTW winner? Just upload an image to our gallery where you'll also find all of our past POTW winners.

Having a blurry image isn't always a bad thing. In fact, when it's used in the right place, it can actually make your photos better. Here are a few examples of when blur can be used and a few tips on how to produce the shots.
 

1. Water / Waterfalls

 

1. Use shutter-priority so you can control how long the shutter is open.
2. The slower the speed you choose the more blur there will be.
3. The speed you need will change depending on how much blur you want, how much water there is and the distance between the camera and your subject.
4. Start between 1/8sec to 1/15sec and just adjust until you get the blur you're looking for.
5. If you struggle to get the shutter speed low enough try fitting an ND filter to your lens. 
6. Always use a tripod to prevent shake spoiling your shot and if possible use a remote / cable release. 
7. Meter carefully as large areas of light tones can fool the camera into underexposing your shot.
8. Slow shutter speeds will blur anything that moves so if you don't want what's surrounding your subject to be blurred, try taking two shots: one with the slower shutter speed then the other with a speed that will freeze movement. You can then combine these in editing software such as Photoshop.
9. Try blurring the movement of waterfalls, rapids, waves breaking along the coastline, a fast-flowing river and water flowing from a tap

  2. Action Photography

 

1. For people, animals or vehicles which are moving, adding a touch of blur to the image can give the impression of speed, emphasising motion and creating a sense of drama in the shot.
2. If you use too higher shutter speed you'll just freeze the motion, too slow and there can be too much blur and the background and your subject will seem like they're merging together. So it's worth experimenting with a variety of shutter speeds to get it right.
3. Try panning with the subject as they move. Start panning, release the shutter button and then continue the pan even after the camera's captured the image. If you get it right the subject will appear sharp as it hasn't moved position in the viewfinder, but the background will be blurred making the subject look as though it's hurtling along.
4. Try to get enough blur so the background isn't distracting and the movement of the wheels on the vehicle you're photographing are blurred to create the sense of motion in the shot. This will also help the eye focus on what it's meant to.
5. Try using slow sync flash which is where you use a slow shutter speed and flash together to freeze your subject but blur the background. The low shutter speed continues to record the ambient conditions and further subject movement. It's used mostly by sports photographers recording cycling events or motorsports but can also be creative in any environment that has a moving subject in the foreground. Try using it next time you're photographing your child playing on a swing.

 

3. Light Trails 

 

1. Do not try and drive the car and work the camera at the same time. Get yourself a driver or you drive and get a friend to operate the camera.
2. Make sure the windscreen is very, very clean otherwise smears will spoil the final shot.
3. Make sure the tripod is secure before you set off so the camera doesn't get broken from it falling over during the drive.
4. Try positioning the camera so you can only see the view through the windscreen but don't worry if you have the roof or dashboard in shot as you can always crop it out. The lights and shape of the dashboard can also add an extra element of interest to the image, giving the trails something to contrast against.
5. Focus on the distance - you want the lights sharp ideally.
6. Use a small aperture to give you front to back sharpness. It'll also mean you can use longer shutter speeds.
7. 10-30 second exposure will capture the light trails. If you want longer shutter speeds, use the B setting.
8. Use a remote trigger, cable release or self-timer to fire the shutter.
9. Twilight is a good time and you need a location with a variety of light sources.
10. Towns are good locations for this as they'll be streaks of light on various levels and of several shades on offer. Motorways are also good but here you'll get more continuous long light streaks.

 

 

4. Abstract Shots 

 

1. Sometimes you don't need anything to be sharp and in focus to make an interesting image.
2. If you're using lines try to find a location that gives you a shot that has lines that vary in size and colour. Bolder lines will have more impact than small, faint ones and do remember they will still guide the eye through the shot and tell the viewer where they should be looking.
3. Shapes are obviously softened so make sure you're photographing something that's interesting and bold, otherwise your image won't have any impact.
4. Strong, bold colours work well because you're losing texture and detail you see in sharp shots. Make sure your tones don't clash and check to see if any shades are overpowering certain areas of the frame.

 

5. Drag Landscapes 

 

1. Overcast days are perfect for this technique.
2. Find a scene that has strong lines – fences with flowers in front of them and trees work well.
3. Basically, you need to press the shutter button and as the exposure processes, dragging your camera up, down left or right as it does.
4. Don't stop panning until you're past your subject as you won't get the blurry lines you're looking for.

