Fujifilm has announced two new cameras today. One is the hot-looking X-E2, which adds phases-detection AF, split-image manual focus and some hardware tweaks to the X-E2. Way more interesting though is the new XQ1, which puts Fujifilm’s amazing X-Trans sensor into a tiny compact camera.
Anti-aliasing filters are the new, uh, thing that’s not popular any more. Ever since Fujifilm redesigned it’s sensors so that they no longer need a blurry filter in front to smooth out jaggy moiré patterns, everyone has been jumping on the anti-anti-aliasing wagon (not to be confused with the AA wagon, which is where inveterate boozers go to reduce their own blur).
The latest of these is Nikon, which has taken the AA filter out of the new D5300.
Speaking of iPhone cameras being awesome, photographer Austin Mann is so taken with the quality of his new 5S that he left his regular work DSLR at home. And Austin wasn’t just taking the dog out for a walk. He was taking a trip to Patagonia.
Let’s make a little wager. I’ll put a $1 on the fact that most people who buy the tiny new Panasonic Lumix GM1 will never change its lens, instead opting to use it as a rather cool little compact. Not that this is a bad thing entirely – having a Micro Four Thirds sensor in a body smaller than that to the sensorially-challenged Pentax Q10 is great. But it’d be a shame not to stick Panasonic’s near-legendary 17mm ƒ1.7 lens on this baby and drop it in your pocket.
Olloclip’s new 4-in–1 lens “system” really is a system, all in one tiny, dense block of aluminum and glass. Like the other Olloclips, this one slides onto your iPhone’s top corner to add a lens between the world and your camera sensor. Unlike the other Olloclips, this one has four different lenses buried in the same unit.
The end of the crop-frame camera is nigh, for anything except special markets at least. Sony’s new A7 and A7r are camera with full-frame sensors. That’s right: full-frame SLRs, only without the “R”. (But with an extra, different “R” in the A7R… Perhaps the R stands for “recycle”?).
Way back in 2009, I reviewed the Lightscoop, a miraculous mirror which reflects your camera’s built-in flash up an off the ceiling, effectively turning the whole top surface of the room into one giant soft light source. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the fact that it was bulky and tricky to carry with you.
Now there are two new Lightscoops, both of which are a little more portable,
Maybe you have an iPhone, an SLR, and perhaps a couple of weird old lenses that don’t fit either of them. Fear not, my gadget-hoarding friend, for the answer is nigh. It’s called the Beastgrip, and it attached pretty much anything to anything else.
Apparently Nikon’s D600 was already pretty much perfect, because the new D610 that replaces it is little more than a tweak. Let me put it this way: If Apple released a “new” iPhone with such a minor spec bump, the company would be “finished.”
DP review has tested the iPhone 5S’s camera and – surprise – it’s awesome. At ten long pages (all requiring a click to reach, as is DP Review’s annoying style) it’s an epic read that you’ll probably want to add to your Instapaper queue, but you can always skip to the conclusion and read the rather amusing list of “bad” points that the reviewers have come up with to make the article “balanced.”
The new GoPro Hero3+ makes jumping out of an airplane in a squirrel suit just a little bit more tempting. The new camera is smaller, faster and apparently much better.
The Nikon AW1 might look look as awesome as the Nikonos, Nikon’s previous waterproof camera (pictured below), but it is the first interchangeable-lens camera I can remember since that iconic design that can be taken underwater without a housing. And having tried out underwater photography with an iPhone and a blurry-lensed case this summer, I can totally see the appeal of doing it with a proper camera.
iOS 7’s Photos and Camera apps have been completely redesigned. Or rather, the Photos app has, with the Camera app getting some great updates, but changing very little functionally (A good thing, too – it was always easy to use).
So what’s changed? Pull up a beanbag, put on your favorite Barry White playlist and pour yourself a glass of delicious wine, while we take a look at everything new.
Product managers at Nikon and Canon must be getting pretty worried about their bonuses right now – First of all they’re still being squeezed by cellphone cameras at the low end, and now even their high-end compacts look absurd in the face of Fujifilm’s latest offering, the X-A1. It’s a camera which costs around the same as Nikon’s P and Canon’s G cameras ($600), only it comes with an APS-C sensor and an interchangeable lens.
If you happen to have a bunch of Four Thirds lenses lying around, and your in the market for a new camera, then Olympus has you covered: The new OM-D E-M1 is an SLR-style body which will accept old Four Thirds lenses, as well as new Micro Four Thirds lenses. And more importantly, they actually work, and focus at a decent speed.
There’s something beautifully absurd about the Hasselnuts Kickstarter project, which mounts your iPhone on the back of a Hasselblad 500-series film camera and uses it as an 8MP sensor for a camera that – in analog form – was considered hi-resolution enough to take photos on the moon.
Then again, if you do have an old Hassy lying around, then why not drop $250 just to get it working again?
Viewfinders are the new fast lenses, or something. At least according to Nikon, which has put a proper viewfinder back in its P-series cameras with the new P7800. And when I say proper, I mean “proper” – the viewfinder isn’t a nice bright optical one but an electronic model.
At last, the Sony QX “lens cameras” are officially official. They’re a pair of regular compact cameras built-into lens-shaped bodies, and they’re made to pair with your smartphone, using it as both a viewfinder and a controller.
The lenses connect via Wi-Fi, and if you’re using an Android phone then they’ll pair with it using NFC.
The details follow:
With such a comprehensive leak now revealing the entire “lens camera” lineup in detail, it seems foolish to actually wait for an official launch to get all excited over the news of Sony’s totally left-field cellphone accessories. They’re actually standalone cameras, only the camera part is housed inside the lens, and they clip onto your smartphone, using it as the viewfinder and brain over a wireless connection.
The “Kúla Deeper” might sound like yet another technique ex-Policeman and legendary love-machine Sting has learned in order to drive the ladies wild, but it is in fact an add-on for any DSLR that makes shooting 3-D pictures and movies easy.
Yes, in theory those 3-D videos and pictures could be of Sting removing Roxanne’s red dress in slow motion, for eight hours at a time, but you could also use its powers for good.
The second piece of Sony news today (along with the neat new NEX 5T) is the Alpha A3000, an SLR-style mirrorless camera for the crazy, crazy low price of $400. Take that, entry-level Canon Rebel bodies.
Good morning folks, and welcome to the latest episode of [_____] is the new [_____]. Today we’re taking a look at Sony’s brand new NEX–5T mirrorless camera, which proves that [Wi-Fi] is the new [large sensor]. Or that [NFC] is the new [Wi-Fi]. Or something.
You know how it’s almost impossible to keep track of all the photos you take with your iPhone, iPad, and your regular camera? Imagine if you had another device that clipped to your clothes and captured video and stills all day long. It would be a nightmare of organization, right?
Then again, if you’re, say, a photographer who regualarly gets harrassed by police and “security” “guards,” then having an always-on camera capturing the 65-degree slice of life in front of you might actually turn out to be rather useful.
RayFlash’s new ringflash adapter is called the Universal, and it is. Well, almost. There are actually two different sizes, so you’ll have to choose the “Universal” model that fits your camera.
I kid. Kinda. The Universal part of the name actually refers to the flash-hole, which can now accommodate pretty much any flashgun, not just the handful of Canon and Nikon strobes that the old RayFlash supported.
If you take a trip to the local laboratory supply store, and then follow it up by dropping into the vintage camera shop (or just a thrift store) then you could make your own beautiful lamp, just like those fashioned from dead photo gear by the Taiwanese Ystudio. It sure beats the usual crap you get from Ikea.