Sony has a pair of incredible new lenses coming out to work in tandem with smartphones for higher quality mobile photography. The Sony DSC-QX10 and DSC-Q100 are actually lenses with an image sensor built-in. [Read more…]
Sony’s Making Lenses with Built-in Sensors for Smartphones?
Want to take better photos with your smartphone? How about getting a better camera?
If this allegedly leaked image of a Sony lens attaching to a Xperia smartphone is the real deal, then that’s what Sony has in mind. Take a lens with a built-in sensor, battery, memory, etc. (basically a full-on camera packed into a lens) and make it mountable to your smartphone. Then, you use your camera app on your phone to control the “lens” and wirelessly transfer images to your phone’s camera roll. [Read more…]
Perfectly Clear 2.0 for Android Now Available
Perfectly Clear version 2.0 is now available for Android. Perfectly Clear’s patented auto-correct technology is used throughout the photo industry from iPhone apps to commercial kiosk photo printers.
The new Android app includes the popular Beautify preset for photos of people, along with several capture modes, such as HDR, Panorama, Burst and Portrait modes.
Perfectly Clear 2.0 for Android is available in the Google Play Store for $2.99.
Nokia Lumia 1020 Smartphone Unveiled with 41MP Sensor and Robust Camera Features
Smartphone cameras are getting serious. Just as I’ve been working on a review of the Lumia 920 (preview: the camera is solid), Nokia goes and releases the new Lumia 1020.
The Lumia 1020 features a 41MP PureView sensor that provides the camera with a 6x zoom while still maintaining decent resolution. Additionally, the Lumia 1020 includes a Xenon flash bulb instead of the common LED “flash” found on smartphones today (iPhone 5 included). There is 32GB of onboard storage for those large image files. [Read more…]
Nokia EOS Phone Leaks Show Off Big Camera
Several images of the upcoming Nokia EOS Windows Phone have leaked out and make it out to be a very camera-heavy phone. The Nokia EOS should not be associated with the Canon EOS brand; however, if that’s the final name of the product, I can’t imagine that Canon will let it slide without a prompt trademark infringement lawsuit – particularly given how the camera seems to be such a big feature of this phone. [Read more…]
Guy Sticks a Smartphone Outside a Storm Shelter, Gets Up Close Footage of Moore, Oklahoma Tornado
Charles Gafford took cover in his storm shelter as the massive tornado passed through Moore, Oklahoma. As the tornado approached his neighborhood, he stuck his smartphone outside of the shelter and captured some pretty stunning, close-range footage.
Before the first person complains, yes, he shot it vertically. And, yes, that’s normally frowned upon. However, I think we can all give Charles a free pass since he had the most powerful tornado on record coming right at him.
Below is a video of what Charles’ neighborhood looked like after the tornado passed and he emerged from his storm shelter. [Read more…]
Nik Snapseed Now Available for Android; Discounted to Free for iOS
If you have an iPhone or Android device, there’s really no reason that you shouldn’t download Snapseed. It’s free and it’s available on both devices. [Read more…]
Polaroid SC1630 Hands-On
The Polaroid SC1630 is a new Android-based camera that was unveiled at CES 2012. I had a chance to check it out up close and get a little taste of its performance.
I found it more than a little ironic that Polaroid would produce a camera that looks and feels like a phone while other manufacturers are fighting to differentiate the point and shoot camera from smart phones.
Even more intriguing is the fact that the Polaroid SC1630 offers a SIM-card slot, along with a speaker and mic that make it possible to use it as a phone. [Read more…]
Can the iPhone 3G S change how cameras are made?
The recently announced iPhone 3G S finally assessed the issues that the phone’s previous cameras–that they were very limited in capability. However, Apple isn’t even a photography company but they have pushed a feature that may change how compacts are made and the way they take images: tap-to-focus.
A search on Flickr can show users many different videos and photos taken with the new iPhone 3G S. After looking through the pages, a user can see just how capable that little sensor is. Because a user can tap an area to focus on it precisely, users have the ability to have a shallower depth of field that mimics the images one sees come out of a DSLR. Additionally, add in the fact that most people find that using their cameraphone to be, “good enough” for everyday usage and you have yourself a compact camera changer. This is all fine for most people despite the fact that the iPhone 3G S doesn’t have a flash or optical zoom (although external lenses can be had.)
For example, any smartphone (meaning even a Blackberry, G1, or Palm Pre) can shoot a picture and then immediately text it, email it, or upload it to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter etc. They do all this through use of a 2G, 3G or WiFi network. How many compact cameras have those capabilities? Not very many, instead they sync up with your printer so that you can print your shots; but people print less and less these days. And one that can do all those tasks isn’t guaranteed to have such amazing battery life. Additionally, memory cards fill up because of the fact that camera manufacturers keep pushing more and more megapixels onto those tiny sensors. With a cameraphone being about 3MP, one can store lots of photos on their 2GB MicroSD cards and still use that beautiful 3 inch LCD screen on their phone to show off all those pictures to friends, family, etc.
These cameras are actually even changing the way that we receive our news. When an airplane crashed into the Hudson River where I live in New York City the first and most iconic images of the event were taken with an iPhone and sent to Twitter.
As a guy that recently graduated from journalism school, I can tell you firsthand that many programs are teaching their students to make better use out of their smartphones–the reasons listed above are part of it all. If a DSLR had all the connectivity capabilities that a smartphone has then not only would the system be super expensive but it could mean that pros (like us) could be out in the field all day and night working non-stop to get those shots that we need to please our clients. Let alone if mobile versions of WordPress, Moveable Type, or Blogger were available then the capabilities of pros vs. everyday cameraphone users would be more balanced.
With all this in mind, perhaps if the iPhone OSx or Android were modified to run on a DSLR then the capabilities would be greatly increased.