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Posts Tagged ‘Camera’

This camera is designed to keep only the best photos

10 May

A new device called Trophy Camera uses artificial intelligence to compare its own photographs with the world’s most iconic images. During the comparison, Trophy Camera’s AI looks for specific characteristics common in photographs that have won World Press Photo yearly since 1955. Photos that show at least a 90-percent positive correlation with these notable characteristics are then uploaded to the camera’s own automated website. It’s a bit similar in spirit to Camera Restricta, a concept camera that uses GPS to prevent its user from taking clichéd photos.

Trophy Camera was created by media artist Dries Depoorter and PhD student/photographer Max Pinckers. Speaking to Co.design, Depoorter and Pinckers explain that their camera is a sort of commentary on what they see as the redundant photography produced by the ‘more automatized’ cameras that are becoming increasingly popular.

Elaborating on that, Pinckers said:

Press photography appears to be becoming a self-referential medium dominated by tropes, archetypes, and pop-culture references. What implications does this have on how we learn about the world through the images we are being shown? …By making this camera, we try to implicitly comment on the current status of photojournalism–which seems to be becoming more questionable in today’s visual landscape–along with the incredibly fast development of computer vision and the relevance of artificial intelligence in our time.

The camera itself is made from a Raspberry Pi Zero W, the computer’s Full HD camera module, a 128 x 32 monochrome OLED display, and a 5000mAh powerbank. Trophy Camera is currently part of an exhibition where photographs are taken; most of them are blurry and less than ‘notable,’ as shown on the camera’s automated website.

Via: Co.design

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Guardians of the Galaxy team reveals why they chose an 8K Red camera

09 May

If you’re a Guardians of the Galaxy fan, you’re no doubt looking forward to seeing Volume 2 in the series, which was released last weekend. If you find yourself standing in line at the theater, you can even impress your friends with some movie trivia: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 is the first feature film shot on the RED Weapon camera using the 8K RED DRAGON VV sensor. They’ll either be seriously impressed at your informed insider knowledge, or they’ll slowly move away and pretend not to know who you are. YMMV.

If you’re the gear-freak we think you are, watch this behind the scenes video of Director James Gunn and Director of Photography Henry Braham talking about their decision to use the camera, praising it for its large format look, small size, and high degree of usability. Oh, and as a bonus you’ll get to see actors flying around in front of blue screens as well.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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‘The only camera that ever got me a date’ – Remembering the Canon EOS-1D Mark II

04 May

I dropped it because I was drunk. It was a brand new Canon EOS-1D Mark II, and I was drunk because I hadn’t eaten any dinner. It fell from hip-height onto the sand-covered floor of a shipping container, which had been converted into a tiki bar at an outdoor music festival. It was 2005 – tiki bars were a thing back then. 

The camera survived the fall, but the attached 24-70mm F2.8 did not. The lens took most of the impact, and jammed badly and permanently at around 50mm. A sobering (literally) lesson was learned, and in the subsequent weeks I shot quite a few jobs at 50mm before I could afford to send it in for repair. 

Another lesson from what I came to remember as ‘The Tiki Bar Incident of 20051‘ was that no matter how carelessly it was treated, the Canon EOS-1D Mark II was a very hard camera to kill. Based on the chassis of the original EOS-1D, the Mark II seemed to have been hewn from a solid lump of magnesium alloy. Like a Henry Moore sculpture, there wasn’t a straight line or hard corner anywhere. Also like a Henry Moore sculpture, it was large, expensive and heavy as hell.

Compared to the EOS 10D, the 1D Mark II was actually capable of proper flash metering – quite a novelty for me, back in 2005. That said, with the benefit of hindsight there’s no excuse at all for this slow sync zoom effect. 

