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  • Steadicam launches Kickstarter campaign for motorized smartphone stabilization rig

    Camera stabilization system manufacturer Steadicam is hoping to introduce a new motorized rig for smartphone videographers called the Steadicam Volt. The new device is designed to accept a wide range of smartphones via an adjustable clamp and weights, and uses a battery-powered gyro that offers modes for shooting sport and for movie-making. The company says the rechargeable lithium-ion battery has a life of eight hours, and that the rig can still be used in manual mode when the battery is flat.

    The Volt folds for storage, and offers Bluetooth and USB connectivity for updates and for working with the app that lets the device know which phone is in use. The company intends to fund the development of the Volt via a Kickstarter campaign and is seeking $ 100,000 to start production.

    The Steadicam Volt has a projected retail price of $ 200, but early pledgers can reserve one for $ 119. If the campaign is successful the company says it will begin shipping in June.
    For more information see the Steadicam website and the Steadicam Volt Kickstarter page.

    Press Release

    STEADICAM VOLT; 3- AXIS MOTORIZED SMARTPHONE CAMERA STABILIZER

    Steadicam, a division of The Tiffen Company, will soon be releasing the Steadicam Volt, a 3-axis motorized smartphone camera stabilizer. As the first in its class to offer the user complete control of image framing and composition, the Volt serves as a versatile tool for content creation, easily operated by a wide range of users. With the Steadicam Volt, consumers will have the opportunity to capture outstanding Steadicam quality video right from their smartphone.

    Product Benefits:
    • Lightweight and folding design enable easy storage and transportation
    • Accompanying iOS APP allows for precise balance and tuning
    • Haptic control utilizes Simulated Inertia™ Dual operating modes for beginners and experienced users
    • Uses long life rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries
    • Accommodates phone sizes with or without case from 100 – 200g in weight and 58 to 80mm wide
    • Bluetooth enabled
    Engineered to provide the utmost precision and control, the Steadicam Volt will enable smartphone users to capture high quality video content with ease.
    Additionally, the simulated feeling of inertia on the pan axis will improve the overall handing of the gimbal, giving users the stability they need to film with remarkable precision.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • CES video: the Nikon D5600

    The Nikon D5600, originally announced for Europe and Asia, is now coming to North America. Backstage at CES, Nikon’s Steve Heiner tells us a bit about the D5600, including the new, deeper hand grip.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Canon EF-M 18-150 F3.5-6.3 IS STM real-world sample gallery

    $ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_7490072589″,”galleryId”:”7490072589″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”standalone”:false,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”startInCommentsView”:false,”isMobile”:false}) });

    The Canon EF-M 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM is a travel zoom for the company’s mirrorless cameras. It’s equivalent to 28.8-240mm when attached to an EF-M mount camera, such as the EOS M5 that we used for this gallery. Click the images above to open the gallery and see how the lens performed at the Disneyland Resort and beyond.

    See our Canon EF-M 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM gallery

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • CES 2017: Hands-on with the Kodak Super 8

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    First launched in 1965, Kodak’s Super 8 format was one of the most influential developments in amateur filmmaking. And now it’s back, with an all-new (kind of) camera. We headed to the Kodak booth earlier today to get our hands on one.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    The new Super 8 camera is truly a hybrid of the very old, and the very new. At its heart is a cartridge of 8mm film, totaling 50 feet in length. How many minutes of footage you can shoot depends on which frame-rate you select. The Super 8 camera can shoot at 18, 24, 25, or 36 fps. 

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    The ‘viewfinder’ is a 3.5in LCD, which provides a live view image, via a split-prism behind the attached lens. Although a large flipping, tilting screen is definitely a huge improvement over classic all-analog Super 8 cameras of the past, the live view image is hazy, grainy, and hard to use as a means of judging critical focus. In other words – pretty familiar, if you’ve ever shot Super 8 before.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    The main control on the Super 8 camera is the circular ‘wheel’, shown here on the body, facing the flipped-out screen. It works rather like a second-generation iPod. The central button brings up a menu, and the touch-sensitive wheel allows you to navigate the settings by scrolling. The screen itself is not touch-sensitive.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    Super 8 cameras will be bundled with a manual focus Ricoh 6mm F1.2 prime lens (roughly equivalent to a 40mm F7 in 35mm terms) but the C-mount is compatible with a huge number of lenses stretching back decades.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    Here’s that click wheel in action. The Super 8 is reasonably customizable. Many of the features that would have been managed with physical switches in the past (like frame rate) can be set in the camera’s menus. As a result, the camera body is impressively clean and minimalist.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    The Super 8 is a true ‘hybrid’ device. While the film takes care of the images, sound can be recorded to an SD card, via an external microphone. Cartridges must be mailed back to Kodak for development, and the price (TBC) will include film development, scanning and uploading to the cloud.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with Kodak Super 8

    Oh yes – and Kodak has also promised to bring back Ektachrome! 

