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Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

Report: Apple stops development of quantum dot image sensors

27 Jun

Last week, shares of Nanoco Technology, a UK company specializing in quantum dot (QD) technology, dropped by nearly 80 percent after news broke that a high-volume supply-contract had been canceled by a major customer.

The Telegraph now reports this customer is Apple which has been working with Nanoco on the development of QD technology for image sensors that could have been used in future iPhone generations. According to market research firm BlueFin Research, Apple decided to stop the development of QD image sensors because it was too expensive for mass production.

Nanoco first announced a partnership with a ‘large, undisclosed U.S. listed corporation’ in 2018. In January of this year it announced the contract had been expanded to cover stress testing and refinements. According to the report, the contract had a volume of £17.1 million ($ 21.7 million) which is more than half of Nanoco’s total revenue.

The UK company specializes in cadmium-free QDs, which are currently predominantly used to improve image quality on TVs and other high-resolution large screens where the dots’ light-emitting properties allow for more accurate color rendering. In an image sensor Apple and Nanoco were hoping to apply the technology to enhance image quality and help with the development of advanced augmented reality features.

With QD technology off the table, it remains to be seen if Apple’s iPhone cameras will rely on more conventional technologies for the foreseeable future or if the US company has another innovative image sensor card up its sleeve.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple used an unreleased 8K Canon cinema camera to show off its Mac Pro, Pro Display XDR

04 Jun

During the launch of Apple’s new hardware and software yesterday at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2019 an unreleased 8K Canon video camera was used to capture high resolution footage to demonstrate the quality of the new Pro Display XDR. The video camera was mounted on a robotic arm and was feeding the Apple display with 4:4:4 ProRes 8K raw video via an Atomos Shogun, according to tech YouTuber Jonathan Morrison who live streamed from the event.

During his video the Apple rep refers to the camera on the robotic arm as an ‘unreleased 8K Canon camera’ and from the clips it is easy to see it is designed in the style of the company’s C series. Interestingly, it appears to be mounted with a Sigma 18-35mm T2 in the EF mount. The relevant portion of the video is at roughly the 10:55 mark in the video below:

Canon has featured 8K demonstration cameras and displays in the past at its Canon Expo events, but this is the first time it has allowed the technology to be shown outside of the ‘showcase’ environment, and in a body form that we would recognize.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple announces new photo features and tools in iOS 13, macOS and iPadOS updates

04 Jun

Today, at its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2019, Apple unveiled a collection of new photo-oriented features and tools inside its upcoming iOS 13 and macOS operating systems, as well as its new iPadOS, a spin-off of iOS designed specifically to utilize the larger, more powerful tablets from Apple.

Below we’ve rounded up and summarized the best photo-related features from each of the three operating systems. Additional details will be added over time as we gather more information and details.

iOS 13

The main feature changes in iOS 13 are new and improved features inside the Camera and Photos applications.

On the Camera app front, Apple has added a new Portrait Mode setting it calls High Key Mono. As its name suggests, the new AI-powered filter will create a high key black and white image when captured with Portrait Mode in the Camera app.

A collection of Portrait Mode images showing the five different lighting filters available.

Also new to Portrait Mode is the ability to adjust the intensity of the lighting. Apple says its new feature is designed to simulate the light source moving closer to or further away from the subject and even accounts for the higher intensity light being softer, as would be the case with a physical light source. And like before, each adjustment is made individually to images using AI to achieve the most accurate results.

Screenshots provided by Apple showing the ‘Years,’ ‘Months’ and ‘Days’ tabs, respectively.

Moving onto the Photos app on iOS, Apple has switched up the interface a little to add a new tab at the bottom that will automatically sort images into ‘Years,’ ‘Months,’ ‘Days’ and ‘All Photos.’ In addition to the new ‘Pinch’ gesture that can be used to zoom in and out of large numbers of photos, these tabs make it easier to chronological sort through images and the tabs are even contextual, so if, say, it’s your child’s birthday and their information is in your phone, the ‘Year’ tab will show photos of your child on the thumbnails of each year.

Another UI change in the Photos app is in the photo editing section. The interface now uses buttons, akin to what you see in Instagram and other third-party photo editing applications. Apple has also added the ability to edit video directly in the Photos app, just as you would photos. Now, videos can be rotated, adjusted and have filters added to them just as you would with a still image.

You can read more about iOS 13 on Apple’s dedicated preview page.

iPadOS

You might’ve noticed the lack of any mention of the iPad. That’s because Apple has finally given the iPad an operating system of its own, iPadOS. Unsurprisingly, the operating system is effectively a more powerful version of iOS, complete with a number of features photographers around the world have been asking for.

First up is support for external drives. Now, the Files app supports browsing, editing, sorting and transferring content from hard drives, solid state drives, USB drives, SD cards and even direct import from cameras. We haven’t found any additional details, but Apple CEO Tim Cook specifically mentioned the ability to import images directly into Lightroom CC from an SD card or connected camera, bypassing the need to first import images into your Camera Roll.

The first iteration of iPadOS also brings the aforementioned changes found in the iOS 13 version of the Camera and Photos apps.