For me, upgrading from an EOS 10D to the 1D Mark II was like entering an entirely different world. The 10D wasn’t cheaply built by any means, but the 1D series has always been in a league of its own. I got talking to a sports photographer a few years ago who still used an original EOS-1D, and over years of hard use, he’d worn the paint off virtually every part of the camera until it looked like a lump of roofing lead. Despite appearances it still worked perfectly, regularly getting smacked by soccer balls in its retirement role as a static goalpost camera. 

I owned my EOS-1D Mark II for about four years. I don’t remember any close encounters with soccer balls but it certainly absorbed its fair share of abuse.

It also absorbed a lot of beer. Shooting live music in major venues isn’t glamorous. During my (short) career I was pelted by bottles, kicked in the head, stolen from, and on one memorable occasion, almost swallowed by a collapsing floor2. And almost every night, someone would throw beer3 at the stage, which would inevitably fall short and drench the photographers instead. Back then, one of the most useful items I carried in my camera bag was a towel. Come to think of it, that’s still true.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 2004-8

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At the time of its launch in 2004, the EOS-1D Mark II was unmatched. Nikon’s game-changing D3 was still three years off, and Olympus and Pentax had quietly retreated from the professional SLR market, leaving Canon at the top of the tree. The EOS-1D Mark II had the best sensor and the best autofocus system of any professional DSLR and (arguably) benefited from the best lens lineup, too. Its modest APS-H crop factor of 1.3X provided a welcome focal length boost for telephoto work, without hobbling wideangle lenses too much (the 17-40mm F4L, for example, became a still very usable 22-50mm equivalent).

Shot from a prone position, on the stage side of the very skinny security barrier at Newcastle’s Carling Academy (stage 2). Compared to the 10D, the 1.3X crop of the EOS-1D Mark II wasn’t too severe, meaning that wide lenses were still reasonably wide.

It was from a similar position on the same stage that I was accidentally kicked in the head by a crowd-surfing metal fan a few months later. He was very nice about it, and most apologetic.

Compared to my 10D, the 1D Mark II was a racehorse. Suddenly I could shoot at ISO 1600 and upwards without worrying too much about noise, and take more than a handful of Raw files in a sequence (at 8 fps, no less) without the camera locking up. One battery lasted for thousands of exposures. I could use off-center autofocus points without fear. The EOS-1D Mark II even got me a date.4 It was the first camera I ever really loved, is the point.

So when I found a used 1D Mark II in my local camera store last year for a couple of hundred dollars (Glazers Camera in Seattle – be sure to visit if you’re ever in town) I couldn’t resist.

Can we all just agree that this is a good-looking camera? The EOS-1D Mark II is nothing but compound curves. In keeping with a lot of late-2000s reboots, the Mark III ditched the friendly curves for sharper, more aggressively-sculpted edges. Shame.  

Inevitably, after more than a decade my ardor has cooled a little. I’ve used a lot of cameras in the interim. I’m older, more jaded perhaps. More… experienced. And with experience comes perspective. The EOS-1D Mark II is still beautiful, but it’s not the forever camera I thought it was when I was just starting out.

The smile of a man who can barely afford to pay rent, but who’s having a good time anyway. This is a selfie taken on the balcony of the Newcastle Carling Academy in 2005, before ‘selfie’ was even a word. The EOS-1D Mark II is on the right.

By today’s standards, its most obvious deficiency is the small rear LCD screen, which isn’t sharp enough to judge critical focus with any degree of confidence. And then there’s the user interface. I’d forgotten how obsessed Canon used to be with preventing accidental button input in its professional cameras.

Even something as simple as scrolling through images or navigating the menu requires a cramp-inducing combination of ‘press, hold, scroll, press again’ actions that take a while to learn. I used to be able to operate the Mark II entirely by muscle memory, but shooting with it again recently I was struck by how complicated it seems compared to more modern cameras.

A youth theatre production of ‘Les Miserables’ in Durham, in 2005. The EOS-1D Mark II was my main camera for theatre and music photography for several years. 

