In a recent blog post, Google has introduced their new AI that can judge your photos based on both technical and aesthetic quality. According to Google researchers, the new network “sees” the photos almost like the humans would. With time, it could get even more accurate, and its application could affect image editing processes, judging images in competitions and more. Assessing the technical quality of the images shouldn’t be a problem for neural networks....

Remember when we were kids, we would look up into the sky and try to find shapes in the clouds? Well, I still sometimes do it at 33, and the latest James Webb telescope image reminded me of this fun activity. JWST has peered into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy, sending back a mesmerizing, colorful image. I loved looking at it and it reminded me of a merry-go-round that was always near the train station in my hometown....

The LitraTorch from LITRA has impressed us somewhat here at DIYP. For such a small light, it’s extremely durable and packs quite a punch when it comes to light output. We did a comparison of the LitraTorch against the Lume Cube not too long ago, which you can see down below. The LitraTorch is pretty inexpensive as it is already, typically retailing for around $75. Today, though, B&H has the LitraTorch on sale for a mere $49....

It’s not often that one has to wipe down, cover up and head into a clean room to check out a camera. For the guys at Gizmodo, though, when visiting the SLAC National Accelerator Lab at Stanford University, it’s a requirement. And it’s easy to understand why. This 3.2 gigapixel camera is destined to sit inside a telescope in the Andean foothills of Chile to survey the skies. This camera is the largest digital camera ever built, approximately the size of a small car with a “table-sized” focal plane....

Mexican photographer Felix Hernandez builds detailed miniatures and creates stunning photos with them. His work just keeps getting better and more elaborate, and his latest project has left me speechless. The Wind is a story about our changing world, and just like the cold wind blowing this evening, it has sent shivers down my spine.Advertisements Just like his previous projects, The Wind consists of miniatures Felix has largely built himself....

I always thought, perhaps a little naively, that when packages were thrown in my general direction I simply got a crappy delivery guy. As it turns out, this seems to be standard practise if the responses to this Reddit post are anything to go by. One “bump” like this may not be a big deal, but some comments in response to the post astounded me. It seems that it is not only standard, but it’s practically company policy....

I am not going to hide it, I am a big Think Tank fan. In fact the bag we used to carry around in photokina is a ThinkTank Roller Derby. I do own an Airport International as well (see review here), but if I need a laptop, it was out of the question. It has no laptop pocket. So the fact that Think Tank finally added a laptop pocket to the bag will probably make a lot of people happy....

When you film even the most ordinary stuff with a drone, it gives them a completely new perspective. And sometimes, we see drone footage that combines this new perspective with both unusual subjects and a whole new level of skill. The latest work by filmmaker Robert McIntosh is exactly like that! Using one of his custom-made tiny drones, Robert takes you through dinosaur skeletons in this mesmerizing video from a Natural History Museum of Utah....

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University appeared to have solved the age-old problem of microphone bleed-through, using just a couple of cheap video cameras. Instead of recording sound using microphones, the cameras see the vibrations created by individual instruments and then translate that back into sound waves. No matter how good microphones are, there are always going to be drawbacks when recording multiple instruments. In order to be able to edit the sound in post-production of just one instrument, they first have to be isolated....

However, when it finally arrived, Bill noticed that something was wrong. “When I came home to open it up, I thought ‘oh, this doesn’t feel right,’” Bill explained. The package contained two camera boxes, and both were reportedly completely empty. Scammers usually put bricks and rocks in boxes, but this one apparently didn’t bother. [via PetaPixel]

Flash is almost an inevitability when it comes to portraits. At some point or another, you’re going to find yourself frustrated with the “natural light” and you’re going to want to either try to overpower it or complement it to improve its looks or you’re going to give in completely, head indoors and go for a more studio-style setup away from the wind and rain and crappy weather. Whatever the reason, it’s as inevitable as Thanos....

It looks like Apple’s going a bit nuts on the “shot on iPhone” campaign this year, at least when it comes to video. Selena Gomez recently shot an entire music video with it, albeit one that doesn’t really tax the iPhone’s camera all that much. Now, they’ve put one in the hands John Wick, Deadpool 2 And Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch. His creation is a snowball fight of epic proportions called “Snowbrawl”....

Sometimes, a few household items and vivid imagination are all an artist needs to create a masterpiece. This timelapse video is a perfect example. Creative filmmakers Thomas Blanchard and Oilhack teamed up to create an abstract, trippy and colorful timelapse using nothing but some paint, oil, milk and liquid soap. They captured the motion and the unpredictable game of the liquids in a video titled Galaxy Gates. This video belongs to their series of videos, and as Thomas himself says – it’s the pride of their collection....

Sometimes, you have a camera rig and you need a thing, and there’s just no real commercially available solution out there to give you exactly what you need. So, you make your own. And that’s exactly what filmmaker Maximillian Wasinger did for his Z Cam E2 rig, with this rather fetching looking wooden side handle that also acts as SSD storage. And when we make such things, sometimes we document the process to share with others....

It’s true that we’ve seen a lot of lights at the IBC Show, many of which have been interesting updates. But it’s rare that you find a company prepared to completely reinvent things and come up with something totally different. DIYP were excited to discover Pipe Lighting which was showing off its truly innovative lighting designs. We chatted to CEO and co-owner, Eduard Bochanov to find out more. “We call it game-changing technology,” says Eduard, “it’s good for everyone in the filmmaking business....

Have you ever wondered how those random posts appear on your Explore page on Instagram? Well, they’re not random at all. The platform uses AI to find the stuff you might like. In a recent blog post, Instagram’s engineers explain more about how the app decides what gets to be in your Explore tab.Advertisements There are some useful applications of AI on Instagram, such as fighting comment trolls and online bullying or restricting harmful posts....

Organizing all sorts of batteries and chargers is always a big problem among photographers. We’ve seen quite a few crafty people tackle this problem by creating their own charging stations. However, none of them could ever be as remarkable as the Nostromo-inspired version that Eric Strebel built. In this video he shows you exactly how he did it. The charging station features regular sockets for charging gimbal and camera batteries....

The humble pizza cutter. Who knew it could be such a wonderful cinematic tool? Well, it turns out that it might be. For your smartphone, anyway. The folks at COOPH have come up with a great way to get a dolly or slider for your phone without actually buying a dolly or slider. All you need is a pizza cutter. Literally, all you need is a pizza cutter and a couple of rubber bands....

The lockdowns in place around the planet have all got us trying to figure out different ways to spend our time. For BuildYourCamera, though, it’s business as usual, making cameras from cardboard and paper. This time, though, he’s not making a camera that already exists, but spent his imagination figuring out what Nikon might have in store for us with a flagship Z9 mirrorless body. A series of images of the “camera” was posted to Instagram, and like Nikon themselves, the series begins with a teaser....

With most drones that have built-in cameras with stabilisation, we typically see fully motorised 3-axis gimbals that can compensate for just about any movement of the gimbal and keep the camera locked onto the subject. For those that don’t have built-in cameras and gimbals, most people typically attach something like an Insta360 ONE R, GoPro or DJI Osmo Action and rely on electronic image stabilisation and horizon levelling. But horizon levelling has one big issue....