Apple has also managed to further decrease the response time when using the Apple Pencil with an iPad. Apple already leads the industry with a 20ms response time, but in iPadOS that’s been further reduced to 9ms, thanks to improved algorithms.

You can read more about iPadOS on Apple’s dedicated preview page.

macOS Catalina

The newest version of Apple’s desktop operating system, macOS, has strayed from the desert theme and has officially been deemed macOS Catalina. Of all the changes, one change, in particular, stands out for photographers—Sidecar.

Until now, it’s required third-party hardware and software to use your iPad as a secondary display for your macOS computer. Now, the functionality is baked directly into macOS Catalina via Sidecar.

Sidecar works both wired and wirelessly, and supports the Apple Pencil, effectively turning your iPad into a dedicated drawing tablet that’s connected directly to your macOS computer. Sidecar will support gesture inputs and will display various Touch Bar functions on the bottom of the iPad display, even if you don’t have the Touch Bar MacBook Pro.

Apple has shared a list of supported apps, which include Affinity Photo, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Cinema 4D, Final Cut Pro, Maya and others. However, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Capture One and other photo-related apps are noticeably absent from the list for the time being.

A list of apps Apple has specifically mentioned as supported by Sidecar for the time being.

By adding this functionality, Apple has more or less pulled the rug out from underneath third-party software and hardware options including Astropad and Duet Display. However, until iPadOS and macOS Catalina are available for public use, third-party options are the only means of using your iPad as a secondary display.

You can read more about macOS Catalina on Apple’s dedicated preview page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple MacBook Pro refreshed with 8-core processors and improved keyboards

23 May

On Tuesday, Apple announced the launch of its first ever 8-core MacBook Pro laptops, offering faster 8th- and 9th-generation Intel Core processors with up to double the performance speed of quad-core models. According to Apple, the new 8-core models can handle ‘complex edits and filters’ in Photoshop at speed up to 75% faster than the fastest quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro model.

The new 6-core and 8-core processor options are available for the 15-inch MacBook Pro; the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar refresh offers faster quad-core processors with up to a 4.7GHz Turbo Boost speed.

In providing additional examples of how the new hardware benefits users, Apple says its new 8-core MacBook Pro can handle editing up to 11 simultaneous multi-cam 4K video streams in Final Cut Pro X, compile code up to 65% faster in Xcode, and render 3D scenes at up to double the speed of the fastest quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro model.

The latest MacBook Pro laptops feature Retina displays with 500 nits brightness, P3 wide color gamut, and the maker’s True Tone tech. Other laptop features include the Apple T2 Security Chip, fast SSDs, Touch ID, the Touch Bar, Thunderbolt 3, and macOS Mojave.

Though it’s not mentioned in the company’s official MacBook Pro refresh announcement, The Verge reports that Apple is using an updated butterfly keyboard design in the new MacBook Pro models. This updated keyboard features ‘new materials’ in the switch mechanism, which will hopefully prevent the same reliability issues impacting existing newer MacBook Pro laptops.

Just in case the new keyboards end up experiencing the same reliability issues, Apple has also made them eligible for repair under its new keyboard servicing program.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and 15-inch MacBook Pro models are now available with starting prices of $ 1,799 USD and $ 2,399 USD, respectively.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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RIP: Apple Aperture will no longer work after macOS Mojave

01 May

Apple ceased support for its professional photo organization and editing application Aperture back in June 2014 and removed it from the Mac App Store in April 2015. Despite the lack of updates, the app still exists and continues to operate as it did at the time development ceased, but it appears that won’t be the case for much longer.

MacRumors has discovered, hidden away on a new Apple support page, that Aperture will no longer operate on macOS after Apple’s latest operating system, macOS 10.4 Mojave.

The support page shares how users can move their Aperture libraries to Apple’s Photo app, which Apple pitched as a replacement back in 2015, as well as Adobe Lightroom Classic. For those still clinging on to Aperture, it’ll either be a matter of not updating past macOS 10.4 Mojave or getting everything transitioned over to another app by September 2019, when Apple is expected to release the next version of macOS.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple wants to patent a ‘Synthetic Selfie’ app

05 Apr

Group self portraits are a great way of capturing memories with friends at events or while traveling. However, they’re notoriously difficult to take. It tends to be near impossible to get everyone together to pose for the shot and then there´s always someone in the group who don’t like their expression in the photo and want it retaken or even deleted.

Apple is now tackling this problem with technology. In a recent patent application titled ‘Generating Synthetic Group Selfies’ the company describes a system in which several mobile devices are used to capture self portraits of each user individually. This allows everyone to get the perfect shot of themselves in their own time.

The process is started by one user sending out invitations to the rest of the group. Everyone then captures their selfie and sends it to the first user’s device. Invited users have the possibility to reject participation. The app could also be setup to limit participants to persons within a certain geographical distance to the originator. This way only people at a specific event at that time will be able to appear in the shot.

Computational imaging methods are then used to cut out the subjects in all images and arranged in one shot in a way that resembles a real group shot, with heads staggered in rows to fit subjects at the back into the gap between the to faces in front of them. The final layout will be be optimized for the number of people in the shot and the scaling of the image.

