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Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Lowepro introduces FreeLine BP 350 AW with all-new QuickShelf technology

13 Jun

Camera bag manufacturer Lowepro has launched the FreeLine BP 350 AW, an all new camera backpack for mirrorless and DSLR kits that features the all-new QuickShelf technology.

On the outside, the bag doesn’t appear much different than Lowepro’s other offerings. The bag is constructed of a ‘high-grade Carbonate Coated Nylon 66 exterior’ with ‘weather proof YKK zippers and robust exterior attachments featuring premium metal clips.’ If the weather-resistant fabric isn’t enough to protect your gear in harsh weather, Lowepro also includes a matching All Weather AW Cover.

Like all good things, it’s what on the inside that counts. This is the first bag from Lowepro to feature its new QuickShelf technology. According to Lowepro, QuickShelf is an ‘adaptive interior divider system [that] unfolds into 3-tier shelf or folds flat to remove for open interior space.’ In addition to the three tiers, pop-in lateral dividers and an additional gearbox help further divy up the space so you can better organize your camera kit as you see fit. Two easy-access side pockets with additional storage serve as a quick way to get to your gear, even while the backpack is still on your shoulders.

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According to Lowepro, the FreeLine BP 350 AW can hold a full-frame DSLR alongside a mounted 70-200mm F2.8 lens, as well as a drone and other lenses or accessories. They don’t show any mirrorless-only kits in the photos, but from the looks of it, it could easily hold a pair of full-frame mirrorless cameras and a few lenses.

The FreeLine BP 350 AW also features Lowepro’s trademarked CradleFit laptop compartment that can fit up to a 15″ laptop and an ActivZone Back Panel for more comfort when carrying a lot of gear.

The FreeLine BP 350 AW is available now for $ 260.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Taro uses infrared technology and AI for improved subject tracking

10 Nov

Conventional tracking systems tend to struggle when the tracked subject briefly exits the frame or disappears behind another object. The new Taro auto-tracker and stabilizer tackles this problem with infrared technology.

Users connect their smartphones, DSLR cameras or existing Bluetooth stabilizers to Taro and select the target they want to track. Taro will then follow the target using an AI-based infrared tracking algorithm that performs 30 calculations per second. According to the Taro team, this allows for tracking of objects that are moving as fast as 50 MPH.

“In developing Taro, we’ve essentially designed a robot that operates your camera just like a real cameraman could,” said Taro founder, Hao Qian. “Taro can instantaneously establish the intended object’s approximate location,” he said. “Taro also has a powerful learning algorithm that immediately eliminates sub-optimal positioning, precisely pinpointing the object’s exact location – which results in the perfect balance between efficiency and accuracy.”

The Taro robot looks like an interesting solution for anyone wanting to film themselves during sports and action activities or for filming while moving. The Taro is available on Kickstarter now in three versions, a kit for smartphones, a kit for DSLRs or just a tracking module that can be used with existing Bluetooth stabilizers.

The smartphone kit will set you back $ 200 while the DSLR kit is $ 600. The tracking module on its own is available at $ 100. Early-bird offers are available as well. For more information watch the video below and have a look at the project’s Kickstarter page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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WD will use microwave technology to create 40TB hard drives

13 Oct

Every time you think we’re approaching the ceiling of what’s possible in the world of photo storage, a new innovation comes along that moves that ceiling just a little (or a lot) higher. Case in point: Western Digital has revealed some new proprietary technology that it claims will allow them to create 40TB 3.5″ spinning disk hard drives (HDDs) by the year 2025.

According to Engadget, the current max you’ll find in the wild is also made by Western Digital (or, rather, one of its subsidiaries) and maxes out at 14TB. So how does WD expect to almost triple that capacity without increasing the size of the drive itself? The answer: microwaves. Or, more specifically: something called “Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording Technology”.

