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Posts Tagged ‘Soon’

Instagram will soon receive ‘from Facebook’ branding

06 Aug

Despite ongoing antitrust concerns across the globe, an internal note sent to Facebook employees has announced the social media giant will be rebranding its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.

First reported by The Information [partial paywall], the two social media platforms will soon be known as ‘Instagram from Facebook’ and ‘WhatsApp from Facebook.’ The news was further confirmed by a Facebook spokesperson in a statement shared with Engadget:

‘We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook.’

The addition of ‘from Facebook’ in Instagram’s branding doesn’t come as much of a surprise though, as known finder of unreleased features, Jane Manchun Wong, shared back in April that the ‘Instagram from Facebook’ branding was around the corner.

Instagram was acquired by Facebook in April 2012 for approximately one billion dollars in both cash and stock. Since then, Facebook has been fairly hands-off with the branding, despite bringing countless Facebook-inspired elements to the photo sharing platform, including the highly controversial algorithmic feed. This name change might be small on the surface, but could be the beginning of changes to come.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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US visa applicants must soon submit social media accounts including Flickr, Instagram

05 Jun

The majority of U.S. visa applicants are now required to submit social media handles/usernames as part of their applications. This requirement, which was billed as a necessity for national security by the State Department, includes Instagram and Flickr among the 20 social platforms listed on its online application form.

The new requirement applies to both tourism and immigration visas, according to the Associated Press, which reports that in addition to select social media accounts from the past five years, applicants are also required to submit previous email addresses and phone numbers. The requirement was proposed in early 2018.

The State Department includes a number of popular social media services on its application form, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Flickr and even the mostly defunct Google Plus and Myspace. A few social networks popular outside of the U.S. are also included, such as China’s Sina Weibo and Russia’s Vkontakte.

According to a report from The Hill, ‘Applicants will have the option to say that they do not use social media if that is the case. The official noted that if a visa applicant lies about social media use that they could face “serious immigration consequences” as a result.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Instagram posts will soon be screened by Facebook fact checkers

08 May

The amount of fake news and conspiracy theories on Facebook and Twitter is troublesome, but by no means limited to those two social media platforms. Instagram users have to deal with a fair share of general misinformation as well.

The company has already been working to reduce the reach of posts containing false information, but is now taking things one step further. Soon potentially misinforming posts will go through parent company Facebook’s fact checking procedures.

Posts that are identified as false will not necessarily be removed but won’t appear on the Explore page or hashtag search. Talking to Poynter, a company spokesperson said: ‘Our approach to misinformation is the same as Facebook’s — when we find misinfo, rather than remove it, we’ll reduce its distribution.’

The newly introduced measures now ensure the fact checkers also find images on Instagram that have not previously been flagged on Facebook.

According to reports Instagram has been working closely with Facebook’s fact checking teams since the US midterm elections. When images with misinformation are identified on Facebook, an image recognition algorithm can search for the same image on Instagram. The newly introduced measures now ensure the fact checkers also find images on Instagram that have not previously been flagged on Facebook.

According to Poynter, Instagram is also considering the option to add pop-ups that alert users who are searching for misinformation. It’s good to see the platform and its parent company Facebook taking a stronger stance against misinformation in social media but for many the measures to counteract fake news and hate messages are still not going far enough.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Canon issues advisory for new super-telephoto lenses, promises firmware fix soon

18 Mar

Canon has issued a product advisory for its new super-telephoto lenses, the EF 400mm F2.8L IS III and the EF 600mm F4L IS III.

Canon says the two lenses might experience a ‘phenomenon where the exposure may flicker slightly if recording a movie with the camera shooting mode set to M or Av in combination with select cameras.’

According to the press release, an upcoming firmware update (version 1.0.8) will fix the issue with the affected cameras. In the meantime, Canon says there are two ways to avoid this problem:

  1. When shooting movies, set the camera’s shooting mode to P or Tv mode.
  2. When using the lens alone or with the EXTENDER EF 2x, set the exposure setting step to 1/2 or 1/1 with the camera’s custom function, even if the camera shooting mode is M or Av.

DPReview will update this article accordingly when the new firmware is released.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Drone owners in the US will soon need external registration numbers on their UAVs

14 Feb

The FAA will require drone operators in the United States to display their registration numbers on the outside of their small UAVs starting on February 25, 2019. The new regulation revises an existing policy that allows drone owners to put a UAV’s registration number inside of the device’s battery compartment.

Drone operators in the US must register their aerial vehicle with the FAA, at which time they’re given a registration number. Since launching the registration requirement, the FAA has permitted drone owners to conceal their identifier within an enclosed compartment on the drone, assuming the compartment could be opened without using tools.

This permission aimed to ‘grant flexibility to the diverse types of small unmanned aircraft commercially available.’ However, an interim final rule published on the Federal Register today notes that the FAA has revised that permission and, starting on February 25, will require the registration number to be located on the drone’s exterior.

According to the FAA, it has revised its rule due to government security agency and law enforcement concerns that explosive devices could be hidden within small drones. In a situation like this, first responders who are required to open a drone’s battery compartment in search of the registration number are at risk of injury.

