In this digital day and age, not only smartphones and consumer cameras are booming. Surveillance is big business. As cameras become ubiquitous and able to identify people, more safeguards on privacy will be needed. It is getting ever easier to record anything, or everything, that you see. This opens fascinating possibilities — and alarming ones. […]
Tempting Sony A7 and A7R bundles from Amazon: Sony A7R 36.3MP Body + 2 Sony 64GB SDHC Memory Card + Wasabi Replacement NP-FW50 Two Batteries with Charger + Accessory Kit for $2,298 Sony A7R 36.3MP Body + Sony 64GB SDHC Memory Card + Additional Replacement Battery and Charger for Sony NP-FW50 + Accessory Kit for […]
Reuters — Panasonic and Japan’s other mid-tier camera makers have a battle on their hands to win over a smartphone “selfie” generation to mirrorless cameras that held such promise when they were launched around five years ago. Panasonic, like peers Fujifilm and Olympus, has been losing money on its cameras since mobile phones that take […]
Fascinating book review by the Wall Street Journal. Between smartphones, computers and ever-observant surveillance cameras, living in the modern world means leaving a contrail of images. Though now mundane, the snatching of a lifelike image from the flux of time once appeared miraculous. Capturing the Light by Roger Watson and Helen Rappaport tells the story […]
Gathered own sources, industry chatter and added common sense. Leica isn’t in an enviable position. The competition gathers pace. Leica’s grand strength continues to be its brand recognition and, above all, the optics. The famed Leica advantage however diminishes as the quality of cameras becomes more similar. For instance, I know from personal talks with […]
Great prices for the Ricoh GR. With a $799 retail price, the Ricoh is currently yours for up to 20% less. A tempting deal is available from B&H: Ricoh GR including SanDisk 32GB SDHC Memory Card Ultra Class 10 UHS-1, Ruggard HFV-250 Protective Camera Case and Free 2nd Day Delivery for $659. Order here. The […]
In the coming two years, major changes in sensor technology lie ahead. With the exception of Fujifilm cameras based around EXR and X-Trans image sensors and the Foveon-based camera lineup from Sigma, almost every digital camera on the market today has a Bayer color filter array, named after inventor and Kodak scientist Bryce Bayer. Bayer […]
This is one of the lucky finds that happen about once every lifetime. You may argue that photography and humor don’t mix, not to mention satire! Right, photography’s a serious business. But only if we take ourselves way too seriously. That’s where New Camera News comes in, an ingenious photography site dedicated to “the lighter […]
By BENGT NYMAN It’s easy for the casual camera user to have deeply felt ideas about what a camera should look and perform like. However, the technology behind a well functioning camera is hidden to most and produces a marketable product only when properly combined and perfected. To support my claim I will make examples […]
By RUSSELL You see it on photography forums all the time: “Look at the 13MP Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone. It has the ability to record 4K video. Well, 5 minutes at a time. Why doesn’t the (Nikon/Canon/Sony…) professional still camera do this?” Really? The big manufacturers of professional quality digital still cameras should pour […]
This is a project that takes you back to the beginning of photography. Or since the ascent of digital, doesn’t everyone around you have the basically same camera with similar signature? So Ian Ruther went out and built a camera that no one has. If you’d had found what you really love to do, could […]
Reductio ad absurdum? Learn new things always. Practice, practice, practice, strive for simplicity and thou shalt know the holy trinity of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Rule of thirds, why should it matter. Break those rules of composition. Your feet — and be it your knees or your stomach! — are your zoom. Do not […]
By KAREL VAN WOLFEREN There is no question that the Zeiss 55mm F1.4 Otus Distagon T* represents a significant optical achievement. But more than once, as I placed it on my tripod mounted Sony A7R — feeling like a ceramics collector who with one slip loses a $4,000 investment — I wondered what kind of […]
Pocketable mirrorless doesn’t come any cheaper: Get the Nikon 1 J3 with Nikkor 10-30mm VR 1 for $296. To order click here. Available in beige, black, red, silver and white. Great handy fun and backup camera, available while stocks last. BTW, currently the D5200 w/18-55mm VR is $746 ($150 off), the D7100 w/18-105mm VR ED […]
Save big on two popular Sony cameras: Sony NEX-7 with 18-55mm and 20mm Lenses, Sling Bag and 16GB Class 10 Memory Card = $999 (regular price: 1,649; instant savings: $650) Sony RX100 II kit with free SanDisk 32GB SDHC Extreme Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card, Sony Jacket Case and Sony NP-BX1/M8 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack […]