This MAMR technology is built into a new type of drive head that, according to Western Digital, is able to pack more bits of data onto the same size disk by generating “a microwave field.” Once this technology is fully developed, WD expects it to allow drives to pack up to 4 Terabits of data per square inch of disk, leading to “hard drives with 40TB of capacity and beyond by 2025, and continued expansion beyond that timeframe.”

If you’d like to learn more about this technology, check out the technical video below:

WD claims this tech is “ready for prime time,” with the first MAMR drives appearing on the market in 2019. Just in time for 8K video to become standard on smartphones, right?

Press Release:

WESTERN DIGITAL UNVEILS NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGY TO PRESERVE AND ACCESS THE NEXT DECADE OF BIG DATA

Company Builds on its Leadership of Delivering Industry’s Highest Capacity Hard Drives with Demonstration of Breakthrough Innovation on Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording Technology

San Jose, CA – October 11, 2017 – At its “Innovating to Fuel the Next Decade of Big Data” event today, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) announced a breakthrough innovation for delivering ultra-high capacity hard disk drives (HDDs) to meet the future demands of Big Data with proven data center-level reliability. The event, held at the company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, included a demonstration of the world’s first microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) HDD and presentations from company executives and the inventor of MAMR technology, Professor Jimmy Zhu from Carnegie Mellon University. The company also showcased advancements in micro actuation and Damascene recording head technology. Western Digital expects to begin shipping ultra-high capacity MAMR HDDs in 2019 for use in data centers that support Big Data applications across a full range of industries.

“As the volume, velocity, variety, value and longevity of both Big Data and Fast Data grow, a new generation of storage technologies are needed to not only support ever-expanding capacities, but ultimately help our customers analyze and garner insights into our increasingly connected universe of data,” said Mike Cordano, president and chief operating officer at Western Digital. “Our ground-breaking advancement in MAMR technology will enable Western Digital to address the future of high capacity storage by redefining the density potential of HDDs and introduce a new class of highly reliable, ‘ultra-high capacity’ drives. We have a proven track record for identifying, investing in and delivering advanced technologies that create new product categories and enable the world to realize the possibilities of data. Five years ago we introduced our HelioSeal®, helium-filled drive technology. Since then, we have shipped more than 20 million helium drives. That type of leadership and innovation continues today and we aim to leverage it well into the future.”

MAMR is one of two energy-assisted technologies that Western Digital has been developing for years. The company recently innovated a breakthrough in material and process that provides the required reliable and predictable performance, as well as the manufacturability to accelerate areal density and cost improvements to an estimated average of 15 percent per year. Developments in the other energy-assisted technology, specifically, heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), present new material science and reliability challenges that are not a factor in MAMR. Only MAMR demonstrates the reliability and cost profile that meets the demands of data center operators.

At the heart of the company’s innovation breakthrough is the “spin torque oscillator” used to generate a microwave field that increases the ability to record data at ultra-high density without sacrificing reliability. Western Digital’s innovative MAMR technology is expected to offer over 4 terabits-per-square-inch over time. With sustained improvements in recording density, MAMR promises to enable hard drives with 40TB of capacity and beyond by 2025, and continued expansion beyond that timeframe.

“Western Digital’s demonstration of MAMR technology is a significant breakthrough for the hard disk drive industry,” said John Rydning, research vice president, Hard Disk Drives, IDC. “Commercialization of MAMR technology will pave the way to higher recording densities, and lower cost per terabyte hard disk drives for enterprise datacenters, video surveillance systems, and consumer NAS products.”

Western Digital’s MAMR technology is the latest innovation to significantly improve areal densities. It builds upon a number of other leading innovations from the company. In addition to HelioSeal helium-filled drive technology, MAMR also builds upon the company’s micro actuation and recording head manufacturing technologies. Western Digital’s advanced micro actuation technology for data center applications enables hard drives to accurately and reliably position magnetic heads for writing and reading at ultra-high densities. The company’s head manufacturing operations are the only internal supplier to utilize Damascene processing to manufacture heads with the precise tolerances and complex structures required for reliable and cost-effective recording at ultra-high densities. The Damascene process also provides the capability to embed the spin torque oscillator that enables the manufacturing of MAMR heads. The combination of these technologies deliver superior total cost of ownership (TCO) across all sizes of cloud and enterprise data centers.