Once all subjects have been arranged, a background is added to the image. This could be the background of the initiator’s selfie shot or a completely different photograph. Of course the final result can be saved and shared via all usual methods.

The final synthetic group portrait can also be stored as a collection of self portraits, along with the background image, and data on positioning of each person within the group shot. This allows for manual reordering of faces by each participant to their own liking.

As usual there is now way of knowing if we will ever see the system operational on a smartphone or other mobile device. However, all the technologies to create the described system in the form of a mobile app should already be at Apple’s disposal today.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple patent application details tech to improve mobile underwater photography

29 Mar

Underwater photographers and cameras have to deal with less than ideal conditions. Light levels are low, water can be murky and add color casts to your images. Underwater modes on rugged cameras and (waterproof) smartphones are not new but now a patent application filed by Apple suggests mobile users could soon benefit from a more sophisticated version and achieve better underwater imaging results in the future if the system is ever implemented.

Apple’s patent application is titled ‘Submersible Electronic Devices with Imaging Capabilities and describes a system that automatically detects when the shutter button is pressed under water and makes the necessary adjustments to optimize image quality.

The device uses a range of sensors to detect if it is underwater and determines what steps are required to improve image results. A color ambient light sensor could be used to measure ambient light spectra above and under water and help calculate how much light is absorbed by the water. Depth, distance, pressure, and orientation sensors can be deployed to measure the water´s murkiness as well as the distances to the surface and subject. Backscattered light could be measured as well to find out how it affects the image.

With the data from all sensors collected, the system would then make adequate adjustments to camera settings and image processing, for example modify the white balance to avoid greenish color casts, or enhance exposure and texture rendition on the subject in murky conditions with low visibility.

As usual, there is no way of knowing if the patent ever makes it into a final product but given most of the sensors mentioned in the document are already present in current iPhone models, the system could probably be pretty easily implemented via a software update.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.4.6 update brings detect and convert feature for older media files

26 Mar

Apple has pushed out Final Cut Pro X update (version 10.4.6), that adds the ability to automatically detect and convert any legacy media files that will not be compatible with future versions of macOS, as well as numerous bug fixes and improved features.

Last year, Apple began warning its users that older video formats and codecs relying on QuickTime 7 would no longer be supported by future macOS releases due to the 64-bit transition. Though legacy media files remain compatible with macOS Mojave, updating a Mac system beyond Mojave in the future could prove problematic for filmmakers who have content in older formats.

In a note about this potential issue on its website, Apple warns users to convert their incompatible media files before upgrading to the next major macOS version after Mojave. The newly released Final Cut Pro X 10.4.6 simplifies this requirement by detecting and converting these files into a format that will remain compatible with macOS in the future.

In version 10.4.6, Final Cut Pro users who open a library or import content will see a window listing any incompatible media files the software found. Users can immediately convert these files by clicking ‘Convert’ in the window. Copies of the converted content are created in Apple ProRes format and stored in the library’s media storage location. Existing clips in the library are then relinked to the converted files.

There’s an exception for Motion projects, however, with Apple warning that Final Cut Pro won’t detect incompatible media files in these projects. Instead, users will need to open the project in Motion, after which point a message will appear warning if any incompatible media is present. In that case, the user would need to convert it using QuickTime Player or Compressor.

Media conversion aside, Final Cut Pro X version 10.4.6 brings several relatively minor bug fixes and improved reliability when sharing videos directly to YouTube.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple announces winners of its 2019 ‘Shot on iPhone’ Challenge

02 Mar

One month ago, Apple launched its 2019 ‘Shot on iPhone Challenge.’ Immediately after the announcement, Apple faced backlash regarding the terms and compensation the for the winners. Within two days of its original announcement Apple changed course saying it would pay licensing fees to winners of its ‘Shot on iPhone Challenge.’

Now, those winners have been announced, with Apple highlighting the top ten photos from the ‘Shot on iPhone’ Challenge. The international panel of judges selected photos captured on various iOS devices ranging from the iPhone 7 to Apple’s most recent flagship, the iPhone Xs Max. The photographers themselves hail from all over the world, including Singapore, Germany, Belarus, Israel and the United States.

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The above gallery showcases photos that will be displayed on select billboards in various cities around the world. Each image in the above gallery includes comments from the judges.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple has turned ‘bokeh’ into a verb (and taken a stance on how it’s pronounced)

20 Feb

According to Merriam-Webster, bokeh is a noun that means ‘the blurred quality or effect seen in the out-of-focus portion of a photograph taken with a narrow depth of field.’ Apple, however, has different plans.

In a recent video advertisement, Apple has turned the word bokeh into a verb, ‘bokeh’d.’ Not only has Apple turned bokeh into a verb, it’s also taken a stance on how the Japanese term is pronounced, a widely debated topic. Based on the video, Apple’s pronunciation of choice is ‘bok-uh,’ a departure from the Japanese pronunciation which sounds more along the lines of ‘bow-kayh.’

The advert itself is humorous regardless of your pronunciation preference and, for better or worse, Apple’s ‘verbing’ of the word bokeh may very well become a universally accepted.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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