Apple’s new iPhone 4S touts an 8-megapixel camera sensor capable of recording HD video at full 1080p resolution.
As an experiment, Robino Films recently posted a video comparing HD video shot with the new iPhone against video from the $2,400 Canon 5D Mark II. The two devices were mounted side-by-side on a camera rig, with similar exposure settings, shooting 1080p video at 30 frames per second.
“This test is really only to show that the 4S is coming close to the 5D but in NO WAY is it better,” comments Robino Films. “The iPhone is a great 1080p pocket camera and shows us where technology is heading. Give it two three years and we should see some interesting micro high performance cameras.”
ETCentric staffer George Gerba comments: “Add a professional connected app for news production and the white iPhone 4S might be more like a white news van than a phone…”
Canon’s latest high-end DSLR, the recently announced $6800 EOS-1D X, is expected to ship by March 2012.
Features include: 61-point AF system, 1GB Ethernet port, three DIGIC image processors, up to 12 fps RAW shooting, 18-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor.
“Images will supposedly be less noisy at extreme ISO settings and the improved processor system will reportedly offer truer colors and more natural contrast, even in low lighting,” reports Digital Trends. “Canon has included continuous Full HD video recording for longer movies sessions (nearly 30 minutes) and new compression files — one in an editing format and another completely compressed file.”
The post features a brief video from PetaPixel showcasing “what shooting an 18-megapixel image at 14-frames-per-second looks and sounds like.”
Yesterday, ETCentric reported that San Francisco-based start-up Lytro was getting ready to launch a new digital camera that could potentially be “the biggest technological jump since we started talking megapixels over 20 years ago…” (as suggested by All Things D).
In a public demo at AsiaD this week with Walt Mossberg, Lytro showed its innovative light field technology and camera that allows you to capture all the light rays of a scene and alter the focus AFTER the picture is taken.
The camera, which starts at $399 for the 8GB model, also offers the ability to view a scene in 3D. The Wall Street Journal post includes a compelling 17-minute video of the demo.
ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld submitted a related article that provides product and technical details of the consumer market light field camera.
“The camera itself is a square prism in shape, around 4.4-inches long and around 1.6-inches square,” reports Digital Photography Review. “Around two thirds of its length is bare anodized aluminum, which houses a 35-280mm equivalent, constant F2 lens. The rest of its length is coated in a soft, light gray rubber, in which you’ll find the camera’s three physical controls — the power switch, a shutter button and a slider that you stroke to zoom the lens in and out. All other interaction with the camera is conducted via the small, 128×128 pixel square touch screen that covers the rear face of the device.”
Digital camera start-up Lytro has unveiled “a consumer digital camera that it claims will be the biggest technological jump since we started talking megapixels over 20 years ago,” reports All Things D.
The San Francisco-based company has made waves in the industry with its light field photography concept: “a light field camera captures light all throughout the scene in front of the lens, as opposed to the cameras consumers are used to, which bring a particular thing into focus first.”
The result is an image that can be refocused after it is captured, as opposed to standard digital photos, which are focused before being taken.
Lytro claims the camera “is faster from power-up to capture, and has exceptional performance in low light, even without a flash.”
The camera will ship in early 2012 in 8GB ($399) and 16GB versions.
Creative COW asks if film is getting ready to fade to black: “While the debate has raged over whether or not film is dead, ARRI, Panavision and Aaton have quietly ceased production of film cameras within the last year to focus exclusively on design and manufacture of digital cameras. That’s right: someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line.”
“The demand for film cameras on a global basis has all but disappeared,” says Bill Russell, ARRI VP of cameras. “If you talk to the people in camera rentals, the amount of film camera utilization in the overall schedule is probably between 30 to 40 percent.”
While film may not be dead, it is most certainly on the decline. Digital production is on the rise, and for those still interested in shooting on film, used cameras are available.
“Almost nobody is buying new film cameras,” says Aaton founder Jean-Pierre Beauviala. “Why buy a new one when there are so many used cameras around the world?”
Stereoscopic 3D production may also be “accelerated the demise of film” says Beauviala, since it is “a nightmare to synchronize two film cameras.”
Russell predicts that film will eventually disappear, although the exact date is unknown. Phil Radin, executive VP of worldwide marketing at Panavision suggests the timing will be decided by the availability of resources. “Film will be around as long as Kodak and Fuji believe they can make money at it,” he says.
Digital Trends takes four of Sony’s new digicams for a test drive — a pair of 24-megapixel DSLRs (the SLT-A77 and SLT-A65) and two compact mirrorless cameras (the NEX-5N and NEX-7).