The demonstration of Western Digital’s MAMR technology is the latest achievement in decades of HDD leadership from the company, including over 7,000 issued patents in HDD technology, on-going helium-enabled HDD technology advancements – as highlighted by the recent introduction of the world’s first host-managed shingled magnetic recording (SMR) technology enterprise-class 14TB hard drive – and a long history of world’s firsts in multi-disk design.

For further information on Western Digital MAMR technology, go to http://innovation.wdc.com.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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RED Hydrogen One smartphone will feature Leia lightfield holographic display technology

09 Sep

Earlier this summer, RED announced its new Hydrogen One, a pricey smartphone with what it describes as a holographic display. The company revealed very little about the smartphone at the time, but that changed yesterday with a small but illuminating revelation: RED has teamed with Leia Inc. (not to be confused with Leica) to use the latter company’s lightfield holographic display technology for the Hydrogen One.

Leia produces lightfield holographic displays for mobile gadgets using Nano-Photonic technology, according to the company, which was founded in 2014. RED has invested into Leia as part of this deal, though the particulars of the new exclusive partnership weren’t revealed.

Leia’s technology involves adding a Diffractive Lightfield Backlighting (DLB) layer to an ordinary LCD. The company explains on its website that this ‘gives [the displays] almost magical properties while preserving their standard imaging capabilities.’ The result is a phone screen capable of producing things as complex as interactive holograms or as ‘simple’ as privacy viewing zones.

RED plans to begin shipping its Hydrogen One device in the first half of next year. The smartphone is available to pre-order now from RED for $ 1,195 (aluminum) or $ 1,595 (titanium).

Via: BusinessWire

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Behind the scenes at Canon’s new Burbank Technology and Support Center

24 Jul

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

A few days ago, Canon officially opened its newest Professional Technology and Support Center in Burbank, California, and DPReview was part of a select group of media invited to tour the facility prior to the grand opening.

‘Canon Burbank’ is primarily focused on meeting the needs of filmmakers and the Hollywood film production industry, and includes post-production facilities that could be used to produce a blockbuster film. However, as I discovered during my visit, Canon wants this space to attract more than just the filmmaking elite.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

According to Elliot Peck, Canon Imaging and Technologies’ Executive Vice President, the project to build this new center started about a year ago when Canon realized that it was effectively out of space at its old Hollywood location. Canon designed a completely new facility from the ground up and took the opportunity to move to Burbank, at the heart of the filmmaking industry.

Although it’s officially called a ‘Technology Support and Service Center,’ the description I kept hearing from many staff was ‘Integration Center.’ Canon recognizes that it’s still relatively new to the cinema market, and almost every part of this facility is designed to show how seamlessly Canon products can integrate into an existing production workflow.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

While there’s a natural focus on Hollywood, Tim Smith, Canon’s Senior Advisor for Film and TV Production, told me that he wants all types of content creators to utilize this facility, particularly people like emerging filmmakers, some of whom may even be using equipment like DSLRs, and who aren’t on Hollywood’s radar yet.

“That was us six years ago,” he said, drawing a parallel to Canon’s own rise in the motion picture business. “In a sense, we’ve spent the last several years figuring out how to go from DSLRs to cinema. This facility is the culmination of all of that work.”

Smith says he wants people early in their careers, who have the desire but not the established name, to come to the facility to network and learn. Canon plans to do seminars and classes for filmmakers at all levels, including topics such as writing or lighting that don’t have a direct relationship to Canon products. Best of all, most of these classes will be free.This article offers free shipping on qualified Face mask products, or buy online and pick up in store today at Medical Department

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

The new service facility has double the space of Canon’s former Hollywood location, as well as an improved workflow for processing repairs. Canon’s goal is to achieve a one-day turnaround time for customers.

