Latest Posts
Canon Introduces Cinema EOS Camera Series
In a Hollywood event that included Martin Scorcese and many other filmmakers, Canon unveiled its foray into digital film making - the C300 Cinema EOS camera. Film makers have been infatuated with Canon's HD DSLR cameras ever since Canon introduced HD video capability in its 5D Mark II. But the 5D Mark II was really just a still image … [Read More...]
Microsoft Creates Autonomous Party Photographer Robot
Say what you want about Internet Explorer 6 or Windows Vista, Microsoft still has the ability to innovate when they want to. Cameras have become so easy that all you have to in some cases is press a button. Now it seems that humans are not even required to do that. Microsoft combined one part robot, one part Microsoft Kinect, and one DSLR to … [Read More...]
How Good is the iPhone 4S Camera’s IR Filter?
One of the many enhancements in the iPhone 4S camera is reportedly an embedded infrared (IR) filter. Sounds good you say, but what good is an IR filter and how can we even tell if it's really in there? One of the easiest IR filter testers may be located right beside you. If you have a TV remote with a bulbous knob on one end, that bulb is … [Read More...]
Throwable Ball Camera Captures 360 Degree Panoramas
For everyone who has stitched a few photos together in Photoshop and called it a panorama, here is how you take it to the next level. Jonas Pfeil, a student at of the Technical University of Berlin has taken one part camera array and one part Nerf toy and combined them into a throwable camera. Mind you, throwing is not just optional - it is … [Read More...]
DIY Movie Making With Your DSLR
If your still photography is in a creative rut, maybe you should consider flipping your DSLR camera over to video mode. While it may not be the reason you bought your camera, film makers the world over are embracing DSLR cameras for their video abilities. Entire TV episodes have been shot with the Canon 5D Mark II while the Canon 7D was used in … [Read More...]
Lytro Introduces First “Living Picture” Camera
Forget about setting exposure. Check. Forget about memory cards. Check. Forget about focusing? Ch…..What? Today, amid a torrent of fanfare, Lytro introduced the first of its "light field" cameras. These cameras incorporate a remarkable shoot first, focus later concept which they hope will take the photography community by storm. … [Read More...]
Canon Introduces EOS-1D X
Canon has announced the newest member of the high-end DSLR family, the EOS-1D X. Canon's formally diverse 1D lineup included the 1D Mark IV, a crop frame camera beloved by sports photographers for its high frame rate and the 1Ds Mark III, a high resolution camera used by high end portrait and studio professionals. It appears that the new 1D X … [Read More...]
iPhone 4S Camera Review
On June 11, 1997, a gentleman named Phiillipe Kahn did something remarkable. Sitting in a maternity ward, he snapped a picture of his newborn baby daughter. The remarkable part is that the photo was taken on his cell phone. Seconds later, he had transmitted that photo to more than 2000 friends, family, and coworkers. This tiny image was less … [Read More...]
How to Steady a Camera Without a Tripod
One of the first recommendations you will hear to improve blurry images is to use a tripod. However, a quality tripod can cost the same as or more than an SLR camera. In addition, using a tripod in many public places will send security guards scurrying in your direction. Fortunately, for the occasions where a tripod is not feasible, … [Read More...]
An Inside Look at your RGB Color Data
Most people are aware that image sensors work by recording light intensities at red, green, and blue pixels and recombining them in various ratios to produce an image. However, many may not know that each of the RGB color channels has a personality of its own - beyond the color of light it records. The images to the left are representations of a … [Read More...]
How to Optimize OS X Lion For Your Photography Workflow
If you're a Mac user, you may be one of the millions who has already downloaded the latest OS X operating system - OS X 10.7 Lion. Even if you are not an early adopter, you've probably heard the buzz. In this article, we'll take you through the paces of Mac OS X Lion and show you how to trick out your OS installation to best suit your … [Read More...]
The Science of Lens Condensation
You gaze out the window of your beach front hotel room as the sun gently fades on the horizon. At the last second, the sun and clouds converge in a brilliant display of light across the water. You grab your camera, rush out onto the balcony, and prepare to capture the magic. And then it happens. Slowly and imperceptibly at first, your image … [Read More...]
A Preview of the Lytro “Light Field” Camera
Remember that photo - the once in a lifetime shot that you thought you nailed. But when you scanned the LCD screen, you noticed that the image was just a little out of focus. Before you knew it, the moment was lost forever. A new company is promising to solve that problem by doing the impossible - allowing you to correct the focus after you … [Read More...]
Top Ten Milestones in Modern Camera Technology – As Reported by Popular Science
At some point in the last year, it was brought to my attention that vintage issues of Popular Science magazine have been scanned and are now freely available through Google Books. Included are all past issues from 1926 through 1999 - in their entirety. Let the geekery begin! This week, I decided to take a walk down memory lane and relive the … [Read More...]
Technology Demystified: Backside Illuminated Sensors
One of the greatest temptations in reviewing cameras is to put too much emphasis on the pixel count. As we are learning (sometimes the hard way), it is the quality of the pixels that matters most. In the last ten years, the minimum pixel size has decreased by a factor of ten due to advances in sensor manufacturing methods. This allows dramatic … [Read More...]
