Beyond Photo Tips

Photography Calculators: Seven New Tools and a Refresh for the Originals

Susheel Chandradhas — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 18:49:15 GMT

This post: Photography Calculators: Seven New Tools and a Refresh for the Originals was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Greetings everyone... The photography calculators on Beyond Photo Tips have grown from four to eleven. Seven of the calculators are brand new, covering field of view, golden hour, astrophotography, time-lapse, macro, ND filters and flash, and the original four have had a refresh. They're all free, with no sign-up, at beyondphototips.com/tools.

Last November, I put four little calculators online: tools I'd built for myself because the ones I was using didn't quite do what I needed. You've been using them far more than I expected (thank you!), and that got me thinking... if four were useful, what…

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Sony FX5: What's Actually New, and What It Means for the Rest of Us

Susheel Chandradhas — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:34:57 GMT

This post: Sony FX5: What's Actually New, and What It Means for the Rest of Us was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Sony announced the FX5 (ILME-FX5) on July 22, and the reaction from the video community has been louder than anything the company has released in a few years. It slots between the FX3 and the FX6, and Sony has been explicit that it replaces neither.

This is a cinema camera, not a hybrid. But two of its headline features have been fenced off inside cameras costing around ten times as much until now, and that boundary moving is worth paying attention to even if you never shoot a frame of video.

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PPI, DPI, and LPI: What Actually Decides Print Sharpness

Susheel Chandradhas — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:25:05 GMT

This post: PPI, DPI, and LPI: What Actually Decides Print Sharpness was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

If you have ever sent a photo off to print and felt a small knot of worry that it might come out soft or blurry because you got the settings wrong, then you have probably bumped into these acronyms. PPI. DPI. LPI. Ask three people what they mean and you will likely get three different answers, because even folks who use these terms every day tend to mix them up. The confusion has been around for ages. I first started writing these notes years ago, then set them aside because they felt like a dry school lesson, and that’s not my intention.

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What's New in Affinity 3.2: What Photographers Actually Need to Know

Susheel Chandradhas — Tue, 12 May 2026 00:07:12 GMT

This post: What's New in Affinity 3.2: What Photographers Actually Need to Know was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Affinity 3.2 landed on April 16, 2026, just one month after the 3.1 update. Canva's development pace seems to have picked up since making Affinity free, and this release is the most substantial one yet for photographers.

Most of the coverage out there walks through every feature across all three Studios. This article doesn't do that. If you're here, you're a photographer who wants to know which of these changes will actually affect how you edit your photos. That’s what we’ll talk about.

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Sony A7 V Overview: The Hybrid Camera Perfected?

Susheel Chandradhas — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:10:06 GMT

This post: Sony A7 V Overview: The Hybrid Camera Perfected? was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Sony has just announced their new mirrorless hybrid camera: the Sony A7 V (ILCE-7M5). It’s been 4 years since the Sony A7 IV was released. Since then, Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic have delivered mid-range hybrids that have caught up to Sony's once-dominant autofocus and camera sensor technologies. It was time that Sony answered in kind.

At a launch price of $2,899, the Sony A7 V promises to reclaim Sony's hybrid crown with a new partially stacked sensor, AI-powered autofocus, and video specs that challenge the competition. This is the most versatile sub-$3,000 full-frame camera Sony has ever…

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4 Essential Photography Calculators Every Photographer Should Bookmark

Susheel Chandradhas — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 22:38:03 GMT

This post: 4 Essential Photography Calculators Every Photographer Should Bookmark was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Update, October 2026: there are now eleven calculators, seven of them new, and the four below have been refreshed. See what's new in the photography calculators.

As photographers, we use tools to calculate various aspects of our job on a regular basis. I found that some of the tools that I was using daily or weekly didn't quite address the specific issues that I wanted addressed. So, over the last few months, I've built my own versions of these tools. They ended up working well for me, and now I've made them available online to everybody who reads Beyond Photo Tips...