While the service center will see a lot of motion picture products given its location, it provides full support for all Canon camera products, including Cinema EOS, EOS DSLRs, EF and EF-S lenses, and EOS cinema lenses. In addition to repairs, the center has loan equipment available for CPS members.

(If you happen to live in Southern California, the center is open for walk-in visits from 9-5 Monday-Friday.)

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

Part of the service facility is the lens room, where technicians can test and verify lens performance after repair. The room might be better described as a very wide hallway, stretching about 65 ft. (20m) in length. The extra distance allows technicians to mount lenses up to 600mm on a master body to check for optical alignment and resolution, meaning that all but a couple very specialized Canon lenses can be tested here.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

The broadcast TV projection room is designed to test 4K cinema lenses, which need to deliver sharp performance from corner to corner at every aperture and focal length. Appropriately, the design of this room is all about precision.

Although you can’t see it in the dark, the testing hardware is mounted on a rail system that is precisely aligned to the projection wall. In fact, Canon told us that its engineers, along with the construction firm, spent over a week just building the projection wall to ensure that it was perfectly vertical and without imperfections.

Targets projected through a lens allow technicians to celebrate for sharpness, color, flare, and uneven focus. The target in this photo is a generic pattern to demonstrate the equipment; Canon assures us that it has proprietary targets that are used when calibrating lenses.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

At first glance, what Canon refers to as the ‘workflow area’ appears to be a standard editing suite, but the main purpose of this room is to to help filmmakers figure out how to integrate Canon cameras and lenses into their production workflows.

Canon acknowledges that filmmakers can be a finicky group of people who like to do things their own way. That poses a challenge for a company that’s still somewhat new to the cinema market. Canon created the workflow area so that filmmakers could test their full post-production workflow, using their tools of choice, while introducing Canon cameras and lenses into the mix.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

Whatever a filmmaker’s post-production workflow looks like, chances are pretty good they can replicate it here. The facility supports all major editing suites (Avid, DaVinci, Adobe, and Apple), and even includes both Mac and Windows systems so visitors can work on whatever system is most comfortable for them.

There are also three reference displays for use while editing and grading: a 30-inch Canon DP-V3010 4K reference display and a 24-inch Canon DP-V2420 1000NIT HDR reference display (both of which cost around $ 30K), and also a ‘consumer confidence’ display that’s representative of what would be found in a nice home theater. This gives a colorist a rough idea of what the image will look like on a consumer device.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

The prep room is a facility where cameras can be mounted and fully rigged for production, making it possible to design and test a setup before taking it into the field. Both podiums are wired into the rest of the building so that camera output can be instantly analyzed somewhere else, like the workflow area or the 4K screening room.

Canon wants cinematographers and 1st ACs (1st assistant camera operators) to come in and experiment with their Canon equipment, configure it the way they would for a production, to see how it performs and verify that it meets their needs. Additionally, Canon plans to use this space for other purposes, such as education. For example, it could offer classes for new ACs on how to rig a camera for a shoot.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

Going one step further, Canon invites filmmakers to bring in its competitors’ cameras to set up side-by-side with its own cameras for comparative testing. According to Smith, “We want to go head to head, with whoever we need to go up against, to convince filmmakers that we have the right product for their project.”

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

The 4K screening room is just what it sounds like. At its heart is a Barco DP4K-P 4K projector, the same projector used by post production facilities such as technicolor. Canon wants filmmakers to have confidence that any work they do in the facility will be up to Hollywood standards.

There are a few seats up front, but most of the action takes place in back where there’s a full edit suite, including 7.1 surround sound and a 2000NIT display for doing HDR grades.

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

In my conversation with Tim Smith, he expressed a strong desire for Canon Burbank to be much more than just a technology and service center. He wants it to be a location where people in the filmmaking community, from DSLR shooters to Hollywood pros, can come together to meet and network.