 

6. Zoom Blur

 

1. You have to get the zoom right – too much and you won't be able to make out your subject, too little and it will just look like a normal shot.
2. Use a small aperture to get the slower shutter speed that's needed. Use a low ISO too. This is particularly important when your subject is backlit.
3. Fit a neutral density filter or a polarising filter if you can't get a slow enough shutter speed.
4. Make sure you meter from your main focus point.
5. You need to set the zoom to either the short or long end of the focal length range, open the shutter, wait for a while then in one, smooth, quite quick movement, zoom out. By pausing at the start your subject will have a little definition before the blur kicks in.
6. Stained glass windows are good subjects for this technique but try it in a forest with the light that flows through the trees too.

 

7. Remove Distracting Backgrounds 

 

1. If you're working somewhere that has a busy background use a larger aperture to throw it out of focus. This blur will hide whatever was distracting the eye, allowing all focus to fall on your subject.
2. If you're using a compact camera try switching to the appropriate mode (portrait for people, macro for close up work) so the camera knows you want to throw the background out of focus.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

 

We have for review two exciting Leica products that can be bought as a kit or separately. The Leica SL3-P brings a hybrid stills/video offering to the table, and the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 Asph completes the picture. First, the lens, with the camera review hot on its heels as I write. A Leica quality standard zoom lens that pushes the wide angle to a very useful 24mm is a very attractive proposition. Couple that up with the 44.9MP Leica SL3-P body as a package that is equally at home with stills and video and this looks to be an exciting voyage of discovery indeed. Let's get straight to it and see how it all works out.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH Handling and Features

The lens looks big and chunky, weighing in at a solid 856g without the hood, and 906g with the metal hood. No hood was provided with the loan sample but one should be expected in the box when purchased. Some lenses still perform well without a hood, but it's always a good idea to use one even if only to protect the front of the lens from impact damage. Dimensions are 123mm x 88mm. The illusion of size is probably partially caused by the large, chunky lettering.

Starting our tour of the lens, within the bayonet fit for the hood is a conventional 82mm filter thread. Just behind this is the focusing ring, electronic and absolutely as smooth as silk. AF is driven by a very fast and virtually silent stepping motor, and focusing speed is aided by just one element being moved during the AF process. Closest focus at 24mm is 18cm, for a maximum magnification of 1:2.9; at 70mm this becomes 38cm for a maximum magnification of 1:4.5. It is a pity that the greatest magnification is found at the widest setting as this means an uncomfortably close working distance that can make lighting the subject more difficult.

 

 

Optical construction is 19 elements in 15 groups, with a total of 6 aspherical surfaces, plus elements with anomalous partial dispersion. The diaphragm comprises 11 blades, aiming to improve the bokeh. The lens as a whole is dust and splash water sealed, something that is by now almost a requirement for any lens intended to be seriously used outdoors.

The lens description follows and then the boldly labelled zoom ring. There are accurate markings provided at 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 70mm. The zoom action physically moves the lens, so although smooth, it does need more effort to move as it extends the length.

Finally, the metal L mount fits positively on to the Leica SL3-P camera body and there are no glitches either in terms of mechanical fit or in terms of electronic communication.

Just about the only handling caveat is that of weight and bulk. Metal and glass equals heavy lenses and camera bodies, and Leica does not shy away from the consequences. However, this is accompanied by finesse in quality, so the operation of all controls is smooth and slick. It is also a million miles away from the diminutive form factor of, say, an M series rangefinder. The Leica name in itself demands something special, so let's have a look at the performance and see if this expectation is borne out in practice.

 

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH Performance

At 24mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/2.8 to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 50mm, central sharpness is outstanding from f/2.8 to f/5.6. Excellent at f/8 and f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22.

At 70mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, rising to outstanding at f/5.6, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22.

Wide open, close up flat subjects such as text do suffer a lack of sharpness at the edges, but stopped down this soon clears and the results become crisp.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/2.8 ASPH. MTF Charts Previous Next

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Leica SL3-P body using Imatest software (www.imatest.com). Want to know more about how we review lenses?

 

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is not a problem and there is virtually no sign of colour fringing.

Distortion is virtually zero. We measure this to two decimal places, and at 24mm pincushion distortion yields a result of just +0.01%. At 50mm and 70mm, the result is actually zero. Clearly the lens is very suitable for architectural photography.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/2.8 ASPH. Chromatic Aberration Charts Previous Next

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Leica SL3-P body using Imatest software (www.imatest.com).