The 3-day test period was conducted by recording more than 1,200 stills and dozens of short videos in rugged Southern California exteriors.
The review speaks highly of the DSLRs: “Sony really leaped ahead with this new pair by upping still resolution, the frame rate, video quality and incorporating a high-quality OLED viewfinder. Resolution is now 24.3 megapixels, the most of any consumer camera. Even with all the pixels, the A77 cranks off 12 frames per second at full resolution; the less expensive A65 does 10. Both also capture AVCHD Progressive movies, which are a beautiful 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, rather than 1080i.”
In terms of cost: “The A77 costs $1,399 for the body only and is sold with an extremely sharp constant-aperture f/2.8 16-50mm lens for around $2,000. The A65 costs $999 with a more traditional 18-55mm lens. As a comparison, the 3.7 fps 18-megapixel Canon EOS Rebel T3i is $899 with an 18-55mm lens.”
Regarding the mirrorless cameras, Digital Trends comments: “Although the NEX-7 still requires a final production sample test, the early taste was quite fine. This could easily be the camera of the year given our hands-on experience. The buzz among the reviewers was pretty intense. As for the NEX-5N, although it’s a nice camera, it really paled in comparison to its big brothers and sisters.”
Pricing for the mirrorless models: “The NEX-7 has the high-quality finder built-in on the rear top left; the view is very good. We used the camera with an f/2.0 24mm prime lens, which added a cool $1,200 to the basic $1,149 price for the body. The NEX-7 will be sold with a cosmetically-matching black 18-55mm lens for $1,349. This outfit has a very Leica-like vibe and takes some pretty spectacular images… The NEX-5N has a 16-megapixel APS-C sensor (up from 14) and costs $699 with an 18-55mm kit lens.”
YouTube added several new tools for video creators this week, as part of its “ongoing goal to foster the creation of great video content,” explains the company’s Broadcasting Ourselves blog.
The first tool, currently in beta, converts 2D video content into 3D. YouTube admits you’ll get better results with a 3D camera, but this is at least an option for those without one.
Second, you can now upload videos longer than the current 15-minute limit allows, and the advanced uploader is no longer required for larger files. However, the feature is restricted to users with “a clean track record who complete an account verification and continue to follow the copyright rules set forth in our Community Guidelines.”
Finally, YouTube gives creators the ability to add effects and text using Vlix, and adds Magisto, which will automatically take your unedited video and create a short clip complete with music.
Sony has unveiled its much anticipated NEX-VG20 camcorder, the next-gen version of its popular VG10. The company explains that four key value propositions were considered when developing the VG20: the sensor, sound, lenses and design.
Notable features include: interchangeable lens capability, new Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor, recording in 1080p (1920×1080), 16 megapixel sensor, ability to save images in JPEG and RAW formats, and recording at frame rates of 24p or 60p.
“What really sounds like it’s been improved is the VG20’s audio recording capabilities,” reports Digital Trends. “It includes a Quad Capsule Spatial Array Mic that supports stereo and 5.1 channel surround sound and has a new audio level control.”
In its Hands-On Impressions section, Digital Camera Review praised the “comfortable design and smart ergonomics” of the VG20, although expressed some issue with the camera’s heft. The review spoke highly of the LCD screen’s TruBlack technology and ability to rotate 270 degrees, but had issues with the viewfinder: “I appreciated the fact that it displayed plenty of helpful information including resolution, video format, battery life, remaining memory, etc., and I thought that the picture looked pretty crisp. But after having spent some time with the outstanding OLED viewfinders on the Alpha cameras (and enjoyed how closely it projected the image to the eye, so there was little to no border) I felt like I was looking down an extremely long hallway when using the viewfinder on the VG20.”
The NEX-VG20 is scheduled for a November release. Price: $1,599 (or $2,199 with the lens mount kit).
LG announced its A530 3D notebook with 15.6-inch stereoscopic display and built-in 3D webcam this week.
The A530 features native YouTube support and 3D Space Software, a built-in editing suite for 3D content.
The notebook’s options include Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors with up to 8GB of RAM and a choice of two graphics cards: an Nvidia GeForce GT 555m with either 1 or 2GB of built-in memory.
“The screen also has what the company calls Film Patterned Retarder technology, which it claims produces brighter and flicker-free images compared to screens that use shutter-style glasses,” reports Digital Trends.
No price announcement yet, but the device is expected to ship to Europe later this month.
Vision Research has unveiled its Phantom V1610 video camera that the company claims can shoot at one million fps.
Gizmodo points out that in order to shoot at the maximum frame rate, the resolution may suffer too much to be effective.
