Power Drill + Camera =

Cool Video F/X

Seeing in circles from Oscar Lhermitte on Vimeo.

Virtual Photographer ....

Street Photographer Takes His Craft Into the Video Game World

by DL Cade

"Photography student and street photographer Fernando Pereira Gomes is used to practicing his craft on the streets of New York, but recently, he’s taken to shooting photos on the virtual streets of Los Santos, San Andreas, the fictional city of Grand Theft Auto V."

While he wouldn’t ever dart into traffic in the real world to get a shot, he can do that in the game; however, at the same time, your character is stuck standing upright, severely limiting the kinds of perspectives you can capture. You’re also limited to very low resolution photographs, a problem Gomes is working hard to get around.

Those limitations aside, his description of capturing photos in-game could easily be confused for a description of taking real street photos: “I’ll go on long walks, and sometimes I’ll find a background on the street that really pleases me, and maybe I’ll hang around there and see if anything interesting happens,” explains Gomes. “I can’t go out and look for the photo — you have to anticipate what is going to happen around you, and you have to react to it with your camera.”

Hyperlapse Videos ...

Free Online Tool creates 'Hyperlapse' videos using Google Street View

dpreview

"Online user experience company Teehan + Lax has created a free tool for creating interactive 'hyperlapse' videos using Google Street View. The term 'hyperlapse' describes timelapse videos which incorporate camera movement - something that is typically extremely difficult and time-consuming to perfect. The team at Teehan + Lax began experimenting with Google Street View as a guide for choosing locations, but realised that since Google has already mapped much of the world's surface in 360-degree images, it could be used as source material."

Google Street View Hyperlapse from Teehan+Lax Labs on Vimeo.

Create your own Hyperlapse video >>> here.

Image Artist Extraordinaire

Photographer Peter Langenhahn

Augmented Reality Photography

App Puts Virtual Images on Physical Walls

by Jessica Lum

LZRTAG is a free Android app that lets you generate QR codes associated with uploaded images — mostly animated .gif images. The codes can be printed out and placed on walls and other surfaces. When scanned with the Android app, the codes call up the associated image and display it in an augmented reality on your phone.

This could also be a novel concept for photographers displaying work in galleries: instead of physical prints on walls, photographers could potentially display digital work in augmented reality.

Potentially any areas where QR codes could be placed can now become virtual photo galleries, accessible to anyone with a smartphone.

Cool.

The display possibilities are endless.

As are the possibilities for augmented reality photo art.

My Hero ...

Chase Jarvis

In a profession where the highest practitioners of the art often try to protect their knowledge like magicians do theirs, Chace Jaris is just the opposite kind of professional photographer.

"There's at least ten amazing pictures where you are right now."

What are you waiting for ?

The First Full-Frame Point-and-Shoot Camera

Sony RX1 Hands-on Preview

dpreview.com

This isn't just Sony's most serious compact camera, but arguably the most serious compact camera we've ever seen. It features a full-frame sensor and a fixed 35mm F2 lens, making it a real heavyweight in terms of lightweight photography. Sony has said it is targeting professional photographers and we see no reason to question that.

If it lives up to the promise (and a lot of that will depend on how fast the autofocus works, and how dependable it is in low light), the RX1 could easily become a classic, used by photojournalists and other working pros who need a small, flexible camera with excellent image quality. The image quality samples we've seen have been confidence inspiring, offering the low-light performance and shallow depth-of-field that only really come from having a fast lens in front of huge sensor.

Sony DSC-RX1 specification highlights

24MP full-frame (24x36mm) CMOS sensor

35mm F2 lens

ISO 100-25600

Focus range switch for focus down to 0.2m (14cm from the front of the lens)

Dedicated aperture ring

Five user-customizable buttons

Multi interface hotshoe (combines ISO 518 standard contacts and proprietary connector)

1.23M dot RGBW 'WhiteMagic' LCD

1080p60 HD movies in AVCHD (50p on PAL region models)

Focus peaking to aid manual focus

Bulb mode and threaded cable release socket in shutter button

The lens, which is designated as a Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* features a leaf shutter for essentially silent operation (though you can engage a sound effect if you wish). This design means the camera can sync with flashes all the way up to its 1/2000th maximum shutter speed, as well as allowing the lens to reach closer to the front of the sensor.

Many photo enthusiasts have been dreaming of a full frame point and shoot for quite some time. Now that Sony has been first to introduce one it will be very interesting to see how and with what other manufactures respond.