    It feels a bit surreal to be covering the launch of new film products in 2017, especially from Kodak, but after using an almost production-ready sample of the Super 8 camera today we’re actually pretty impressed by how well the company has married the analog and digital sides of the product. What do you think?

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Dell Canvas 27 launched as world’s first ‘horizontal smart workspace’

    At CES 2017, Dell introduced what it claims is the world’s first ‘horizontal smart workspace,’ the 27-inch touch-sensitive Dell Canvas display. Canvas is designed for creatives, including photographers, artists, and graphic designers, and can be used in two orientations: lying flat on a desk or propped up at an angle via a kickstand. The display likewise offers support for a stylus, totems (Dell’s large control dials), and touch input.

    Dell Canvas isn’t necessarily an alternative to Surface Studio; rather, it is a large display that can be connected to nearly any Windows 10 device, says Dell. The monitor has a 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution. The model will be available from Dell.com in the U.S. on March 30 starting at $ 1799.

    Via: Dell

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Ambarella announces 8K-ready H3 SoC for drones and video cameras

    Image processor maker Ambarella has released the H3 System-on-Chip (SoC) for high-end drones and video cameras, including those capturing 360-degree and virtual reality footage. The H3 supports 8K Ultra HD H.264/AVC video at 30 frames per second or multiple video streams with equivalent performance, for example 360-degree cameras that use dual 4K/60fps sensors. 

    “With the introduction of H3 we believe we provide the highest video performance and best image quality solution for high-end drones and multi-sensor video cameras,” said Fermi Wang, president and CEO of Ambarella. “H3 delivers 8Kp30 video performance to match the next generation of displays, such as 8K televisions and high resolution head-mounted displays.”

    The chip comes with a multi-channel ISP for 360-degree video capture and multi-sensor drone applications. 10-bit HDR processing should help deal with high-contrast scenes and Ambarella’s electronic image stabilization should keep things steady, even in difficult conditions, such as high winds or when panning quickly. The chipset is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU and an integrated hardware de-warping engine supports wide-angle panoramic camera designs and fish-eye lenses. Ambarella has not provided any information as to when the H3 is likely to make its appearance in consumer products, but it’s good to see that in the near future there should be a range of capture devices capable of recording content for the latest 8K displays. 

    Press Release:

    Ambarella Introduces 8K Ultra HD SoCs for Virtual Reality and Drone Cameras

    Ambarella H3 SoC delivers 8K Ultra HD at 30 frames per second and 4K Ultra HD at 120 frames per second

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., January 5, 2017 — Ambarella, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA), a leading developer of low-power, HD and Ultra HD video processing semiconductors, today introduced the H3 System-on-Chip (SoC) for high-end drones and a new generation of video cameras, including 360-degree and virtual reality cameras. The H3 video SoC enables 8K Ultra HD H.264/AVC video at 30 frames per second, as well as multiple video streams with equivalent performance, including 360-degree cameras with dual 4KP60 sensor video capture.

    8K videos played on large 8K displays provide a better viewing experience to the end user, as pixels at this resolution are indistinguishable to the human eye at any reasonable distance. The combination of 8K video capture together with Ambarella’s advanced oversampling and image stabilization also enables higher video quality 4K video recording.

    “With the introduction of H3 we believe we provide the highest video performance and best image quality solution for high-end drones and multi-sensor video cameras,” said Fermi Wang, president and CEO of Ambarella. “H3 delivers 8Kp30 video performance to match the next generation of displays, such as 8K televisions and high resolution head-mounted displays.”

    H3 includes a powerful multi-channel ISP for 360 degree video capture and multi-sensor drone applications. Its 10-bit HEVC High Dynamic Range (HDR) video processing handles high contrast and wide color range scenes. It also features Ambarella’s advanced Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), capable of generating a smooth 4Kp60 video output under challenging conditions, including during high winds and with high degrees of rotation. The integration of a quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 CPU with floating point and NEON™ provides significant processing power for customer applications including computer vision, wireless networking, and multi-sensor stitching algorithms. The H3’s hardware de-warping engine supports wide-angle panoramic camera designs and fish-eye lenses.

    Ambarella will demonstrate the new H3 SoC at a private, invitation-only event held during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 5 – 8, 2017.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Hawks Factory announces new 35mm F2 in M-mount

    Japanese optical manufacturer Hawks Factory has released details of a new lens it has designed in homage to ‘old-style’ Leica M lenses. The Tsubasa Swallow 35mm F2 comes in a Leica M-mount and intends to produce images with a retro feel, according the company. It will display high resolution in the center of the frame and a soft blur at the edges when used wide open. Hawks Factory claims that the style of image the lens produces is something that ‘fascinates people all over the world’. 

    The Tsubasa Swallow 35mm F2 is constructed using eight elements in six groups and features an iris created with 14 blades that closes to F16. The company says the glass and the polishing are Japanese, and that they designed their own helicoid for the focusing ring. The lens has an all-metal barrel that is said to be designed to withstand decades of use, but the company doesn’t specify whether the focusing mechanism is coupled to the camera’s rangefinder system or whether users will be expected to focus via Live View.