Fussy user interface aside, when the EOS-1D Mark II is placed alongside the current EOS-1D X Mark II it’s amazing how little some things have changed. Canon got a lot right with the control layout of the EOS-1 back in 1989, and the continuity of design over almost 30 years of development is impressive. If you’ve shot with just a single one of the EOS-1 series, the chances are you’ll be able to pick up and use any of the rest without too much of a learning curve.

In 2005 the EOS-1D Mark II was replaced, sort of, by the torturously-named Canon EOS-1D Mark II N. Essentially the same camera with a larger LCD screen, the ‘N’ stuck around until early 2007, when Canon unveiled a more substantial update in the form of the EOS-1D Mark III.

For low light photographers like me, the Mark III was a better camera in all respects. It brought serious improvements to image quality and low light autofocus performance, it was faster, and it introduced a more modern user interface. It also marked the switch from Canon’s older, heavy NiMH battery packs to the lithium-ion batteries we still use today. Unfortunately, its AF system was bafflingly complicated compared to the Mark II, and turned out to be plagued with unpredictable accuracy issues when tracking moving subjects in daylight.

Aside from the small LCD, the EOS-1D Mark II’s rear control layout is extremely similar to today’s EOS-1D X Mark II. The essentials of the 1D II’s design were actually laid down in the original EOS-1, way back in 1989.

For whatever reason, the Internet responded to these problems with pure fury5, and Canon, caught on the back foot, struggled with damage limitation. A series of firmware fixes didn’t convincingly ‘fix’ the issues, and adding to the company’s woes was the fact that unlike the Mark II, the Mark III had some serious competition. A few months after the Mark III was introduced, Nikon upped its game considerably with the full-frame D3 – a colossally capable next-generation camera that eventually persuaded me (and a lot of the photographers I knew) to switch systems.

Because the EOS-1D Mark III had developed such a toxic reputation (unfairly, I would argue, but please let’s not get into all that again…) the Mark II/N enjoyed quite a long ‘life after death’, holding its value on the used market for a couple of years after it was officially discontinued. Ironically, that worked out well for me in 2008, when I sold mine to pay for a Nikon D3 – but that’s a whole other article…

Original Canon EOS-1D Mark II review samples (2004)

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1 Overshadowed in my memory only by ‘The Royal Festival Hall Cloakroom Disaster of 2009’, which I still can’t talk about.

2 I’m pretty confident that most of it wasn’t personal. Except perhaps for the floor.

3 At outdoor festivals, on the other hand, one of the first lessons you learn is that it isn’t always beer…

4 On the same day as the Tiki Bar Incident, actually. How’s that for karma? (It never happened again).

5 I got caught up the backlash myself, having published a largely positive review of the Mark III in the spring of 2007 for my previous employer, based largely on analysis of low-light shooting (like I said, it was spring in England). Since joining DPReview in 2009 I’ve been regularly subjected to violent threats by anonymous Americans over something I wrote on the Internet, but back in 2007 it was still a novelty.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Reshaping camera sliders

04 May

Austrian startup Waterbird wants to free you from linear sliders when making time-lapse sequences.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Modest growth hints that the worst of the camera collapse is over

03 May

It might not be much, but the latest industry figures from trade body CIPA suggest the camera market may have finally bottomed-out.

Shipments of digital cameras with built-in lenses were flat, compared with the same period in 2016. This may not sound positive, but it comes after 21 consecutive quarters of year-on-year sales declines. On top of this, the value of these shipments was up by 7%, compared with the the same period last year.

Meanwhile, shipments of interchangeable lens cameras are up, compared to Q1 2016, with 6% more cameras shipping and the value of those shipments increasing by 14%. Mirrorless cameras make up a historic high proportion of these sales, and now account for 36% of all the ILCs shipped, though they make up only 25.6% of the value of those shipments, suggesting the average selling price of a mirrorless camera is lower than that of a DSLR.