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Nikon ZR Review: Philip Bloom's Surprising Switch

Susheel Chandradhas — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 12:26:35 GMT

This post: Nikon ZR Review: Philip Bloom's Surprising Switch was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

If you're looking for a review of the Nikon ZR, one of the most unlikely people to check for a review for this camera ... is Philip Bloom. He’s known for his Sony, Canon, and DJI reviews. Yet, that's where we are today...

Philip Bloom is a renowned filmmaker and camera reviewer who has spent years testing video equipment across multiple platforms. Known for his documentary work and comprehensive camera reviews, Bloom has established himself as a trusted voice in the filmmaking community, particularly for his honest assessments of video-focused cameras. His reviews often feature real-world…

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Canon EOS R6 Mark III Unveiled: 40FPS Shooting Meets 7K Video Power

Susheel Chandradhas — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:56:00 GMT

This post: Canon EOS R6 Mark III Unveiled: 40FPS Shooting Meets 7K Video Power was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Canon have announced the much anticipated EOS R6 Mark III, mirrorless digital camera. The EOS R6 Mark III arrives as a serious contender for hybrid shooters demanding both speed and resolution. Packing a 32.5MP full-frame sensor with 40FPS burst capability, internal 7K raw recording, and cinema-grade autofocus algorithms, this camera bridges the gap between enthusiast and professional workflows. Notable additions include pre-capture buffers for stills and video, registered face priority AF, and open gate recording … firsts for the R6 line. Whether tracking wildlife at 40fps or shooting 4K at 120FPS with audio, the R6 Mark III positions itself as Canon's most versatile hybrid body yet.

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Affinity is Free - How It Works!

Susheel Chandradhas — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 23:30:48 GMT

This post: Affinity is Free - How It Works! was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Ever since the initial Affinity launch announcement on October 30th, this question has been circulating the web. How is affinity free? And how can Canva afford to make affinity free for everyone? Well, somebody had to explain it, so that job fell to Canva's co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Cameron Adams. Here he is in this short video explaining how and why Canva is able to make affinity free for all, forever, and why that's a good thing for all creative people.

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Affinity System Requirements v3.2 (2026)

Susheel Chandradhas — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 19:03:47 GMT

This post: Affinity System Requirements v3.2 (2026) was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

The all-new Affinity by Canva (v3.0) was launched on October 30th, 2025. It combines the functionality of all three legacy Affinity apps into one unified interface. For this reason, we expected that Affinity system requirements for v3 (including the latest release in 2026, Affinity 3.2) will be higher than those specs needed for Affinity v2 apps, but that is not true. In this article, we're going to look at what the required, and ideal system specifications are for the all-new Affinity app.

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Affinity Is Now Forever Free, and It’s Just One App

Susheel Chandradhas — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 10:43:26 GMT

This post: Affinity Is Now Forever Free, and It’s Just One App was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

On October 30th, Canva announced that the three Affinity Design Suite apps, Photo, Designer, and Publisher were being replaced by one single app that does it all. Most significantly, they announced that this new app, simply called “Affinity”, would be completely free for everyone to use, forever. What’s the catch? Have they lived up to the promise of their 4 Pledges to Affinity Users? Let’s find out.

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Affinity Says: Creative Freedom is Coming…

Susheel Chandradhas — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 19:48:31 GMT

This post: Affinity Says: Creative Freedom is Coming… was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Back in March 2024 Canva bought Serif, the company that makes Affinity Photo. At the time, there were concerns about whether that meant that meant that the perpetual licensing model was about to go away, but the Canva and Affinity teams were quick to allay those fears with 4 pledges that they made to the Affinity community. Earlier in October this year, made an announcement that “Creative Freedom is Coming…”, and stopped all sales of the Affinity design-suite, pending the big announcement later today. That had the community on tenterhooks, especially because there’s a lot to unpack and a lot at stake.