The Power of Photography

When used with truth and passion the camera has tremendous influence...

Canon Goes Mirrorless

I think the key thing to Canon's approach is that they're opening up the possibility of being able to use a very wide range of fine Canon lens with their new compact mirrorless sytsem. It's something that I believe many will find very appealing.

I know it's got me thinking about it.

Canon EOS M digital camera enters into the mirrorless territory

by Edwin

Inspired by EOS technology, the EOS M will be able to leverage on the company’s core technologies, while distilling them down in order to deliver outstanding video capture capabilities without sacrificing image quality when it comes to still shots. Whenever you want to capture still images, the EOS M camera’s 18-megapixel APS-C-sized CMOS image sensor is more than capable of delivering a shallow depth of field, in addition to incredible low-light image quality and a wide dynamic range which is more than capable of capturing rich gradation and detail.

This is the latest member of the EOS family, where both videographers and photographers alike regardless of their level of professionalism and interest, will be able to play nice with a couple of lenses that were specially designed for Canon’s new camera format – namely the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens and the optional EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. Not only that, you are also able to make full use of your Canon EF and EF-S lenses courtesy of the optional Mount Adapter EF-EOS M.

Panasonic Announces New Class of Cameras

They're calling it the "DSLM" class, or "Digital Single Lens Mirrorless" cameras. They think the name change will help them compete more directly with DSLRs.

We'll see.

Panasonic aiming to 'replace' DSLRs

By Amy Davies

Panasonic is hoping to replace DSLR cameras with what it is dubbing "DSLM", or "Digital Single Lens Mirrorless" devices.

Speaking to TechRadar, Ichiro Kitao, Panasonic's director of digital imaging, said "We're aiming to innovate, to replace the DSLR category with mirrorless cameras.

"There's certainly enough potential to compete with entry level [DSLR cameras]," he said.

With the launch of the Panasonic G5, the company is hoping to market a new name for the category, away from the compact system camera name which has been predominantly used for the past couple of years.

DSLM, or Digital Single Lens Mirrorless, is the name it hopes will catch on around the world for the more advanced cameras in its line-up.

"Our message is that we want to grow mirrorless cameras more, so the name reflects that goal," Kitao said.

Message coming in, loud and clear.

The Visual Revolution

Five Ways the Cell Phone Camera Has Changed the Way We Live

By Jeff Balke

5. Search by photos.

... Functions like Google Goggles which allow you to point your camera phone at, for example, the Statue of Liberty, and have it return all sorts of information about it as well as Google's "search by photo" function which will seek out any identical or similar photos to one you upload and solving the mystery photo problem for everyone.

4. Sharing our photos with others.

... The dreaded family slide show is a thing of legend as were the litany of children and pet photos filling wallets and purses. Fortunately, with photo sharing websites like Flickr, apps like Instagram and photo galleries on Facebook, your friends can look through your photos at their leisure instead of yours...

CameraPhone from Justin Hackworth on Vimeo.

3. Turning amateurs into pros, pros into amateurs.

I'll be the first to admit that I was always rather queazy about the use of filtered images. First, there were just the dreary self-portraits taken with old school film cameras that seemed to proliferate on Flickr and Polaroids of naked girls covered in chocolate that passed for art. Then, there was Hipstamatic and Instagram, the apps that turn your digital images into dirty-looking shots that appear as if they were birthed from a Holga found in someone's grandmother's attic. But, the filters are used less as the fad has faded and more and more people are using these apps to take really fantastic photos and treat them creatively. And pros are using these toy apps to expand upon their artistic repertoire. In truth, these are the same kind of creative tools pros used to use in darkrooms. They are just more easily accessible and that's a good thing.

2. Documenting our daily lives.

This might be the most fascinating aspect of having a camera in one's possession every day is the ability to document everything that happens. Sometimes, it can be inane and ridiculous, but in the hands of someone with an idea or creative spark, it can turn into something fascinating....

1. Citizen journalism.

The first photos of US Airways flight 1549 that crash landed in the Hudson came from people with cell phones on a passing ferry, not from CNN or Reuters or some local news helicopter. While the beating of Rodney King may have been caught using a digital video camera, dozens of other photos and videos of violence -- some fascinating and poignant, others ridiculous and pointless -- litter the web and inform us of things we wouldn't see otherwise. As badly as the credibility of journalism has been damaged by biased news networks, self-promoting blogs and just plain bad reporting, everyday people are proving that a picture does say a thousand words and giving all of us an opportunity to shed light on the truth.