Although there is a chance that some of this (comparatively) positive news stems from camera makers finally being able to satisfy the pent-up demand that had built up following 2016’s earthquake, the increased average selling price of fixed lens cameras can only be good news.

However, to put it into context, although ILC sales are 34% down, compared to the same period five years ago (though only 15% down in terms of value), cameras with built-in lenses are down 84% by volume. And, while every manufacturer says it’s focusing on the higher margin end of the compact market, it’s going to be difficult for all the current camera makers to get their fill of a pie that’s so much smaller than it was.

Source: CIPA 1, CIPA 2

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CROZ DIY camera offers just the basics in a tiny clear case

02 May

CROZ, a small DIY camera that first appeared on Kickstarter in October 2016, is now available for purchase. This camera is shipped as a do-it-yourself kit that requires buyers to assemble the device. The resulting camera, once fully assembled, is quite small and features a clear case that makes the internal components visible. The CROZ camera was developed by Taiwanese company Paper Shoot and designed by Hyle Design.

CROZ is a digital camera, though it lacks a display for previewing and reviewing photos. The camera features a 5MP CMOS sensor, LARGAN Precision Lens, four photo filters (B&W, Color, Sepia, and Blue), a microUSB connection port, and ‘automatic image algorithms.’ The entire camera, including the two AAA batteries that power it, weighs 98g / 3.4oz and measures in at 12mm / 0.45in thick.

Photos are stored to an SD card (up to 32GB capacity supported). Users can swap out the lenses based on need, as well; the kit ships with a wide-angle lens and a fisheye lens. Paper Shoot, which is offering the kit for $ 3,899 NT / $ 129 USD / £100 GBP, explains, “CROZ is designed to be simple and straight forward – it is a digital camera, period.”

Via: PetaPixel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Camera Bag Review – The Udee Backpack

29 Apr

As a photographer, amateur or professional, you know the value of good, reliable gear. It is often said that we photographers value good gear more than expensive material things like jewelry, designer watches, and/or expensive clothes. If you don’t agree with me, just ask my husband. He is still perplexed about my choice of buying a 20+-year-old film camera for what it would have cost him to buy an Apple watch for my birthday! But considering that I am the one who works most with my gear, carries it around, and takes care of it, I want to make the best buying decisions when it comes to my photography business. So when I had the opportunity to review the Udee backpack, I was excited to give it a test run.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Udee Backpack

As a somewhat petite female photographer who is generally lugging about 20+ lbs of gear, I am always on the lookout for a good, sturdy yet comfortable, camera bag that will last me a long time. I had the opportunity to test the Udee bag on several hiking trips with my family last month.

This is where I want a bag that is durable and can last the rough wear and tear I generally put my gear through when I am hiking. For my wedding photography business, I already have a bag that is tried and tested and something that I will likely not change as my needs for that part of my business are very different.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

The Udee bag was really comfortable to carry around while hiking and walking in the mountains.

You can see the individual features of the Udee backpack on their Kickstarter project here.  My personal opinions of the Udee are based on a few factors that I feel are important to me when I am buying a camera bag.

Appearance

I have to say that when I first saw the Udee backpack I was very impressed with the appearance. It’s definitely one of the more stylish looking backpacks I have ever seen. The color combination of the gray flannel-type material with orange accents was attractive, and it appeared to be made of good and sturdy quality fabric. It did not feel like cheap construction and there were no telltale signs of poor workmanship in terms of loose threads, uneven seams, bad zippers, etc., at first glance.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

The material felt strong and sturdy yet light-weight. The padding on the back of the pack also felt thick and soft. I prefer camera bags that don’t look and scream “here is a photographer with several thousand dollars worth of gear on their person” too much. On many occasions, I venture out on my own in a new place and I don’t want to attract too much attention.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Comfort

As per Udee, their bag touts a weight reduction system by improving weight distribution via an S-shaped buckle, and an X-shaped back support structure. I tested the bag when I went for a family hiking trip to Colorado and completely loved the weight reduction system. I hiked for a good two to three hours and did not feel the discomfort that I normally feel with other traditional backpacks.