“In this industry you have to network to find a job,” he says. “Even if you’re the best in the world, you need to network. The more circles you build, the better. One of our visions for this facility is for a cinematographer to use our space to pitch a film to a producer, who then decides to move forward with the project.”

Photo courtesy of Canon

Behind the scenes: Canon Burbank

It’s clear that Canon wants its Burbank facility to be a resource for everyone from beginners to Hollywood pros, and I sensed a genuine desire to engage with and support the filmmaking community.

For all its history, Canon is still the new kid on the block in the cinema business, but the company is confident in its products and isn’t afraid to go head to head with the established players. However, to paraphrase Tim Smith, Canon needs to build circles and create its own networks within this community to be successful long term. Canon Burbank certainly seems to be a step in that direction.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Google demos technology that scrubs objects from photographs

19 May

During its I/O 2017 conference yesterday, Google demonstrated a new algorithm-based technology that can remove unwanted objects from existing photographs. The demonstration showed the technology removing a chainlink fence from the foreground of an image, with the final result offering no discernible indications that the fence had ever existed (around 10:45 in the video below).

The technology was demonstrated on stage by Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai during a conversation about the company’s expanding visual technology. ‘Coming very soon,’ Pichai explained, ‘if you take a picture of your daughter at a baseball game and there’s something obstructing it, we can do the hard work and remove that structure and have the picture of what matters to you in front of you.’

It looks to be an evolution of the research Google and MIT have been collaborating on for some time – in fact, their demonstration from 2015 includes a very similar chain-link fence demo. This method takes advantage of the parallax effect to identify and remove obstructions from photos. 

Unfortunately, Pichai didn’t elaborate on when this technology will be made available aside from ‘very soon,’ nor did he specify where the technology will be available. Given the company’s Google Photos announcements, however, it seems likely the technology will be implemented within that product.

Via: Google

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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LaCie reveals 2big 2-bay RAID storage solution with Thunderbolt 3 technology

21 Apr

Today LaCie announced a new version of its 2big professional 2-bay RAID storage solution that now comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology. The 2big Dock not only offers fast transfer speeds and up to 20TB of storage, making it an interesting storage solution for professional photographers and video-shooters, but also serves as a docking station that helps simplify the workflow.

At the front, SD and CF Card readers allow for easy file transfer from your camera and a USB 3.0 hub can charge a smartphone or other mobile devices or lets you connect a shuttle drive or digital camera an an additional image transfer options. In addition, the LaCie 2big Dock can be connected to displays with up to 4K resolution via DisplayPort technology.

Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports can also power a compatible laptop while simultaneously daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt or one USB-C drive. In addition a USB 3.1 port allows for compatibility with USB-C and USB 3.0 computers via the included adapter cable. The new LaCie 2big Dock will be available in 12TB, 16TB or 20TB capacities this summer and will be showcased at the NAB Show in Las Vegas next week.

Press Release:

LaCie 2big Dock Thunderbolt 3 Bridges the Port Gap and Delivers Massive Capacity to Streamline Creative Workflows

Today LaCie announced the next evolution of its popular 2big professional 2-bay RAID storage solution. Now with Thunderbolt™ 3 technology, the LaCie® 2big Dock delivers fast speeds and massive capacity, making it a powerhouse tool for photographers and videographers. Designed by Neil Poulton, the LaCie 2big Dock is also a sleek yet powerful docking station that provides ports for connecting other devices, a feature that many laptops have sacrificed in recent years. Through a single cable, the LaCie 2big Dock simplifies and centralizes the desktop by directly connecting to a laptop, SD Cards, Compact Flash Cards and other devices. The result is a simplified, more efficient creative workflow.

Creative professionals juggle massive amounts of data and tight timelines, so capacity and speed are critical. With up to 20TB of storage—a twenty five percent increase over the previous version—the LaCie 2big Dock offers professionals enough space for large video and photo libraries including up to 650 hours of 4K 30fps footage* or 200,000 raw images**. With speeds of up to 440MB/s, users can transfer one hour of 4K footage in one minute***. It also means almost zero lag time when browsing photo libraries in Adobe® Lightroom. Working with compressed 4K or HD footage, videographers can edit quickly and smoothly in Adobe Premiere®Pro.

