A digest of last week’s news is a selection of some of the news from week 23 from 2016 related to the worlds of photography and video, covering multiple topics, always rounded up with a reading suggestion.

Hybrid AF for Pentax

The new Pentax K-70 DSLR is Ricoh’s camera for outdoor use, able to work down to temperatures as low as -10°C . What’s interesting on this new 24.24 effective megapixels model is that it is the first from Pentax to offer a new Hybrid AF system, which harmonizes the advantages of both the image-plane phase-matching AF system and the contrast detection AF system, in order to assure the maximum speed and accuracy of AF operations during Live View shooting. Is this Pentax’s answer to Canon’s Dual Pixel AF?

Panasonic GX85: Good Video Stabilizer

The review of the Panasonic GX85 by Camera Store TV reveals that the camera’s new feature, the video stabilizer, does a really good job, better than Sony’s. The stabilizer really makes the GX85 a good camera to take everywhere and shoot 4K video without having to carry much gear with you. Sound, on the other hand, is terrible, with no jack for an external microphone. The absence of a connection for headphones also contributes to make the GX85 less of an ideal serious video camera for bloggers.

Adobe introduces Guided Upright

Adobe releases a new feature for their Lightroom CC and Camera Raw 9.6 for Photoshop CC and the Creative Cloud application: Guided Upright. The feature is based on the original Upright for Lightroom, but extends its functions, allowing users to provide ‘hints’ that enable Upright to work its magic. Drawing vertical and horizontal lines directly on the image make for an automatic transformation of the image. The update also provide additional camera raw support, lens profile support and address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Camera Raw and Lightroom CC.

Innovation and colour at Fujifilm

While some may see this as a pure marketing video, I always look at these as a way to understand the minds behind the products we get. That’s why I believe taking six minutes of one’s time to watch through this video centered on the X-series of cameras, innovation and the use of colours by Fujifilm is a good thing. I’ve written about Fujifilm’s colours before, now it is time for you to hear those behind the tech talk about their dreams and aims, and why photography and video are more than numbers. You may not agree with all that is said, but it still is an interesting new video to watch.

Free photo guide travel photographers

The Rocky Nook’s Guide to Travel for Photographers is a 25-page free guide from book publisher Rocky Nook. Written by Derrick Story the guide aims to help photographers getting the best shots from their travel adventures. True, much of what you’ll find here you probably already know, but it is always good to remember that you should “Think Like a Movie Director” and have a checklist that tells you to take along a tripod and gaffer tape. Get your free copy of Rocky Nook’s Guide to Travel for Photographers.