The back support made carrying the bag super comfortable and the straps did not dig into my shoulders with the weight of the bag. The combination of the X-shaped back padding and stiff back support made it easy to carry the camera bag for an extended period of time. I did not have any odd shaped gear poking into my back making it unfordable to carry. The bag straps were also wide enough to comfortably fit on my shoulder.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

My seven-year-old son also carried the bag for a short period of time (minus the camera, as I was holding it taking pictures) and he did not complain about the weight. At that time it contained a few snacks, a 50mm prime lens, a 70-200mm and a water bottle.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Of his own accord, my son volunteered to carry the bag for me…with slight adjustments to the straps, it fit his small frame quite comfortably.

Storage

I used to carry a lot of gear with me during my travels but over time I have narrowed down my options to only carrying lens and gear that I know I will use. I plan out my excursions ahead of time so I know exactly what I will be using and when. The Udee backpack fit the following comfortably:

  • 1 camera body
  • 2 zoom and prime lenses
  • My Canon 70-200mm (with the lens case)
  • Camera battery charger
  • Memory cards
  • 3 camera batteries
  • And a 15in MacBook laptop

I don’t carry additional bodies when I travel most of the time but sometimes I will carry an additional film camera body which is small enough to comfortably fit in the Udee.

Padding

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

The padding inside the bag is thick and soft. I am very particular with my gear and always travel with the lenses in the bags they come in. Sometimes I will put two or more lens in a smaller padded zip bag and then put it in my backpack. It might seem like overkill, but I would rather do this than have damaged gear when I reach my destination.

With the Udee backpack, I felt comfortable enough to just put my lenses in their bags directly into the bag. I did find it a little uncomfortable to fit my 70-200mm with its case in the bottom storage compartment but it fit perfectly in the top compartment. The main compartment of the Udee also had various smaller storage areas that hold traditional things like cards, a wallet, loose change and even had a padded place for sunglasses or eyeglasses.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

On a side note, for those of you who travel on planes with the Udee, the dimensions are within the guidelines of the airlines and it actually fits perfectly in the flight overhead compartment.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Anti-theft device

I found this to be a very unique and interesting feature of the Udee backpack. Call me paranoid, but I never ever leave my gear unattended. If I am traveling alone, it comes with me wherever I go. If I am with family, then I have someone watch my gear if I have to step away. My gear is what keeps my business afloat and even though I have insurance, I still behave like I don’t when it comes to safety and security with my gear.

When I read about the anti-theft device in the Udee, I was intrigued. This is an interesting feature for travelers especially if you put your camera bag in an overhead rack when using public transportation or need to step away from your gear for a few minutes. The small, built-in combination lock and steel cable are long enough to keep your pack safe and the lock can also be used on some of the pack’s zippers.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Security pocket and luggage belt

I love bags that have a luggage belt. This small but important feature is invaluable to me as it helps maintain my sanity when I am rushed and traveling through an airport with my kids. Those of you who travel with young ones can likely relate. Somehow you suddenly become the luggage porter just minutes before walking through security. Especially when they swore that they would carry their own bags the whole trip if you just let them take that extra book or that extra game!

The luggage belt allowed me to hook the camera bag onto my carryon bag handle and gave me an extra hand to maneuver my kids through the crowded airport. I liked the security pocket too because it let me store and access my phone easily. However, I don’t see myself using this for anything other than a phone and maybe some money just in case I lose my wallet somewhere. It was easy to access even with both bag straps on my shoulder, which is a big plus in my mind.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

LED Light

I really loved this feature of the bag. I found it particularly useful when I was hiking with my family. We tend to stay out past sunset (generally because I am photographing something and get carried away) and we always carry flashlights with us. We have headlamps, but the fact that the bag could light up and replace my headlamp was particularly impressive.