More than storage, the LaCie 2big Dock is a powerful docking station that helps photographers and videographers simplify their workflows. Front-facing SD and CF Card slots allow the pro to directly ingest files off memory cards from a drone, DSLR, GoPro® and other devices into Adobe Lightroom or Premiere Pro. The USB 3.0 hub charges a phone or connects a shuttle drive or digital camera to offload footage or files. Via DisplayPort, professionals can connect the LaCie 2big Dock to high-resolution 720-1080p or even 4K displays. Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports can also power a compatible laptop while simultaneously daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt or one USB-C drive. Plus, the USB 3.1 port enables universal compatibility with USB-C and USB 3.0 computers via the included adapter cable. Thunderbolt 2 compatibility is also possible with an adapter (sold separately).

Other key features of the new LaCie 2big Dock include:

  • Seagate® IronWolf™ Pro enterprise-class drives and RAID optimization for superior power management and reliability
  • LaCie RAID Manager that easily monitors system’s health with audible alarm and email alerts
  • Efficient cooling with aluminum enclosure and thermoregulated fan for professional reliability
  • A five-year limited warranty

The new LaCie 2big Dock will be available in 12TB, 16TB or 20TB capacities through LaCie Resellers this summer. It will be showcased for the first time at the NAB Show in Las Vegas next week. Attendees can stop by the LaCie booth (SL4527) to see the LaCie 2big Dock in action. For more information, visit www.lacie.com.

* On average, 1 hour of 4K 30fps compressed footage creates 30GB of data.
** 20TB can store approximately 200K raw photos.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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OPPO announces dual-cam 5x optical zoom technology for smartphones

27 Feb

OPPO is not showing any new smartphone models at the Mobile World Congress but, as teased last week, the Chinese company has announced 5x Dual Camera Zoom system for smartphones. The system uses a periscope-style design and fits into a module that is only 5.7mm tall. Light is diverted through a prism and into the dual-camera’s telephoto lens which is arranged at  a 90-degree angle to the accompanying wide-angle. By shifting the path of the entering light Oppo is able to achieve a 3x optical zoom which is combined with a proprietary image fusion technology for digital zoom. The end results is a total 5x lossless zoom factor. 

At longer focal lengths camera shake becomes more of a limiting factor which is why OPPO has also integrated optical image stabilization into the system. Both the prism and tele lens can sense vibrations and compensate for them in real time. The mechanism dynamically adjusts its angle at increments of 0.0025 degree and OPPO promises 40 percent better performance than previous OIS generations for stable shots even at the 5x zoom setting. 

OPPO has not provided any information on sensor sizes and apertures, which would be critical to the image quality of the system, but nonetheless the technology looks like a very innovative approach to zooming on smartphones and we are looking forward to seeing it implemented in a device.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Extremely dramatic video touts Canon’s CMOS technology

16 Feb

No doubt, Canon’s CMOS sensors are capable of capturing some amazing low light video footage. And it’s true that Canon cameras can create usable footage in literal darkness. But this new video from Canon… maybe takes it all a bit too seriously. Here’s a glance at what the script (probably) looks like:

[Title: Moonbow / a rainbow born of moonlight]

[Scene opens with a dramatic time-lapse sunset over a mountain. Cue the strings.]

[Narrator, in very Movie Trailer Guy voice]: Have you ever seen a rainbow… in the light of the moon?

That’s just the first ten seconds. Do yourself a favor and watch the full 4+ minutes to enjoy the full effect of the soaring music, dramatic CGI models and lines like ‘By uncovering an unseen world, Canon CMOS sensors contribute to the creation of a prosperous society.’

In all seriousness, the CMOS technology Canon references does push the envelop for extreme low light shooters. Take a look at how one filmmaker uses the ME20F-SH to record video of a meteor shower.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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