There are plenty of ways to spend well over $ 250 on photography gear, but we’ve picked out some standout accessories that are sure to wow the photographer on your shopping list.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Posts Tagged ‘$250’
Google’s long-awaited Clips Camera hits stores, will cost you $250
30
Jan
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If you’ve been desperately waiting for Google’s artificial intelligence-driven Clips camera to go on sale now is your moment. The company has added the video clip shooting device to its store for US customers at the expected $ 250 price tag, with delivery expected between the end of February and the beginning of March.
The lifelogging camera was first revealed at the Pixel 2 event in October. It’s designed to recognize the best moments and composition, and to shoot automatically when it ‘thinks’ the occasion is right. The aptly named Clips camera shoots short ‘clips’ of video which can be reviewed in a Google Clips app. In the app, clips can be saved or deleted, and still images can be extracted from the clips as well.
The 12MP camera has a shutter button too for human driven activation, but the main idea is that it is placed somewhere it can see what’s going on, and it does all the work for you. The main idea is that using Clips in its automatic ‘intelligent’ mode allows the user to be in the pictures instead of having to be behind the camera.
Below is a sample clip posted to the Google blog, with the video captured by the camera on the left and the still extracted from the video on the right. Stills are extracted using the Google Clips app.
The camera can record at 15fps, and uses a lens with a 130° angle of view. Images are stored in the 16GB internal memory, and the camera can run for three hours on a single charge. Connection is via USB-C, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
As reported before, professional photographers were consulted to help the company understand what makes a good or a bad picture, so the after analyzing what’s happening and where the elements are in the frame, the device’s brain decides whether to record or not. The camera also learns about the people you mix with, and will take more clips of people it sees often, as it will assume they are closer to you. Thankfully, it will also get to know your cat, to save you the bother of photographing it yourself.
For more information, visit the Google webstore.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Google Clips is an AI-enabled hands-free camera that costs $250
05
Oct
Meet Google Clips
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After some expected hardware update announcements, Google’s “one more thing” turned out to be Clips, a tiny, hands-free camera designed to automatically capture everyday moments.
Meet Google Clips
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Small and lightweight, Clips is sold with a case that, uh, clips to things. Demo objects included toys and books. Point it at you and your loved ones, and Clips will do its thing without you ever needing to push the shutter button (although you can still push the shutter button if you want).
Meet Google Clips
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Clips uses AI to identify and remember frequent subjects. When it detects a familiar subject smiling, for example, it will capture a burst of images. What’s more, Google says that it gets smarter over time, capturing more of the moments you want and fewer moments you’ll ultimately throw away.
Meet Google Clips
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Clips works with the Pixel 2, naturally, but a rep we talked to said it will also work with an iOS app. It captures bursts of images from which videos (without audio) or stills can be extracted. Clips can be trimmed in the accompanying app, and they can be exported as GIFs as well.
Meet Google Clips
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Clips will sell for $ 250, and eager customers can join a pre-order ‘waitlist’ now.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
DIY: How I built my own super macro rig for less than $250
14
Sep
Last year I bought a macro lens for the summer—just a normal one with 1x magnification—and I immediately found myself in a beautiful and mesmerizing world of minuscule flowers and bugs. I found that in macro photography, you don’t have to travel to beautiful places to take beautiful photos—you can just walk around in your backyard, and discover a whole new world. Also, you don’t have to wake up at 4 AM to catch the golden hour…
This year, however, I decided I wanted to take things to the next level. I wanted a super macro lens with 2x or more in magnification, so that I could take closeup portraits of ants and bees. I started Googling around for the right lenses and soon discovered that there are only a couple of them out there. The best known is the Canon MP-E 65, but it costs north of $ 1,000. There is also a 2x macro lens from Venus Optics, but it’s still $ 400 for the lens alone… and then you need to add some kind of flash setup.
I thought this was way too much money to just try super macro photography, so I decided to look around for cheaper solutions.
That was when I discovered this excellent article on a Swedish site. It describes how you can build your own super macro rig with cheap parts off Amazon or eBay. This build works with any Canon EF compatible camera, meaning most Canon cameras and also mirrorless cameras with adapters. After some browsing, I was able to find all the parts on Amazon and I ordered them.
The rig is based around the Canon 40mm f2.8 STM lens. This lens is excellent for this purpose as it is very cheap, small, light, sharp and has beautiful bokeh (possibly more beautiful than the Canon MP-E 65). For this particular setup, the lens is mounted reversed to get more magnification using a Meike reverse adapter. The adapter, in turn, has a cable that allows you to keep control over aperture despite having the lens reversed.
You will need a 52-58 mm step-up ring to fit the Canon 40mm with the Meike reverse adapter. Then, if you put an extension tube before the Meike adapter, you have a super macro lens! Just add more extension tubes for more magnification.
I have found that 36mm of extension tube is my sweet spot—it gives me 2.3x magnification, meaning that the subject will be 2.3x bigger on the sensor than it is in real life. So a bug that is 10mm tall will cover all 24mm of a full frame sensor.
The rest of the parts are the flash and parts needed to mount it in a way that puts it as close to the subject as possible. You should also try to make some kind of diffuser, as shown in the video.
All essential parts:
- Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Lens (around $ 50 used)
- Meike reverse adapter (around $ 55)
- Meike MK-300 Flash (around $ 33)
- Vello CB-600 Straight Flash Bracket (around $ 10)
- Articulating arm, 7” (around $ 14)
- Fotga Extension tubes for Canon EF (around $ 40)
- Vello TTL-Off-Camera Flash Cord for Canon EOS 0.5 m (around $ 20)
- Goja 52-58MM Step-Up Adapter Ring (around $ 8)
In total (if you buy the Canon lens used): $ 230 USD
See the video up top for detailed instructions, and scroll down to see some sample photos. The parts can be put together in a few minutes, as shown in the video.
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Lastly, a small tip for shooting super macro insect shots with this rig: use a slow shutter speed, such as 1/40s. That way you will get a lot of color and light in your photo, making it more interesting and beautiful. Don’t worry about sharpness, the flash is a lot faster than 1/40, and it will make sure to freeze your subject in most situations.
Micael Widell is a photography enthusiast based in Stockholm, Sweden. He loves macro and nature photography, and runs a YouTube channel around these subjects. You can also find him on Instagram and 500px.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
500px now supporting Lytro ‘Living Pictures’, offering users $250 rebate on Illum
25
Jul
Photo sharing site 500px has announced that it is now supporting images uploaded in Lytro’s unique ‘Living Pictures’ format, and is offering its customers a $ 250 discount on the purchase of Lytro’s Illum camera (MSRP $ 1599). The Illum is available now for pre-order and is expected to start shipping within the next couple of weeks. Click through for more information.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
250$ WikiPad 3D 8″ free-glasses Game Console CES 2012
02
Aug
Gadmei 2012 new 8″ 1280×780 pixels 2D / 3D free glasses tablets list already for selling right now : T863-3D 199 $ | T863 v2 214$ | T883-3D 205$ | WikiPad 3D with game controller 250$ | see link below to buy one : Gadmei 2012 3D no glasses required tablets list ALREADY FOR SELL RIGHT NOW…
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Buyers’ Guide: 10 photography accessories for under $250
26
Nov
Affordable accessories roundup published. Photography can be an expensive hobby, but there are plenty of photographic accessories available that won’t break the bank. In this buyers’ guide Matt Golowczynski focuses on ten accessories for less than $ 250 that deserve a place on your holiday season shopping list.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)