I can also see this as being very useful for people who walk along roadsides at night. With just the click of a button on each strap, the LED strips either blink slowly, blink quickly, or stay on continuously. The fact that each LED module can be removed from the strap and can be plugged into a standard micro-USB charger is also really practical as there are no batteries to replace.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Cons of the Udee backpack

But there were a few things about the Udee backpack that I personally did not like. These are just my opinion based on my time with the Udee!

No water bottle pocket

Now I am very conscious of the environment and try to practice sustainability in my everyday life. To that end, I always carry my own water bottle everywhere I go. This is especially important when I am out hiking and camping with my family. This was a huge con in my mind as there is no storage spot for me to keep my water bottle on the Udee bag.

I would have to use an external hook to clip the bottle to the shoulder straps, which I find extremely cumbersome and awkward as the bottle tends to hustle around when I am hiking. The other option would be to put the bottle inside the bag which makes me very nervous – liquid and electronic gear in close proximity is a disaster just waiting to happen!

Accessibility to the bottom storage compartment is difficult

I found accessibility to my camera very difficult when I stored it in the bottom compartment of the Udee backpack. This is the part of the bag that Udee calls the camera storage area. With the bag on both shoulders, it was impossible to reach the zipper of the bottom storage. I had to shift the bag onto one shoulder and even then, it was very challenging to open the zipper and take out the camera.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

My arms could not reach the bottom storage while I was holding the bag. I had to put the bag down, take some stuff out of the top storage and then access the bottom camera storage area!

The bottom storage compartment was stiff and did not open wide enough to take the camera out, especially when there were extra lenses in the top compartment weighing it down. This may not be an issue if you don’t anticipate taking pictures while you are getting to and from your destination. I like to stop and take some pictures along the way when I am hiking and/or walking around town. I don’t necessarily want to have the camera around my neck for easy access.

Safety and security

Especially when I am hiking a difficult terrain, I like to be safe with my expensive gear. I did notice that it is possible to access the lower compartment from the interior of the backpack since the divider has a zipper around it. However, that’s not practical if the upper compartment is also full of stuff.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

But what surprised me was that the bottom storage was accessible easily when the bag was worn on the back. My son wanted to store his jacket (5 minutes into the hike of course) and was easily able to do so. Not so good for the security of camera gear.

Quality of the zipper

Through out my time with the Udee bag, some of the zippers were very difficult to use. Now, this could be just my copy of the bag and not really a problem in general.

The orange zipper which opens to the compartment with the key hook (I kept the car keys and my wallet there) was particularly hard to operate. The key hook kept getting stuck in the zipper and it was hard to open. I had to press down on the front of the bag and then open it. So I could not open the bag and take my keys out super fast. I would have to try a couple of times before being able to get anything out. I did not have a problem with the other zippers so, as I said, it could be just an issue with my copy of the bag.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

Overall thoughts on the Udee backpack

Overall I think the Udee backpack is a very good looking bag that is generally well-built. Its list of features includes some really innovative things like the LED lights, anti-theft device, and portable charging.

However, I feel that it also has some serious misses like the poorly designed lower-compartment in terms of accessibility and lack of beverage storage. I may be tempted to use this bag for light photography use and small day trips where I may not even take my camera or take just a point and shoot. I would not consider taking this on an extensive travel trip where I am constantly on the move, taking a lot of pictures along the way and need to take my camera out multiple times.

Camera Bag Review - The Udee Backpack

P.S. I really want to thank my kids for being such sports and testing out the Udee with me on our trip. The bribe of being photographed for an article really worked in my favor this time around!

The post Camera Bag Review – The Udee Backpack by Karthika Gupta appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Nikon releases firmware update for 1 J5 mirrorless system camera

28 Apr

Nikon has released a firmware update for its 1 J5 mirrorless system camera. Version 1.01 only comes with one modification over version 1.0 and fixes an issue that prevented additional deletions after multiple shots had been deleted in succession from a single burst of pictures.

