News entries for December, 2012

 

 

Cuddly house cats and their ferocious, jungle cousins aren't really that different. As evidence, check out the super slow motion video below comparing a black leopard to a black domestic cat and watch for all the feline similarities.

The video was captured with a Phantom camera, capable of shooting up to 2500...

Are you an iPhone 5 owner and a fan of out-of-the-box thinking? If so, you're doubtless going to love the new Cycloramic app from Atlanta-based Egos Ventures.

Sure, it isn't the world's most practical creation, but Cycloramic is a real attention-grabber. It lets you capture panning videos by using your phone's hardware in a way Apple...

Over the last few years, high dynamic range photography has become an increasingly common, built-in tool in both fixed-lens and interchangeable-lens cameras. Unfortunately, most existing HDR modes also have some pretty significant drawbacks. Multi-shot HDR modes typically don't handle moving subjects well -- in fact, many can't correct...

 

 

Here are some amazing photos to get you in the winter spirit. They're images of giant snow "crop circles" created by artist Simon Beck, who makes them at the Les Arcs ski resort in France by meticulously trampling out geometric patterns with his snow shoes.

The snowy creations can take the 54-year-old Beck...

 

 

Photography is about solving problems, and the other night I faced a slew of them. I live next door to Pézenas, France, which was planning to celebrate the completion of redevelopment work on its historic center with a live performance by a circus aerial act. At the end of the show, the troupe of fearless...

 

 

As we wind down our lens reviews of 2012, we take a close look at a lens designed for close up looking: the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro. As a micro four-thirds lens, it offers an effective field of view of 120mm and a full 1:1 reproduction ratio, all encased in a small and light package.  Click here to read our full...

For 36-year old Nicholas Woodman, founder of action camera brand GoPro, 2012 is coming to an end on a pretty spectacular high. He's just sold an 8.9% stake in eponymously-named Woodman Labs -- the company behind the GoPro badge -- to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry for a whopping US$200 million. In the process, he's confirmed his net...

 

 

It's been called one of the most influential digital SLRs of all time, and Canon isn't ready to officially declare it dead just yet.

While all signs point to the four-year-old Canon EOS 5D Mark II being finally put out to pasture, including what appears to be a discontinued notice (in Japanese) for the camera on...

Last September, Pentax announced no less than five new optics that together cover every single current lens mount in its lineup, but of these one was particularly eyecatching. The HD PENTAX D FA 645 Macro 90mm F2.8 ED AW SR lens is extremely unusual by medium format lens standards, because it includes image stabilization. (And the image...

Aptina and Toshiba both recently announced speedy new image sensors that should begin appearing in imaging devices in the coming year.

Aptina's latest developments are the AR0835 and AR0835HS, a pair of 1/3.2"-type, 8-megapixel, backside illuminated CMOS sensors capable of full-resolution 16:9 readout at 60 frames per second. Since...

Continuing our light, animal-themed holiday photo posts, here's something for all the cat lovers out there. Last month we shared seven perfectly timed photos of humans doing crazy things and now here are seven perfectly timed photos showing off the wonders of the feline world.

The below images were culled from 25 perfectly timed cat photos posted on BuzzFeed.

If you...

 

 

Remember the lioness we told you about last month who seemed to enjoy munching on a Canon 5D Mark II? Well, check out this black bear who seems to be enjoying taking photographs with a Nikon digital SLR.

The Nikon camera belongs to wildlife photographer Dean Swartz who had this to say about seeing his DSLR taken...

If you're shooting with an Olympus XZ-2, Nikon S800c, or Leica S2, the holidays have come just slightly early for you this year -- there's new firmware available from all three manufacturers that improves each camera.

For the Olympus Stylus XZ-2 premium compact, there is but one change in firmware version 1.1, which has been announced...

 

 

It's one of the most famous photos in basketball: an iconic shot of Chicago Bulls' superstar Michael Jordan appearing to defy gravity during the 1988 Slam Dunk contest in Chicago.

The image of Jordan lifting off from the free throw line on his way to a colossal dunk was captured by renowned sports photographer...

 

 

At the time, it was a photo unlike anything most people had seen before: a complete color shot of the Earth from space, looking like the giant "blue marble" we've come to know it as. The rare photo, which was captured by a NASA satellite on November, 5, 1967, was recently sold off to the highest bidder at a London...

 

 

The FBI yesterday announced a new arrest related to the financial scandal at Olympus Corp., which first came to light late last year. Former bank vice president Chan Ming Fon allegedly assisted Olympus in hiding losses on bad investments by investing -- and then secretly liquidating -- hundreds of millions of...

 

 

The Nikon D800 caused huge buzz when it was introduced, with owners and reviewers alike marveling at its incredible resolution. If the D800 was great, the Nikon D800E, with the low-pass filter effectively removed, must be even more incredible, right?

As you might guess, low-pass filters are present on cameras for...

 

 

It's taken three tries, but Nikon has finally produced a flagship Coolpix digital camera that solidly holds its own against its top competitors. The new Nikon P7700 boasts an upgraded 12-megapixel sensor and a fast 7.1x zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.0, as well as a number of other enhancements. Nikon...

On Tuesday, we reported that popular photo sharing service Instagram was preparing a controversial update to its terms of use and privacy policies that -- among other changes -- would grant it sweeping rights to user-generated content. Just a day after the new policies were announced, Instagram faced a huge backlash from its user...