The new interim rule states:

Requiring small unmanned aircraft owners to place the registration number on an external surface of the aircraft helps to mitigate this risk because a first responder can view the number without handling the aircraft, or by using other technologies that allow for remote viewing of the aircraft’s external surface.

The rule change goes into effect on February 25, but the public is able to submit comments on the new requirement until March 15. Comments can be submitted using the Regulations.gov website or by mail and hand delivery to the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Venus Optics announces Laowa 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 FE lens, RF & Z mount versions “coming soon”

26 Oct

Venus Optics has announced the Laowa 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 FE zoom lens, a new ultra-wide-angle manual lens for full-frame Sony cameras.

“In response to the demand from mirrorless camera shooters of having a compact wide angle zoom, Venus Optics [has] managed to compress the size of the 10-18mm FE Zoom to the smallest in its class,” reads the press release. The lens measures in at 3.5in/9cm long, 2.75in/70mm in diameter, and weighs only 17.5oz/496g.

It’s constructed of 14 elements in 10 groups, including two aspherical elements and one extra-low dispersion element. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 6in/15cm and a minimum aperture of F22 with a five-blade aperture diaphragm.

The rear of the lens has a 37mm filter thread for adding filters to, as well as a 100mm magnetic filter holder system for the front of the lens. A built-in switch de-clicks the aperture on-demand if you’re planning on using the lens for video shooting.

Venus Optics has shared a gallery of sample images captured with the lens on Flickr.

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The lens is currently available for pre-order for $ 849. The first 50 pre-orders through Laowa’s site will receive a free 100mm magnetic filter holder system.

Venus Optics says a Canon RF- and Nikon Z-mount version of the lens will be “coming soon.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Google Lens will soon be available in several Android camera apps

13 May

Google’s AI-based image recognition system Google Lens will be making its way into stock camera apps, the company revealed during its I/O 2018 conference this week. The tool— which identifies objects, landmarks, and more in the images you capture with your phone—was first revealed last year, later launching for the maker’s own Pixel smartphones and then on Android and iOS in general.

For now, Google Lens is only available through the Google Photos app, but that will be changing in coming months. The company plans to launch Google Lens in stock mobile camera apps starting with its own Pixel handsets; other Android smartphone models will get support later on. According to The Verge, a total of 10 models will offer Google Lens in their stock camera apps.

Joining the expansion announcement are three new Google Lens features: smart text selection, style match, and real-time functionality for instant results.

With smart text selection, Google Lens is able to identify words within images and find relevant information—such as retrieving data on a food dish after the user captures an image of its name in a menu or other document. Style match, meanwhile, is a feature for finding objects similar to ones captured in an image, such as related outfits or home decor.

Finally, all of this information will be made available at a faster pace thanks to real-time functionality. With this addition, Google Lens finds and provides information proactively based on items in the user’s environment that are captured as they point their phone’s camera around.

Google says these features will start rolling out in the next few weeks.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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You will soon be able to download your entire photo archive from Instagram

14 Apr

Currently, if you wanted to download all of your content from Instagram, you have no choice but to use a third party service like DownloadGram and 4K Stogram. Fortunately, that may not be the case for too much longer. In a statement to TechCrunch earlier this week, an Instagram spokesperson said:

We are building a new data portability tool. You’ll soon be able to download a copy of what you’ve shared on Instagram, including your photos, videos and messages.

It’s not known exactly how the tool will work or what other data will be available for download beyond your photos, but if Facebook’s Download Your Information tool is anything to go on, it’s likely you’ll be able to download most of your content and activity into a ZIP file.

As noted by TechCrunch, if Instagram implements its new download tool before May 25th, it will ensure it’s in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law, which requires organizations to let individuals download any data that’s been gathered on them. But there’s no guarantee Instagram will get the tool out in time.

Regardless of when it happens, it’ll be nice to see an integrated tool for easily downloading your content, be it because you’re jumping to another platform or simply want to make an offline copy. It also means days are numbered for apps like DownloadGram.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Leaked: Samyang XP 50mm F1.2 EF lens coming soon

20 Feb
Leaked photo via CanonWatch

Nokishita and CanonWatch have both gotten their hands on some leaked photos of an upcoming Samyang/Rokinon lens that is very intriguing indeed. Meet the unreleased Samyang XP 50mm F1.2 EF.

Based on the moniker, we know that it’s part of Samyang’s manual focus eXtreme Performance series of lenses—the third lens to join the party, after the XP 85mm F1.2 and XP 14mm F2.4 announced in September of 2016. And judging by the “EF” at the end of the name, this one will only be made for the Canon-EF mount as well. Here’s a closer look, courtesy of Nokishita on Twitter:

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No word on price or specifications beyond the focal length and max aperture, but Nokishita’s image leaks typically come within 24-48 hours of release, so we expect this lens to make its official debut in the next day or two.

For comparisons’ sake, the XP 85mm F1.2 goes for $ 900, while the XP 14mm F2.4 retails for $ 1,000.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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