The Nikon 1 J5 captures images on a 1″ 21MP BSI CMOS sensor and was originally announced in April 2015. If you own the camera you can check your current firmware version by selecting Firmware version in the Setup menu. If you want to update, the new version is now available for download on the Nikon website. 

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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YI Technology announces consumer-level 360 live VR camera

25 Apr

YI Technology today announced the YI 360 VR consumer-level live VR camera. The new model is capable of capturing 360-degree spheric video footage at 5.7K resolution and 30 frames per second. It also offers 4K instant in-device stitching and 2.5K live-streaming.

The camera weighs only six ounces and can be controlled via basic on-device controls or a mobile app. It uses a pair of 220-degree lenses and 12MP Sony IMX377 CMOS sensors to record video footage or 5.7K 360-degree still images.

“Virtual reality is exciting. It promises a whole new range of opportunities for creating and sharing truly immersive experiences,” said Sean Da, CEO of YI Technology, “but it can also be really intimidating. For VR to truly take off it has to be easy and fun. At YI Technology, we challenge ourselves to bring the most innovative technologies together in a way that is simple, enjoyable and useful for anyone, from kids to professionals. VR is no exception. Too many of today’s solutions are exciting in theory but really complicated in practice. That is why we worked so hard to perfect YI 360 VR. Using the best components, rigorous industrial design and many years of testing, we eliminated the cables, confusing interfaces and bulky components and added 5.7K fidelity, 4K in-device stitching and 2.5K live-streaming, all in a handy, affordable package so everyone can share exciting moments live, from any angle.”

The camera is available for pre-order from today at $ 399. Delivery is scheduled for June 2017. The Yi 360 VR will also be on display at this week’s NAB 2017 show in Las Vegas.

Press Release:

YI Technology Announces YI 360 VR™, First High-end, Live VR Camera for Any Consumer

Newest pocket-sized, camera combining 360-Degree 5.7K VR capture, 4K instant in-device stitching, and 2.5K live-streaming debuts at NAB 2017 today and releases in June

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NAB Show – YI Technology, the leading, international provider of advanced, intelligent imaging technologies, today announced the new YI 360 VR™, a major step in making truly high-end virtual reality video easy and accessible to anyone who wants to create and share content. Scheduled to be released in June 2017, the YI 360 VR™ is available for early ordering now and will be on display at this week’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, NV.

With a simple, handheld and mountable camera design, the YI 360 VR™ is the first VR camera to combine high-fidelity, 360-degree video capture, mobile application for easy use along with 4K instant, in-device stitching and 2.5K live-streaming to any sharing channel. With these innovations, the YI 360 VR™ provides a complete solution for anyone to create immersive, 360-degree video experiences easily, quickly and anywhere.

“Virtual reality is exciting. It promises a whole new range of opportunities for creating and sharing truly immersive experiences,” said Sean Da, CEO of YI Technology, “but it can also be really intimidating. For VR to truly take off it has to be easy and fun. At YI Technology, we challenge ourselves to bring the most innovative technologies together in a way that is simple, enjoyable and useful for anyone, from kids to professionals. VR is no exception. Too many of today’s solutions are exciting in theory but really complicated in practice. That is why we worked so hard to perfect YI 360 VR. Using the best components, rigorous industrial design and many years of testing, we eliminated the cables, confusing interfaces and bulky components and added 5.7K fidelity, 4K in-device stitching and 2.5K live-streaming, all in a handy, affordable package so everyone can share exciting moments live, from any angle.”

YI 360 VR™ CAMERA HIGHLIGHTS:

VIVID: The camera delivers stunning video and images – in 360. YI 360 VR™ features professional-grade video quality at up to 5.7K/30fps in 360 degrees for post-production work, thanks to Ambarella’s virtual reality SOC H2V95 chip and a pair of sharp 220-degree lenses mated to a pair of 12MP SONY IMX377 CMOS sensors. It also captures 5.7K 360-degree still photos. Most other multi-lens VR cameras give you clunky, choppy video images and require streams to be stitched together on a computer. The YI 360 VR™ offers seamless in-device stitching without added software so anyone can make high-quality 4K, 360-degree VR videos instantly.