 

Bokeh is smooth and satisfying. The out of focus areas make a beautiful backdrop, especially for portraits and flower studies.

Flare is minimal, with no sign of artefacts even in the most severe lighting conditions.

Vignetting is very modest for such a zoom lens.

 

Aperture 24mm 50mm 70mm f/2.8 -1 -0.9 -0.8 f/4 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5 f/5.6 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5 f/8 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5 f/11 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5 f/16 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5 f/22 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/2.8 ASPH. Sample Photos Previous Next

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/2.8 ASPH. Aperture range Previous Next

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

 

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Value For Money

The [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+24-70mm+f/2.8+ASPH[/AMUK] is priced at £2590

Possible alternatives in L mount:

• [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+28-70mm+f/2.8+ASPH[/AMUK], £1750
• [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+24-90mm+f/2.8-4+ASPH[/AMUK], £4900
• [AMUK]Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN II Art|Sigma+24-70mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+II+Art[/AMUK], £1129

Certainly in terms of bald cost, the Sigma lens looks rather attractive, but the solidity of the Leica version and the match with the Leica camera bodies will for many be a major consideration. This is an area where “want” and “need” may be poles apart.

 

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH Verdict

What price quality and what price that revered Leica name? Frankly, if we can afford the Leica camera body, then it is to be hoped that we can also afford the Leica lens to match its style, its quality and its performance. There is no doubt that the Leica lens plus the Leica SL3-P body sent for review match each other beautifully, producing exciting quality images that do “sing” and are an aesthetic pleasure. However, realistically, some will find the Leica too bulky and too heavy and exciting images can be produced by much less expensive kit. It is about perceptions, and about the enjoyment and satisfaction that can be felt when using cameras and lenses that gel with the photographer/videographer.

Price aside, the lens is a joy to use and the results are great. It is Highly Recommended.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH Pros

• Very Good to Outstanding sharpness
• Fast f/2.8 constant aperture
• Well controlled CA
• Virtually distortion-free
• Very good flare resistance
• Dust and water splash sealing
• Close focusing
• Excellent AF performance
• Ultra-wide 24mm very useful

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH Cons

• Weaker edges close up at open aperture

• Closest focus at widest focal length

 

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Sony's new FX5 records 16-bit XOCN raw internally, a codec that until now lived only in the Burano, Venice, and Venice 2. Squeezing that into a compact cinema body reshapes what you can expect from a camera you can hand-hold on a sidewalk. 

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Interesting skies can pop up at any time of the day, at any point during the year so really it's just about keeping an eye out on the weather forecast and sticking your head out of the window to see what's happening. If you're out and find one spot you particularly like it might be worth setting up for the day to just see what happens. You never know you could end up with a series of shots that feature a brilliant sunrise and interesting cloud formations all from the same place.

 

1. What Gear Do I Need?

A wide-angle lens will help you make the most of big, interesting skies. Just keep an eye on what's creeping in at the edges of the shots as the wide view can mean less interesting parts of the sky end up in the frame. Pack tripod in the car and pocket an ND Grad to help you capture a more balanced exposure and a solid ND filter for when you're just shooting the sky.

2. Look At The Sky Before You Take Your Shot

If the sky's boring and flat don't let it dominate the scene. Instead, move the horizon up slightly so you have more foreground interest. For times when the sky really does sing do the opposite and move the horizon down, cutting more of the foreground out so all attention falls on the clouds, sunset colours or whatever other feature makes the sky stand out.

 

3. Get The Exposure Right

Getting the exposure right can be a little tricky due to the differences in contrast between the sky and ground. It could even be the ground that's a lot lighter than the ground, rather than the usual bright sky syndrome many people usually have to face. This will happen when there's a storm brewing or just after the rain's stopped falling.

When it comes to metering, most of the time you just need to focus on the highlighted areas of the image (which is usually the sky) and the darker areas will sort themselves out. However, if you find the foreground ends up too dark use exposure compensation to increase the exposure by one stop.

 

 

4. Tips On Using Filters

If you find the sky's still a little too bright fit a Graduated Neutral Density filter to even out the exposure. If it's the ground that's too light try rotating the filter so the dark part of the graduation sits over the ground.