Nice Olympus E-PL5 bundles promotion valid from December 15 to 21: Buy the Olympus E-PL5 bundle with 14-42mm F3.5 II and 40mm-150mm F4-5.6 “R” lenses for only $499: For $499 you get: Olympus E-PL5 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 14-42mm F3.5 II Lens Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40mm-150mm F4-5.6 “R” Lens Olympus Mini Messenger Bag with […]
You might have heard of Alex Komarov, a photographer who not only takes photos but also collects and documents Russian and Soviet era cameras, some of which in the times of the cold war were used as spy cameras. See his site fotoua.com. These cameras were long since declassified as tools for covert activities by […]
Interesting take by the Guardian on whether smartphones kill photography. From presidential selfies to never-ending Instagram feeds, the world is now drowning in images. Some say we don’t even engage with the camera any more. We don’t know how it works. Photographers debate the impact of this mass democratization on their craft. Are camera phones […]
By BLAKE ANDREWS Right, everyone’s familiar with The Odyssey by Homer. No, the other Homer! Even though the good old Greeks didn’t have cameras, they have some handy advice for us photographers. 1. Don’t Be Lazy Odysseus could’ve shacked up with Calypso eating grapes on the beach forever. She was built like a goddess. Literally. […]
Since 2010, Brandon Stanton has been capturing stories of New Yorkers on what is perhaps one of the Internet’s most popular photo blogs, Humans of New York. Armed with his 5D Mark III, Stanton roams the streets of the Big Apple for eight hours a day after day, crisscrossing the city, covering thousands of miles […]
By RUSSELL My take on the image’s specialness, was that its improbable gumdrop perfection was reached almost purely by subtraction, by noticing and excluding, rather than by adding. No decorations or lighting or models or special retouching or the photographer’s personality or wishes were injected into the scene. The subject was going about her day […]
By KAREL VAN WOLFEREN You must have noticed that as popular cameras became smaller, to almost everyone’s delight, the lenses became bigger. Greater portability of one is offset by more weight of the other; unnecessarily heavy normal focal length lenses, some of them pretty monstrous. Could this involve some heretofore unknown law of nature, deserving […]
For once Bing’s ahead of Google with something. Check out the new Bing Photosynth, a pretty groundbreaking experience that analyzes digital photographs to generate three-dimensional views of real world spaces. In essence Bing a.k.a. Microsoft tries to create a digital replica of the planet with an immersive 3D way to traverse and explore the world. […]
Be warned. This is total niche content. But just think of it. We assume everything is photographable. In some cultures it is suggested to better leave your camera behind. Photographing in certain religious and ethnic communities isn’t the wisest, most culturally-sensitive idea. Even without a camera, there can be so much to see and be […]
In case you haven’t seen it yet, Ansel Adams — A Documentary Film (2002) by PBS on the life of Ansel Adams is as good as it gets. Watch it. Take your time for this 83-minute documentary. But what I want to draw your attention to is the part starting at the 1:06:07 timemark — […]
So you thought taking lots of photos will prevent you from forgetting anything? Psychologists believe the opposite is the case. People who constantly takes pictures remember significantly less than those who observe. Now here’s a scientific study: those who had taken photos of the artifacts struggled to describe the objects, while those who hadn’t, remembered […]
By BRIAN SWEENEY The Nikon Df brings to SLR’s what the Leica M-E and M Monochrom bring to rangefinders: a 21st century incarnation of classic camera controls into a full-frame digital camera. The Leica allows use of manual focus lenses going back over 80 years, rangefinder-coupled and in the 24x36mm format that they were designed. […]
By NATE THAYER On July 25, 1997, I was the first outsider to meet Pol Pot since he killed 1.8 million people 20 years before. It was, for a couple of days, the biggest story in the world. I, as a freelance journalist, had the the only photographs and video and eyewitness account that existed […]
By CATTLEYA JARUTHAVEE The word photography itself invokes discussions of contrasting views and disciplines. At the same time, the physical act of working a camera is so fast and simple to the superficial eye. This complex yet simple art form is an attractive duo in itself, a very special practice that can get you lost […]
Maybe this turns into something: random photos. Images captured by you and me to be posted as the day’s random pic. Email me a photo you like, a photo with a special story behind it or a photo you want to share with others for any reason. I start with a random photograph taken at […]