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Why Silica Gel Sucks! What To Use Instead For Camera Storage

Susheel Chandradhas — Sun, 27 Apr 2025 11:23:26 GMT

This post: Why Silica Gel Sucks! What To Use Instead For Camera Storage was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Silica Gel sucks! You know it, and I know it. When you’re trying to use it to keep your camera storage dry in the long term, you need to dry out your silica gel weekly. That can be a pain. Ask me. I know. So, what’s the more sensible option? How can you store your camera body and expensive lenses long term without a fuss, yet avoid getting fungus on them? The answer is simple: use a Dry Cabinet made especially for your camera gear.

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The Rise, And Fall, Of Adobe?

Susheel Chandradhas — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:03:51 GMT

This post: The Rise, And Fall, Of Adobe? was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Many of us use Adobe tools regularly. I’ve used them since 1995, and I still do. But there was a time, a few years ago, when I was very frustrated with Adobe, and that I moved away from the Creative Cloud ecosystem. In the video coming up, Jazza explains why Adobe is so widely used in the creative industry, and why clients - both businesses and individuals - are currently quite upset with the way Adobe has treated them. Is Adobe in Decline?

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What Is “.ACR” File Format?

Susheel Chandradhas — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 01:59:54 GMT

This post: What Is “.ACR” File Format? was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Recently while editing some images in Adobe Camera RAW (ACR), I noticed an additional, new, ".acr" sidecar file. In the past, I've written about the .XMP files that are created by Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera RAW when you edit raw images. This .ACR file was created in addition to the .XMP file, and that made me curious. So what are ".ACR files" ? And can you delete them if you don't like them? In this article, I'm sharing what I’ve learned about the .acr file format through experimentation, trial, and error…

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What Is Silica Gel? How Does It Work?

Susheel Chandradhas — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 21:29:32 GMT

This post: What Is Silica Gel? How Does It Work? was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Ever fished out those little packets from a new camera bag and thought, "What on earth is Silica Gel?" Well, buckle up, because we're about to dive into the wonderful world of these moisture-munching marvels! You might think they're just pesky packaging, but let me tell you, Silica Gel is about to become your camera gear's new best friend.

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Canon EOS R5 Mark II Specs

Susheel Chandradhas — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:14:53 GMT

This post: Canon EOS R5 Mark II Specs was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Canon announced their update to the EOS R5, the EOS R5 Mark II today. As expected, the specs are a step up from the original R5. The sensor size is the same, though it is a new sensor with higher readouts. The Auto-Focus (AF) has been improved, with eye-control AF and new AF tracking options, but the video resolution is the same (8K) though the frame rate has been improved (30FPS to 60FPS). The camera now has a cooling-grip, and ethernet-grip options, which will allow it to record 8K video for up to 2 hours, instead of just 30 minutes.

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Affinity Acquired by Canva.com

Susheel Chandradhas — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:34:07 GMT

This post: Affinity Acquired by Canva.com was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Today, Affinity and Canva, together announced the acquisition of Serif, the makers of the Affinity apps, by Canva. This is a significant development in the progress of the Affinity suite, and we are both excited, and hesitant at this development.

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Watch Videos for a Long and Prosperous Life...

Susheel Chandradhas — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 01:31:40 GMT

This post: Watch Videos for a Long and Prosperous Life... was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

Yes, I promise you... it's a good thing!

Especially when they're videos that help you learn stuff... Here's a great video of Chase Jarvis' talk at the New York Photo Shelter get-together thingie... Now, I couldn't quite make it, being that I'm traveling in India and all that... But the guys at Photoshelter, being the nice people that they are, did put out quite a few videos... Here's my favorite, with links to some of the others. Let me know if you learned anything!

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Affinity Spring Sale: Up to 50% Off

Susheel Chandradhas — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 14:00:46 GMT

This post: Affinity Spring Sale: Up to 50% Off was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas

You might have seen some of my articles about Affinity Photo and how it is a wonderfully cost-effective solution for both advanced amateurs and professional photographers when it comes to retouching images. Well, if you have been holding out for a discount on purchase of Affinity apps, then now might be the right time to make that purchase, with the Affinity Spring Sale ‘24.

Affinity apps are on sale, currently, with the apps getting a discount of 30% and add-ons getting a discount of up to 50%. It is a one-time purchase.

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