However, the in-between settings show promise: “You can shoot 1280×720 HD at 18,100, which is still extremely fast, and if you are willing to settle for a standard-def shot at 640×480 you can crank it all the way up to 43,400 fps, which I’m betting would look pretty amazing.”
According to the Vision Research site, the camera can acquire and save up to 16 gigapixels-per-second of data with its proprietary widescreen CMOS sensor. “That means at its full megapixel resolution of 1280×800, you can achieve 16,000 frames-per-second. At reduced resolutions, the v1610 offers frame rates of 650,000 fps.”
Be sure to watch the video demo included in the Gizmodo post.
Photographer Vincent Laforet has been testing a new 2X Canon lens converter with his RED Epic camera.
Gizmodo explains that he uses a 600mm Canon lens “to effectively double focal length to 1200mm at a 4K resolution.”
“The results are nothing short of amazing,” reports Gizmodo, “but then, he is a professional, and had some beautiful scenery to work with.”
“This was shot with the yet-to-be-released RED Canon mount — which has full support of autofocus, image stabilization, digital aperture control, touch to focus, touch to rack focus, and distance readout. These are pretty amazing times to be behind the lens,” writes Laforet on his blog. “While long lenses are nothing new in the motion picture world — this type of resolution combined with Canon’s Image Stabilization technology is utterly impressive and should be a huge hit with wildlife and sports photographers around the world.”
The new Olympus SP-810UZ, available this fall for $330, promises DSLR features in a compact design.
Although not as ultrathin as other compact offerings currently on the market, Olympus says the camera is more convenient than a full-sized DSLR and touts a 3-inch LCD, 14MP resolution, 3D capability, ability to shoot 1080p video, in-camera panorama, 10 filters and a 36x ultra zoom.
There is also an optional Eye-Fi SD card, adding Wi-Fi capability for users who want to automatically upload images to a computer.
Olympus claims its optical zoom is presently the longest in any compact camera. “The SP-810UZ is the best zoom performance Olympus has ever delivered,” says product manager Jennifer Schmell. “No compact camera from Olympus has ever offered such impressive wide-angle zoom performance.”
Samsung’s recent patent application illustrates how it is possible to add shallow depth-of-field to a point-and-shoot or smartphone camera.
The approach makes use of a dual-lens setup (similar to what we’ve seen with 3D cameras lately), where one lens captures full resolution of the target image while the other calculates and records relative distances.
The camera then merges the data with the primary image in order to create a depth map. A graduated blur is applied, based on this depth map, adding simulated depth-of-field.
The concept is not found in any product; however, Engadget is optimistic: “No word on whether this neat trick will make its way to consumers’ hands — but with 3D still the reigning buzz, we’d upgrade that possibility to a very likely.”
The Photography Bay post includes a link to the patent application.
The “Olloclip” is a new iPhone lens attachment that features wide-angle, fish-eye and macro lens functionality cleverly designed in a single pocketable unit.
Engadget likes the $70 device: “The accessory brings the functionality of all three lenses to the iPhone 4, and it does so well enough to warrant leaving your pro kit at home on occasion — assuming, of course, that your photographs aren’t responsible for putting food on the table.”
Overall, Engadget praised the accessory in terms of design, ease of use and image quality, but expressed concern regarding shelf life since it is currently only tied to the iPhone 4. “We imagine the company will be able to adapt future versions to accommodate new iPhone models (and perhaps even smartphones from other manufacturers), but the current version will likely be replaced whenever the next iPhone is released. Keeping that in mind, we love the Olloclip, and plan on shooting with it as long as our hardware allows.”
The post includes sample images taken with the Olloclip and a hands-on video review.
The Olympus PEN series extends its successful Micro-Four-Thirds lineup to include upgraded technology in its higher-end models in addition to the new pocket-cam and entry-level E-PM1.
The E-P3 is the new flagship PEN that “brings the series up to DSLR quality with new sensor and processor technology.” Features include a 3-inch 614K pixel OLED touchscreen, 2-1/4000 second shutter speed, and 12.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor. The E-P3 will be available in August for $900.
The most notable addition to the E-PL3 is “its tilting, 3-inch, 460K pixel LCD display,” and like the E-P3 includes 3D capability. It also includes a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor, that “addressed some of the low-light issues holding back former PEN units.” Price and availability have not been announced.
The pocketable six-inch E-PM1 — designed for consumers who have outgrown their point-and-shoots — promises a simplified UI for beginners, 12.3-megapixel MOS, and 3-inch LCD display, but no tilt or touchscreen. Again, price and availability have yet to be announced.
