Samsung has announced the NX mini, the world’s slimmest interchangeable lens camera. It boasts a 1-inch, 20MP sensor and provides all of the wireless connectivity we’ve come to expect from Samsung’s cameras. We spent a little bit of time with a pre-production unit getting to know it, photographing it, and pondering its existence. Take a look at some hands-on photos and read our first impressions of Samsung’s latest (and littlest) connected, mirrorless camera.
Nikon’s latest flagship body, the D4s, gets an updated 16 megapixel full-frame sensor, Expeed 4-level processing, 1080/60p video recording and can now autofocus at up to 11fps. Beyond that it boasts a laundry list of small (but potentially meaningful) improvements over its predecessor. After spending some brief time with the camera, we’ve prepared some first impressions of the pro-level body. For a detailed analysis of what’s new in Nikon’s top-of-the-line, take a look at our first impressions review.
[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]
It is a fantastic endeavor and nearly finished – a movie made up of 56,800 stop-motion paintings, all presented in the style and told by the characters of the tale’s protagonist: Vincent van Gogh.
The first full-length feature of its kind, Loving Vincent uses van Gogh’s own techniques to explore the life and death of the artist, “through his paintings and by the characters that inhabit them.”
As its creators explain, “the intrigue unfolds through interviews with the characters closest to Vincent and through dramatic reconstructions of the events leading up to his death.”
This production by Breakthru Films features 120 of the artist’s paintings and draws its plot from 800 letters, using them to flesh out a deeper picture of this often-misunderstood painter whose work goes well beyond his most famous Starry Night and Mona Lisa.
In van Gogh’s own words: “Well, the truth is, we cannot speak other than by our paintings” – these industrious filmmakers are taking him at his word, and animating his images and subjects to tell his story.
Breakthru was founded by Oscar award-winning animator Hugh Welchman. Unfortunately, the project did not raise sufficient funds on Kickstarter, but given how far they have come one can only hope the work does not end in tragedy.
Some cinematic experiences are defined by their built environments, be it the minimalist architectural plan outlines of Dogville or the lavish Mid-Century …
Click Here to Read More »»
Tilt-shift photography techniques are often used to give a unique look to landscape photos, but these altered images started out with Van Gogh paintings.
Click Here to Read More »»
Today’s society feels increasingly insecure, as if everything could fall down at any moment; Amy Casey taps into this with precarious, topsy-turvy worlds:
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]
[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]
The a6000 sits in the middle of Sony’s range of mirrorless cameras, just above the a5000 and aging NEX-7. The feature that makes it stand out from the crowd (and not just among Sony cameras) is its Hybrid AF system, which has phase detect points across 92% of the frame. To learn what that means to photographers, and learn more about the a6000 in general, then have a look at our a6000 First Impressions Review.
[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]
3D printers are now making it possible to quickly and economically ‘print’ everything from haute couture to full-scale architecture, medical prostheses to cars. Now, the technology has advanced enough to blend two different materials in a single print to make them stronger and more functional. ‘Blossom,’ a project by designer Richard Clarkson, not only produced 3D-printed flowers made from two materials with properties ranging from flexible to rigid, he also made them inflatable.
Believed to be the world’s first inflatable 3D print, Blossom is a series of flexible artificial flowers that can be inflated with air so they ‘bloom’ like real flowers. Completed in 2013 but just now released to the public, the project incorporates a rubbery black material called Tango Black for the petals and a clear, solid substance called Fullcure 720 for the center and stem.
While this project may not be as immediately practical as many other 3D printing demonstrations, it gives us an intriguing look at what might be possible in the future, pushing past limitations that have held innovation back in this field.
“As in nature, materials can be distributed seamlessly within objects for structural and functional advantage,” says Clarkson. “The variation offers an opportunity to generate complex forms and dynamic structures that are impossible to make by any other means.”
Imagine programming a large-scale, 3D-printing robot to simply print your entire home, from top to bottom, within a matter of hours.
Click Here to Read More »»
A giant purple bubble will rise from a pile of plastic to bring music, workshops and performance to Japan’s northeastern coast, which was devastated by …
Click Here to Read More »»
Designers are creating everything from working guitars and records to puzzles and puppets with desktop 3D printers, bringing their digital concepts to life.
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]
[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]
The Olympus E-M10 wraps much of the E-M5’s feature set into a smaller, more compact body. It retains core OM-D features like twin dials, a built-in EVF and a 16 megapixel Four Thirds sensor, but manages to fit them into a body that’s more Stylus 1 than ILC. It sits below its E-M5 and E-M1 siblings in terms of both price and specifications, but with features borrowed from two very strong predecessors it’s potentially a very impressive camera in its own right. Take a look at our first impressions and sample gallery.
The Fujifilm X-T1 has a lot in common with its X-series siblings – bearing an important distinction: it’s weatherproof. It does in fact offer many of the same inner workings as the X-E2, including its 16MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor with on-chip phase detection. On top of that it adds a revamped EVF, an OLED panel boasting a claimed lag time of 0.005 seconds. Consider also that it shoots 8 fps with subject tracking and it all adds up to a very well specified package. Read our first impressions review
Phase One announced today their new IQ250, 50 Megapixel medium format back, which uses a CMOS sensor for the first time in a medium format. This sensor is made by Sony, the first time that a Sony sensor appears in an MF product.
Part One of our on-going analysis of the IQ250 features online a video interview with Phase One executives, a video on how the back’s Live View works, and sample ISO 6400 images, as well as our initial impressions of the back. The article contains price and delivery information, which incidentally begins this coming week.
Kevin and Michael are leaving today (Jan 24) for two weeks in Chile and Antarctica, and will be testing the IQ250 on this expedition. Part 2, full report and video coverage will follow.
And speaking of Antarctica –
we have a few spaces left on our January 31 through February 9, 2015 Antarctic workshop.
CES 2014: Amid a string of pre-CES compact announcements, Fujifilm unveils the FinePix S1, the ‘world’s first’ weather-resistant superzoom. It offers a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor and an F2.8-5.6, 24-1200mm equivalent zoom lens. With an articulating 3.0-inch LCD its specifications line up with the FinePix SL1000 in Fuji’s current lineup, though with a slightly faster lens and the addition of Wi-Fi connectivity. While not a fully ruggedized camera, the S1 offers protection against dust and rain exposure.
The Samsung NX30 puts the NX300’s 20 megapixel APS-C sensor and Hybrid AF in a DSLR-like body. It also features a tilting electronic viewfinder and a fully articulated 3-inch AMOLED display, along with Samsung’s familiar suite of connectivity features. Built-in Wi-Fi is available, as is NFC to mediate faster connections with compatible smart devices. We spent a little time getting acquainted with a pre-production model, and have put together some quick first impressions.