EASY: YI 360 VR™ is lightweight and compact. At only six ounces and easily mountable wherever you put an action camera, it can go anywhere you go. Simple controls are on the device or the companion YI 360 VR™ mobile app allows you to control the camera, preview, playback, edit and share 360-degree videos from any smartphone. Record for over an hour on one battery charge (AC power also included) the YI 360 VR™ connects with WiFi so you can view, edit and share instantly and continuously right in the app.

LIVE: YI 360 VR™ features up to 100Mbps high-speed WiFi (Dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4GHz & 5GHz) to enable users to live-stream 2.5K/30fps 360-degree videos or download photos and videos from camera to smartphone. Connect with a WiFi network and you can start live-streaming everything around you to Facebook, YouTube, and more at 2.5K in 360 Degrees. The high-speed WiFi makes photo auto-sync possible and video download extremely fast. Photos taken by the camera can be automatically synchronized to any smartphone instantly so manual download is no longer needed. Use the app to easily post photos or videos with one click to all your favorite social networks.

Pricing & Availability

At $ 399 MSRP, YI 360 VR™ will be available for early ordering beginning today, with scheduled delivery for limited release in June 2017. https://yitechnology.com/yi-360-vr-camera

YI 360 VR™ is only one of YI Technology’s advanced 360-degree video solutions unveiled today at NAB 2017. The company also announced today the YI HALO™, the newest professional-grade 360-degree, stereoscopic camera for the Jump platform from Google.

See and experience YI Technology’s two new products, YI 360 VR™ and YI HALO™, at NAB 2017 in the Virtual & Augmented Reality Pavilion, Booth N1121VR. Visit www.yitechnology.com for more information.

Note, the company will also present its products at the Sixteenth Annual Las Vegas SuperMeet on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 from 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm in the Brasila Ballroom at the Rio Hotel.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Huawei P10 camera review

23 Apr

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The P10 is Huawei’s latest high-end smartphone in a more compact form factor compared to the company’s Mate 9 phablet. A 5.1″ Full-HD display with very thin bezels allows for a design that easily fits into even small pockets. On the inside, top-end components, including Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core chipset and 4GB of RAM, provide top-end performance.

The Leica-branded camera comes with the same specification as its equivalent in the Mate 9 and combines a 12MP color sensor with a 20MP monochrome chip. Both lenses have an F2.2 aperture and the color variant also features optical image stabilization. As before, color and monochrome image information is combined for better image detail, higher dynamic range and lower noise levels. Other features include laser-assisted autofocus, a two-tone LED flash and 4K video recording.

On the software side of things a new ‘Leica-style’ portrait mode uses 3D face detection and applies a combination of fake bokeh, adjustable illumination and ‘beautification’ effects to your portrait subjects. We’ve put the hardware and software through its paces for our full camera review. Read on on the following pages to find out how the P10 performed.

Key Photographic / Video Specifications

  • Leica-branded dual-camera with 12MP color and 20MP monochrome sensors
  • F2.2 aperture
  • OIS on the color sensor
  • 27mm equivalent focal length
  • On-sensor phase detection and laser-assisted AF
  • Dual-tone LED flash
  • 4K video
  • 8MP front camera with F1.9 aperture
  • Manual camera control and DNR Raw capture

Other Specifications

  • 5.1″ IPS display with 1080p resolution
  • Android 7.0
  • HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core chipset
  • 4GB RAM and 64GB storage
  • microSD support up to 256GB
  • 3200 mAh battery
  • Stereo speakers
  • Fingerprint reader

DPReview smartphone reviews are written with the needs of photographers in mind. We focus on camera features, performance, and image quality.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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