    The lens is expected to be released for sale in February and, according to Leica Rumours, will be priced ¥198,000 (approx. $ 1800). For more information and some sample images see this translated version of the Hawks Factory website.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • CES 2017: hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    We’re at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada where Canon has taken the wraps off a new high-end compact camera: the PowerShot G9 X Mark II. We dropped by the Canon booth to take a closer look. 

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    Externally, the G9 X Mark II looks a lot like the PowerShot Mark I. In fact, the two cameras are almost impossible to tell apart. Canon even forgot to add a ‘II’ to the name. The improvements are all internal. 

    An upgraded Digic VII processor provides a major speed boost, enabling continuous shooting up to 8.2 fps (compared to 1fps in the original G9 X). Canon has also added Dual Sensing Image Stabilization, meaning that information from the lens and sensor is combined to offer a claimed 3.5 stops of image stabilization.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    The G9 X Mark II uses the same 20MP 1-inch sensor as its forebear, and the same 28-82mm equiv. F2-4.9 lens. Aside from the faster continuous shooting, other additions include greater customization options, improved AF tracking, better scene recognition in auto mode and in-camera Raw conversion.

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    In terms of body size, the two cameras are identical, too, making the Mark II a highly attractive pocket compact, just like its predecessor.

    This image gives a good indication of the G9 X Mark II’s slim construction. When turned off (shown here) the body is a mere 31mm thick. 

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    The GX9 II gets a bit bigger when it’s powered up, but not much. Here you can also see the main control dial around the lens. This ring can be customized to serve various functions. By default, it controls the main exposure parameter (i.e., aperture, in Av mode). 

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    The rear of the G9 X Mark II is dominated by a large touch-sensitive LCD, boasting 1.04 million dots. It’s fixed, which keeps the camera nice and slim, but could mean that it’s a bit harder to take selfies. 

    CES 2017: Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G9 X II

    A tiny flash (gn 6) can be popped up manually for fill light and social photography. The G9 X Mark II is set to ship next month in your choice of black or silver, for $ 529. 

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • DJI reportedly takes majority stake in Hasselblad

    DJI is reported to have acquired a majority share in Hasselblad, according to an article posted January 4 on Luminous Landscape. We asked DJI’s Corporate Communication Director of North America, Adam Lisberg, about the reports and he declined to comment. It’s telling, however, that DJI isn’t making an effort to deny the reports.

    The initial report from LL, written by Kevin Raber, recounts the history of Hasselblad from the company’s aerial beginnings to the announcement of the X1D system. Raber speculates that unexpectedly high demand for the X1D forced Hasselblad to look for funding to produce the camera. He says:

    “Hasselblad still needed to stay afloat. The investors wanted their money and they were not willing to contribute any more to this cause. What now?

    Simple, the minority shareholder becomes the majority shareholder. DJI now owns the majority share of Hasselblad. You heard me right. This information has come from numerous, reliable sources. Hasselblad, the iconic Swedish camera company, is now owned by the Chinese drone maker DJI. Sooner or later, this will all become public.”

    – Kevin Raber, Luminous Landscape

    You can read the entire article here. 

    What does this mean for the future of Hasselblad? What kind of products could the two create together? Let us know what you think in the comments.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Timelapse Tour: Watch How Cities Grow Between 1984 to 2016

    [ By SA Rogers in Culture & History & Travel. ]

    google-earth-timelapse-san-francisco

    Human civilization has grown and expanded at an amazing rate – or alarming, depending on who you ask – and you can watch the last 32 years of it unfold via satellite imagery thanks to Google’s Timelapse feature. Originally released in 2013, Timelapse has been updated to add four more years of data and tons of new imagery data from two new satellites, offering clearer views with more detail than ever before. Choose any location in the world to see how it has changed – from cities to the shrinking ice caps.

    google-timelapse-3

    google-timelapse-gif-2

    Some of the most dramatic changes have occurred in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dubai and Chongqing, China, but you can also watch the Aral Sea dry up and the Shirase Glacier of Antarctica melt into the sea.

    Aral Sea

    Miami, Florida

    Beijing, China

    Las Vegas, Nevada

    Shirase Glacier

    Hangzhou, China

    Look for the location of your choice and create your own annual time lapse at Google’s Time Engine Tour Editor.

    Time Travel in China: Photos Reveal A Century of Dramatic Growth

    Few nations have experienced quite the explosive rate of growth over the last century as China, and a new photo series shows us just how dramatic those changes actually look on the ground. …

    DIY Hyperlapse: Make Your Own Timelapse Motion Pictures

    You may have seen this amazing animation and thought it took an impossible amount of work to create, but there are multiple sites tools, and do-it-yourself tutorials that greatly simplify the …

    Shanghai Tower Timelapse Film Captures 4 Years of Construction

    The second-tallest building in the world seems to appear out of nowhere, shooting into the sky as if of its own accord, in this stunning time-lapse video of the skyline in Lujiazui, China taken …

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    [ By SA Rogers in Culture & History & Travel. ]

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