News entries for March, 2013

Among the profusion of flash card formats used in digital cameras over the years, relatively few are commonplace -- essentially, variants of the Secure Digital and Memory Stick Duo formats are used by most cameras, with a smaller number still retaining CompactFlash card slots. A handful of cameras use other formats, and among these are...

 

 

It takes a fair amount to surprise us when it comes to absurd photo memes doing the rounds. We all weathered the bizarreness of planking, Tebowing, cat breading, and more. But the newest photo trend that's exploding out of Japan is something even more weird and hilarious: immense anime/manga styled fight scenes,...

 

 

Ok, this is officially my favorite Tumblr photo blog. "What Ali Wore" features photos of an extremely dapper 83-year-old tailor of Turkish descent in his outfit of the day. The photos are shot by Zoe Spawton, who spotted the stylish Ali walking by the cafe where she works in Berlin, Germany, and decided to record...

At the start of the month, we told readers about new firmware on the way for the Panasonic GH3 compact system camera, and several compatible lens models. Right on schedule, that firmware's just dropped on Panasonic's global website -- and it includes a few surprise tweaks beyond those we were expecting.

We already knew from the...

 

 

We've told you about inexpensive waterproof covers for your DSLR before, such as this incredibly cheap dry bag we saw selling on eBay for just $8.33. Outex's waterproof DSLR covers aren't nearly as "bargain basement" as that low-cost solution, but they seem much more reliable.

Outex takes a modular approach to...

 

 

Last month we told you about some intriguing new imaging tech from Panasonic that uses micro color splitters rather than a traditional Bayer color filter array over the image sensor to capture shots with twice the brightness than previously possible. We were impressed by what we saw, noting that if Panasonic's...

 

 

SLR Magic has updated its digiscoping Monster Lens to improve the optics, but still provide an extreme 840-2520mm equivalent focal length for an affordable pricetag. The newly announced SLR Magic Monster Lens II 12-36x50 ED Spotting Scope mounts on a Micro Four Thirds body, and the new adapter has SLR Magic...

 

 

When it comes to a knight in shining armor few would have expected Peter Jones, multi-millionaire and star of England’s “Dragons’ Den,” to be one. Known for his tough interrogation and relentless dismantling of would-be entrepreneurs' dreams, he is apparently a pussycat rather than a dragon, when it comes to...

Ever since Nikon announced the Coolpix A, we've been eager to get one into our lab for testing -- and for good reason. The Coolpix A is Nikon's first DX-format, fixed-lens camera, going head-to-head with existing offerings from Sigma, Leica, and Fujifilm. (And in the process, offering a more affordable, mainstream alternative to Sony's...

The tiny little Pentax Q mirrorless camera might have been discontinued for some time now, replaced by the newer Pentax Q10, but that doesn't mean Pentax Ricoh Imaging has forgotten about the photographers who were thrilled by the Q's uncommonly compact -- almost pocket-friendly -- frame. On the contrary, the company is continuing to...

 

 

This lovely time-lapse video is a few years old now but we think it's worth another look now that winter finally seems to be giving way to Spring.

Called "One year in 40 seconds," it was shot by Eirik Solheim with a 10-megapixel Canon EOS 400D (aka Rebel XTi in North America) and an EF-S 10-22mm lens (@ 10mm)...

 

 

Last December, Canon launched two new wireless photo all-in-one printer models, the PIXMA MG6320 and MG5420. Of the pair, the former is the more sophisticated, including a 3.5-inch touch screen LCD panel that simplifies its user interface, reducing the number of physical controls needed for its operation.

 

 

The Fuji X-E1 may be the baby brother to Fujifilm's flagship X-Pro1, but in many ways is its equal. Most importantly, the two compact system cameras (CSCs) share the same impressive 16.3-megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor, which produces image quality superior to most APS-C-sensor-based digital SLRs, but in...

 

 

The Prince Rupert's Drop is a curious piece of science and glassmaking, and it's only with the recent development of incredibly high-speed video cameras that we've managed to fully pick apart the particulars of how they work. This video from Smarter Every Day on YouTube shows just how incredible the Prince Rupert's...

 

 

(Editor's note: This piece by Michael Reichmann first appeared on Luminous Landscape. While it focuses on the EVF of the Sony NEX-7, that camera's EVF is actually one of the better ones, and the issues Michael points out are pretty much universal with all current EVFs.)

I don't really hate electronic...

Earlier today, we reported on a professional videographer's less-than-enthusiastic review of the somewhat clumsily-named Leica M (Typ 240). It's the company's first video-capable rangefinder camera, and Johnnie Behiri, an Austrian freelance cameraman and editor for the BBC, found more shortcomings than positives in its video feature set....

 

 

Sure, you may love your brand new digital SLR but what if you found out it was spying on you? That's the question posed by two German security experts who were able to exploit the weaknesses in a WiFi-enabled Canon EOS-1D X to turn it into a surveillance drone.

The researchers, Daniel Mende and Pascal Turbing...

Just like clockwork, the latest monthly update to French software company DxO Labs' flagship, photographer-centric workflow app, DxO Optics Pro,  has just arrived. This month, the update adds support for an additional four cameras from three manufacturers. Bug fixes are also included, although only one is detailed by DxO: an issue...

 

 

Earlier this month, we posted a video sample from a Leica M Typ 240 with a Noctilux lens that we thought looked rather handsome. It provoked an intense debate in the comments, with many arguing that the video quality wasn't up to snuff. Well, they're not the only ones who are less than impressed with video quality...