Lomography’s campaign to raise funds to bring the centuries-old Petzval lens back into production via Kickstarter has now raised more than $ 1 million – ten times the original target. The ‘New Petzval’ lens looks and functions much like the originals, with a brass exterior, and the aim is to produce it in both Canon EF- and Nikon F- mounts. The lens is expected to be available next spring.
A woman who had her iPhone stolen has been keeping an eye on the thief, using Dropbox. Apparently unaware that the phone was set to automatically sync its camera roll, the phone’s new ‘owner’ has been merrily posting pictures of himself and his surroundings, which now form the basis of an amusing Tumblr account, ‘Life of a Stranger who Stole my iPhone’. Click through for some pictures and a link over at connect.dpreview.com.
Casio Europe has announced the Exilim EX-ZR800 – a Raw-shooting compact with five-axis image stabilization. The 16MP BSI-CMOS camera shares many features with the existing EX-ZR700, including the 18x, 25-400mm equivalent lens and ability to capture DNG files. The ZR800 gains the ability to shoot time-lapse sequences, along with a stabilization system that can be used for both stills and movies, on top of the usual multi-shot and high speed modes that Casio has developed over recent years.
The recently-launched Leonardo is a full-featured image-editing app for iOS that offers tools you won’t find on too many other comparable apps. Containing options familiar from high-end PC applications like Photoshop, Leonardo allows you to make selections using lasso and ‘magic wand’ tools, and create layer masks, gradients and much more. For more details head over to our sister site connect.dpreview.com.
In his series ‘Time is a Dimension,’ photographer Fong Qi Wei stretches the boundaries of still photography to produce images that convey the passage of time. Rather than using time-lapse, he has created a series of photo collages, each composed of many ‘slices’ taken in a 2 to 4 hour timespan. The resulting images capture the changing colors of sunrise and sunset in a way a single still or video clip can’t match. Click through and take a look at some of his work.
Zeiss has posted a blog article that talks about the inception and development of its latest line of lenses, led by the 55mm F1.4 that was first shown at Photokina last year. Titled ‘No Compromise’, it explains how the company is aiming to meet the demands of the latest high resolution sensors, to satisfy the needs of both professional photographers and ambitious hobbyists. Click through to read more, and the link to the original article.
One of the hottest cameras of the year so far, the Canon EOS 70D won’t be in stores for a few more weeks but we’ve got hold of an early beta sample, and Canon has let us post pictures from it. Not wanting to waste any time, we’ve been busily shooting with it for the past few days both in the studio and out in the real world, and we’ve added a lot to our previously-published preview. Click through for a link to the expanded preview, now including studio comparison pages and a large gallery of sample images.
As the official White House photographer, Pete Souza gets more access to the President than any other professional photographer. Souza is no stranger to photographic social media, either. His images are regularly posted on the White House’s Flickr stream, where the Obama administration has been giving insight into the daily lives of the first family since the inauguration in 2009, and he recently joined Instagram. Time recently interviewed Souza about his work, and you can read more at our sister site, connect.dpreview.com.
Budding young photographers (and curious adults) can put together their own camera with Bigshot, a DIY point-and-shoot aimed at teaching kids tech hardware basics. Developed partially with funding from Google, the kit includes everything needed to construct the camera including a 3 megapixel image sensor, LED flash, 1.4 inch LCD and a wheel with three built in lens options. Bigshot’s website also contains an impressive learning section packed with information about the technology behind digital photography. Click through for more details and pricing.
Nikon has announced the Coolpix S6600 – a Wi-Fi equipped ‘connected compact’ with an articulated screen and ‘gesture control’. When the screen is facing forward in ‘self portrait mode’, a photographer in front of the camera can use hand gestures to zoom the lens and record stills or movies. The camera sports a 12x, 25-300mm equivalent optical zoom and 16MP backlit CMOS sensor, and will be available in a choice of black, silver, pink, purple and red. It will go on sale in early September for £199.99.