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DSLR/Smartphone Mashup

Now here's a marriage I think just might work.

Flash Dock, allows you to easily attach a smartphone to whatever digital camera that has a hot shoe.

Bruno Rousseau, founder of pocketDEMO says:

"With the AppStore for iPhones, the Android market for Android devices and the marketplace for Windows-Phones, SmartPhone users have access to thousands of apps. There are a number of apps dedicated to help photographers. Unfortunetely, we tend to use them only once, as it is not pratical to hold a DSLR and a SmartPhone at the same time. Flash-Dock solves that issue by bringing the touch screen of the SmartPhone right next to the DSLR setting screen and buttons ... and the possibilities are endless."

Here is a list of the most useful apps that can be used with your DSLR:

- Sharing pictures: Imagine a DSLR with a 3G/4G connection!: Bruno Rousseau says: "What if we could share a High Quality picture by E-mail, SMS or via cloud services like iCloud or DropBox? That is something users have done for years with their camera phone but never did with their DSLR. How does the Flash-Dock help doing that? Well, have you heard about the EyeFi SD Cards? EyeFi cards are SD Cards that store pictures and send them to the SmartPhone through their built-in WIFI chip. Again, it is possible to use EyeFi cards without the Flash-Dock, but it is not that easy. The SmartPhone being next to the DSLR, everything works seemlessly and without the user paying any special attention to it. Once the photo-shoot is finished, the photographer only has to share his photos with the world through the 3G/4G networks... they are all on his SmartPhone."

- Geotagging with .GPX files: SmartPhones have a built-in GPS and most DSLR don't. SmartPhones can record tracks into a file called a "GPX file". That file is then read by iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Picasa and most photo library softwares. What these softwares do is, merge this GPS data with the metadata of pictures taken during the photo-shoot. It is simple and free.

- Geotagging with bluetooth: Some add-on devices like the BlueSLR are plugged into the DSLR GPS connector. Since SmartPhones also have a bluetooth connection, they can send in real-time location information to the camera that in turn will geotag pictures. It works the same way as if there was a GPS receiver plugged into the DSLR, only cheaper.

- LightMeter: SmartPhones have cameras and light sensors. Both combined, some smart developers have managed to create Light Meters that perform very well. They do require a calibration with a real light meter, but passed this stage, all the fotographer needs is a SmartPhone.

- Depth Of Field calculator: These apps let the DSLR user calculate precisely the sharp area before and after the subject. These calculators take into account the lens type, the camera model and aperture to give a very precise value.

- Level: Photographers have used levels for years on their tripods and now some DSLR feature an electronic horizontal line. However, some cameras do not have this feature and people can now monitor a level even without a tripod. Typical accelerometers inside the SmartPhones have an accuracy of 0.1°, more than enough for a level functionality.

- Microphone: The latest DSLRs all have video functionalities. However, the sound is often not in par with the video quality. SmartPhones on the other hand are made to deliver good sound quality with ambient noise cancellation and remote recording. Another good exemple of combining DSLR and SmartPhones.

The very cool thing about the marriage of these two devises is that more apps are being developed out there daily, that I think will lead to an increasingly blissful union.

Exploring the Dark Side

It's a whole other world ...

Remote Tele/Photo Presence

Cool New Tech Start-up...

G1X

I'm fascinated by the concept of downsized pro quality cameras. With many manufactures having already jumped into the market to supply that type of devise, Canon has finally decided to join the fray. Rather than go with a relatively small sensor and interchangeable lens like Panasonic and Olympus did with their micro 4/3's cameras, Canon decided to go with a relatively large sensor and a fixed zoom lens with it's new G1X. It's an intriguing approach, especially attractive for photographers who want a small pro quality system, but don't want the burden of carrying around multiple lens. Like me.

Because I like to do most of my shooting in wider angle ranges than what the G1X allows, I probably won't seriously consider it. However, it's great image producing capabilities and small form factor could make it the perfect compact system for many shooters. I think it's going to be very successful.

Cool 360-Degree Camera

Panoramic Ball Photographyy

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, which makes a picture from Jonas Pfeil's "Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera" worth about 360,000. The contraption has 36 "2-megapixel mobile phone camera modules which all click together to create a full panorama."

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Camera Wars

Say hello to our little friends.



We're assured that no cameras were hurt in the making of this video.