Samsung has announced a major firmware update for the NX1, which is claimed to bring a host of improvements. Firmware v1.2 – available later this month – will bring additional features, increased customization and several menu refinements. DPReview was one of the organizations that provided Samsung with feedback on the camera and shooting with it over the past few days has shown a selection of the requests we made have been incorporated. Read more
Tag: promises
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Vela One LED promises 1/2,000,000 flash duration for the price of a normal hotshoe gun
An inventor from Bristol in the UK is developing an LED-based light source for high speed photography, promising to produce a burst of flash with a duration short enough to freeze a bullet. The Vela One, which will be priced at a similar level to standard hotshoe flashguns, uses nine LEDs arranged in a bank that generates a million lumens and is powered by just four AA cells that the inventor claims will last a full day’s shooting. Learn more
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Pixels.com licensing service promises full control of images
Pixels.com is a new image licensing marketplace that aims to give photographers more control than competing services. Users can set their own prices for images and manage the type of licenses they want to offer. There is even an option to create custom licenses with your own terms and conditions. Learn more
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Sony a6000 promises world’s fastest AF and 11 fps subject tracking
Sony has released its new a6000 mirrorless camera, which is the replacement to the NEX-6. This midrange mirrorless features a 24MP CMOS sensor, Sony’s latest Bionz X processor, and a refined Hybrid AF system that covers 92% of the frame with phase-detect points. The new AF system allows for continuous shooting at 11 fps with subject tracking, and also promises the ‘world’s fastest autofocus’, according to Sony. Video enthusiasts will be pleased to see that the a6000 offers a zebra pattern and clean HDMI output, though it lacks headphone or mic ports. Read more.
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Ricoh promises ‘reference products’ including CMOS 645D at CP+
Ricoh Imaging has announced it will be showing four ‘reference products’ at the forthcoming CP+ trade show in Yokohama, Japan. The company’s Pentax brand has previously shown early prototypes of future models at the show. This year’s products include a CMOS-based 645D medium format camera with tilting LCD, scheduled for launch in Spring 2014, along with an ultra-wide-angle zoom for the 645 system. Also on show will be a telephoto macro prime lens for the small sensor Q-mount system and a DSLR accessory for making digital captures from slide and negative film.
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Lytro CEO admits layoffs, promises breakthrough products in 2014
Lytro CEO Jason Rosenthal has acknowledged that the company made a ‘small number’ of layoffs earlier this year and that there are some ‘kinks’ to be worked out with its unique ‘light field’ camera. Meanwhile, according to an article by tech blog SFGate, industry sources report that the Lytro camera ‘isn’t selling well so far’, due to its price and lack of appeal to professional photographers. Rosenthal is, however, bullish on the future of the company, promising ‘multiple […] breakthrough products’ in 2014. More details are available after the link.
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Panasonic promises high sensitivity sensors using ‘Micro Color Splitters’
Panasonic has devised a method to increase the sensitivity of image sensors, by replacing the near-universal colour filter array with prism-like ‘Micro Color Splitters’ to generate colour information. The key advantage is that all of the incoming light is directed to the sensor, instead of half or more being absorbed by the color filter dyes. This promises to deliver images with less noise in low light. The development is published in the journal Nature Photonics, and outlined in a press release on Panasonic’s website.
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Canon’s imaging CEO promises 70D and talks about the future of compacts
CP+ 2013: There will be a Canon EOS 70D, but the future of semi-pro DSLRs is probably full-frame, says Masaya Maeda, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Image Communication Products Operations at Canon. However, while he says new concepts are needed to save the compact camera, he doesn’t see larger sensors as being the answer for the mass market.
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MicroOLED promises even greater electronic viewfinder resolution
French manufacturer MicroOLED has announced a 5 million dot OLED suitable for use as an electronic viewfinder – far beyond the resolution of the current best units used in recent Sony cameras. The 5.2M effective dots mean it can display 1280×1024 pixel resolution in color, assuming a four-dots-per-pixel layout. Imaging Resource has written an article in which they suggest it could spell the end of the optical viewfinder. (From Imaging Resource)
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JPEGMini promises smaller files – PetaPixel shows Photoshop quality quirk
Technology company ICVT has developed an method to optimize JPEG compression. The company’s JPEGMini system analyses each image to assess the maximum compression that can be applied to an image without loss of perceptible quality. The company says you can expect a 50-80% reduction in filesize over a JPEG that hasn’t been intelligently optimized. At present the system can only be used via the company’s online service. Meanwhile, the news has prompted blog PetaPixel to reiterate the little-known quirk of Photoshop’s JPEG quality slider that means your images may be better saved at quality 6 than 7. (via PetaPixel)
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)