 

5. Use Clouds In Your Shots

If you have a sky full of interesting cloud formations the key is to make sure the clouds aren't too bright. Check your histogram if you're unsure. Make sure you're ready to shoot an interesting formation as soon as you see it as they change shape quickly and if the clouds are rather breath-taking remember to lose some of the ground to make the sky your focus.

Blurring the movement of the clouds is an interesting effect that can also help create leading lines to guide the eye through the photograph. If you're shooting on a bright-ish day you'll need to fit an ND filter so you can use the slower shutter speeds without too much light reaching the sensor.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

You can push a photograph a long way before anyone notices. Shift the color of a jacket, a wall, a car, a plate of food, and most viewers will never flinch, because they have no fixed idea of what those things are supposed to look like. Three colors do not get that latitude. Move skin, sky, or foliage even slightly off, and the image reads as wrong immediately, often to people who cannot say why. Those three are the memory colors that matter most for photographic naturalness, and they are the reason a technically clean edit can still look broken. 

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to snursey (Day 24 - 'Portrait Landscape').

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 16

Interesting Angles

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Day 17

Waterfall Close-Ups

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Day 18

Close-Up Faces

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Day 19

Stone Circles

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  Day 20

Repetitive Patterns

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Day 22

Carnival Photography

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Day 23

Sunsets By The Sea

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

 

Signs aren't the most difficult subject in the world to photograph but there are a few things you can do to ensure your shots are perfect.

 

1. Why Photograph Signs?

Signs can be interesting and/or funny in their own right and they can give the person who's viewing your work more information about the areas you visited too. Older parts of towns will have signs that look a little more battered while newer signs which look less worn and more modern will suggest you spent quite a lot of time in newer areas of town. They also suggest if you've ventured beyond the tourist areas as signs tend to just have the language of the country you're visiting once you're over the edges of the tourist trap. These, in particular, are the signs that can be funny too due to the different language or images used to illustrate what the signs telling people. You may also find people have added their own diagrams to the signs which can often bring to odd grin or two.

 

2. Give Your Collection Direction

As well as having them as photos that sit among your collection you can use signs to organise your galleries, albums and portfolios. They make great headings that will help the viewer understand they're moving into a new collection of images.

 

 

 

3. To Zoom Or Not?

If the sign is particularly interesting or tells a story on its own without its surroundings you'll want to fill the frame with it, making use of your zoom if you can't physically get close to the sign. If you're using the sign within its surroundings you'll probably want to use a small aperture to ensure front to back sharpness. Double-check you can still see what's on the sign too as, after all, it's still our focus. Where possible, try shooting straight on to the sign too so it's easier to read.

  4. Reflections

Modern signs are more likely to have a reflective surface and when you're working with bright sunshine or flash, glare can bounce back off the sign spoiling the shot. As a result, it's usually best to turn the flash off or if you're using a flashgun leave it in the bag. If sunlight is your problem then try a different position to see if the glare goes away or return later or come back early the next day when the sun's moved positions.

  5. Shop Signs

If you come across an interesting shop sign chances are it'll be high up and shooting from the ground, looking up won't look right in the final shot so if you can, find something to stand on to give you more height or stand further back if that's not possible.

 

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

Over the last two decades, polar bears have become a popular symbol for climate change. To evaluate the threat, let's consider that the scientific community has reached a consensus: if we continue our current consumption and emission patterns, certain polar bear subpopulations will very likely reach a point of no return as early as the 2030s to 2040s.

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Tina Sokolovska is a newly appointed Nikon Ambassador, as well as an American-Ukrainian photographer, creative director, and educator based in New York. Her 2017 breakout image, "On the Wave," was noted by 35photo.pro as one of the Top 100 Best Photographs in the World, and has been reposted on social media more than two million times. Here she talks about personal connection, working fast, and not obsessing about reposts (even when you get more than two million).

 

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Teleconverters split photographers into two camps: people who swear by them and people who say they wreck image quality, slow autofocus, and belong in a drawer. Both camps are right, and which one you land in comes down entirely to how you shoot. 

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When three cameras are on the chopping block and only one gets to stay, the choice reveals a lot about how you actually shoot. The Canon R6V, up against the C50, the C80, and the R6 Mark III, ended up winning that fight for reasons that have less to do with specs on paper and more to do with what a camera lets you do in the field. 

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A litter bin by the beach with the front panel missing became a compelling black-and-white image, and the whole thing took a change of approach rather than a change of location. The idea runs through the entire session: the most mundane object can hold your attention if you photograph it the right way. 

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