We know show lasers are dangerous to cameras. Heck, we all remember that RED sensor getting fried from a direct laser hit in a light show. With self-driving cards anticipated to rule the roads, the world may become a totally unsafe place for cameras. Ars Technica reports that During CES Jit Ray Chowdhury, an autonomous vehicle engineer at the startup Ridecell, took some photos of a car equipped with lidars made by AEye....
I think it’s clear to all of us that Meta is trying its best to look as much as possible like TikTok. Reels, auto-generated captions, and expanded search are only some of the features Meta copied for Instagram and Facebook. But now, the company has taken an extra step to look more like its biggest competitor. And this time, it’s wearing seven-league boots. Meta is changing Instagram’s video preview (again) to look more like that on TikTok....
Under the new ownership of OPC Optics, Meyer Optik Gorlitz has now confirmed what many have long suspected. The $3,000 Nocturnus 50mm f/0.95 lens was indeed a just a copy of the now-discontinued $850 Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95. Despite the specs being identical, this is something that Meyer Optik had long denied. The rumours about the cloning have been around since 2015. In a press release, Meyer Optik Gorlitz under the ownership of OPC optics has finally admitted the truth....
The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) has announced the winners of the 2022 TIPA World Awards. Just like every year, there are plenty of cameras and lenses awarded, covering a wide range of categories. But there are also imaging software, video, lighting, monitors, camera phones, and inkjet papers and printers. In a word, everything that makes up the photo industry and that you need in life as a professional or amateur photographer....
Google have released a new version of Snapseed with a drastically overhauled user interface. Version 2.18 is available for both iOS and Android. You know Snapseed, it’s the reason Google bought Nik Software. A company which offered a fantastic suite of desktop tools Google then abandoned. They say that the new user interface is designed for faster editing and a more efficient workflow. All of the usual features are still there, and a new perspective correction feature has also been added....
In December, word of an upcoming Godox AD1200Pro got out. As usually happens, Adorama popped up a listing almost immediately afterwards. That listing didn’t really reveal much except for a few product photos, though. Now, the UK’s biggest Godox distributor, Pixapro, has also put up a listing for the Pixapro CITI1200Pro, showing off some of the specs for the new unit. Although the specs are subject to change, as Adorama still shows the item as being “in development“, the Pixapro listing does offer some clues as to what we can expect....
NASA has a brand new clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. It’s where they’re building the new Mars 2020 rover. And NASA has set up a live streaming camera so you can watch them build it. The new rover is scheduled to take off next year (hence the name) and touch down on the surface of Mars in February 2021. Its mission is to check out regions believed to have once been habitable....
Lens and filter manufacturer Irix has announced a brand new Variable ND filter with four stops of density. It’s compact, lightweight, and convenient – and the company claims that it’s the most compact variable ND filter in the market. The Irix EdgeVari 2-5 is only 6.2mm thick, which makes it half the size of an average ND filter. Obviously, since it’s a variable filter, you can only pack that one into your camera bag instead of packing four different ones....
Production is underway for a new movie about the life of wartime photographer and correspondent Lee Miller. Filming has begun in Croatia, with actress Kate Winslet playing the role of Miller. The first production still of Winslet as Miller has been released, complete with a Rolleiflex camera in hand. The movie apparently focuses on the decade of Miller’s life, which includes her time reporting the events of World War II....
Nikon has announced Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 VR S, a brand new super-telephoto lens for its Z-mount mirrorless cameras. Despite the 400mm focal length, the lens is incredibly small and lightweight. In fact, Nikon claims that it’s “the smallest and lightest 400mm they have ever created.” The Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 is essentially a compromise between reach, portability, price, and aperture size. The f/4.5 isn’t the fastest aperture you can get, but it’s what enables the lens to be as small and as it is....
Earlier this year, Instagram started testing non-fungible tokens or NFTs for a limited number of US users. But if you live elsewhere and want to jump on the bandwagon, rejoice! From now on, you can buy and sell NFTs on Instagram in 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas. If you want to post an NFT to Instagram, you need to connect your digital wallet to the app....
Nik Collection is loved by many photographers, and despite some difficulties, it’s been around for 25 years. To celebrate its birthday, the famous photo plugin suite has released its latest 3.3 version, which includes a pack of 25 brand new presets. The new presets are available for Color Efex Pro and Silver Efex Pro. They are divided into five series, each containing five presets: Classic Portrait ColorClassic Portrait Black & WhiteLight & BrightWildlifeStreet...
Nikon has just added two new lenses for its Z-mount line. Nikkor Z 28-75mm f/2.8 is a lightweight zoom for your full-frame mirrorless Nikon, and the company boasts by making “the sleekest f/2.8 zoom for FX-format cameras it’s ever produced.” Other than the new zoom, a super-telephoto 800mm f/6.3 prime is coming, too. It’s still in the works, but Nikon used the opportunity to present that one to the public as well....
I have to be honest here, I’m actually starting to get a little excited about the idea of a Nikon mirrorless camera. I know I probably shouldn’t. I know it’ll be lots of hype and when it finally arrives I’ll be disappointed. But, still, the more little bits of information about it come out, the closer I get to certain that I will want one. And this latest development just brings me that bit closer....
Well, this is certainly an interesting bit of news. Nikon has actually, finally, stopped forcing their proprietary Snapbridge wireless system onto Nikon photographers. After a false advertising claim over the D500’s WiFi capabilities back in 2016, and then an open letter from LRTimelapse creator, Gunther Wegner in 2017, Nikon is finally capitulating and giving us real WiFi back. A round of new firmware updates for the Nikon D850, D500, D7500 and D5600 now adds support for standard WiFi alongside Snapbridge – as it is with the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras....
We’ve got some big news: The Nikon Z9 is here and ready to take on the Sony A1 and Canon R3 for the title of ‘Mirrorless Flagship.’ We can argue all day about which camera is the best, but there’s no question that this one is the biggest. Mirrorless cameras have all been lighter and more compact than their DSLR counterparts, but with Z9 and the R3, Nikon and Canon have changed that....
Olympus has announced that it is withdrawing from the camera business in South Korea due to “mostly” low camera sales volume, according to a report from The Korea Times. In a statement, Olympus Korea has said that it will “cease its imaging business in Korea, effective June 30, 2020”. It’s Olympus Korea brand store in Seoul as well as its online store will also close on the same day....
A few days ago, OM Digital tweeted out a little teaser that something was coming this week. The tweet doesn’t really give any hints as to what it’s going to be, but then a live stream popped up on the Olympus Live YouTube channel, set for Friday, April 2nd at 10am UK time (that’s 5am for US East Coast if all your clocks have gone forward). It doesn’t sound like they’ll be announcing any new gear, although perhaps we’ll hear at least something about the new camera OM Digital registered a few days ago....
Not a lot of things in life were more fun that the Towel Day photo contest we ran with Peli. Without further ado, here are the two winners. Each will receive a Peli 1510 Case (Galaxy Class). Selection of winners was made by Peli and Dave Kai Piper.: Jim Moody’s Idiots guide to the kitchen Łukasz Filipski’s Anyway, good luck traveller, and never forget your Towel! we also have one honorable mention: Reinoud van Leeuwen’s May the guide be with you…...
Photos and videos of the recent partial solar eclipse are starting to come in, leaving me incredibly inspired. Photographer Zev Hoover made a series of photos that made my jaw drop the moment I saw them. He captured a sequence of a bird flyby in front of the solar eclipse, adding a dash of abstraction to this amazing scene. I spoke with Zev a bit about how he took them, and he kindly shared some details and of course – the photos – with DIYP....
