Capturing the beauty and wonder of the Galapagos on Google Maps
The Galapagos Islands are some of the most biologically unique ecosystems in the world. Explorers and scientists alike have long studied and marveled at these islands—made famous by Charles Darwin. The Ecuadorean Government, local conservation groups and scientists are working to protect the Galapagos from threats posed by invasive species, climate change and other human impacts.
Face Detection Spots Faces in Clouds
As humans, it’s only natural to take a look at the sky and perceive to see an object, a face, an animal. Computers, too, are capable of this perception. However, they may be capable of finding things that the human eye can’t, or just might not notice.
via petapixel.com
Photo project: 'Twin Peaks' in any town
Photo project brings 'Twin Peaks' to any town
http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/news/welcome-to-twin-peaks-project/
via www.usatoday.com
Chasing Tornadoes with a camera
The first rule is to stay out of the path of the storm.
Most people run away from tornadoes. Roger Hill goes toward them.
Robot Cameras Take to the Skies
Photography Drones: Robot Cameras Take to the Skies
These remote-controlled multi-rotor aircraft can capture amazing footage—and are fast becoming today’s must-have photo accessories
via www.popphoto.com
Hyper-Realistic CGI Is Killing Photographers, Thrilling Product Designers | Wired Design | Wired.com
via www.wired.com
Moonwalk on Vimeo
An amazing and beautiful short video.from Bryan Smith via vimeo.com
Cameras on the Space Station
How many cameras does one astronaut need?
More here at Boing Boing.
Real-camera functions from smart-phone lenses
Optical accessories can add a lot to an iPhone's imaging abilities.
Consumer Reports looks through two lenses here. "Both sets of lenses are worth considering if you often use your phone camera as your main camera and want it to approach the versatility of a point-and-shoot."
Nikon zooms 42x
“Breaking the zoom barrier,” Nikon says, it’s new P510 “brings the action close” with a 42x lens that zooms from 24mm wide to 1000mm, with optical image stabilization.
“With this extreme focal length, the need for superior image stabilization becomes essential for photos and HD video,” the company adds. “Photographers are given increased stability with the additional zoom control located on the side of the lens barrel.”
The P510 has built-in GPS, a 3-inch tilting LCD, and captures 1080p video as well as five images at full resolution in approximately one second. It’s $430.
Digital Photography Review examines the new camera here.
"Typically, with 'superzoom' cameras like the Coolpix P510, which offer extreme zoom ranges, we'd expect image quality to take a back seat to versatility. A focal range of 24-1000mm covers pretty much any shooting situation we can think of... It's pretty impressive how few sacrifices we found ourselves making when shooting with the P510."
HD camera on smartphone-piloted Quadcopter
Can an affordable toy-like helicopter capture smoth ariel HD video footage? Popular Science gives a good review of the $300 AR.Drone from Parrot, and says “it’s intuitively simple to fly right out of the box. The enhanced controllability …makes piloting this drone easy and extremely enjoyable.”
“Tough” cameras are not as rugged as you might think
CNet looks at the actual durability of cameras aimed at outdoor activities.
“All rugged compact cameras have these and other limitations. Take your camera to a hot beach and run into the cold surf and your lens may fog internally with condensation. Go from the cold water to the hot beach, you may get the same result.”
Olympus OM-D E-M5 reaction
"I might go so far as to say that the OM-D is the very first digital camera I've ever used that has truly natural highlights—as good as that of some films."
via theonlinephotographer.typepad.com
Mike Johnson shares his first experiences with Olympus' latest high-end shooter.
6Sight selects most likely path for socially connected camera
When photography is more and more about sharing photos instantly, how can cameras best compete with smart phones? Our experts cast their ballots in clear favor of one method’s likely success.
In addition to a full slate of leading innovators and executives on its agenda of speakers, the 6Sight Future of Imaging Conference features a select group of attendees with unmatched interest and experience in imaging, and at the end of the conference, these leaders are asked to vote on one pressing issue facing the industry.
This year Connected Cameras were on everyone’s mind: with phones, users capture photos, then select, edit, share, and view them. “Standalone” cameras capture much better images, but that’s where the advantages end. To meet the desires of today’s photography enthusiasts, they have to step up their game.
6Sight’s moderators asked attendees to place their bets as to which of three possibilities would most likely win out in the near future: 1) cameras will remain relatively unchanged in terms of connectivity in the next few years, competing solely on image quality; 2) cameras will add either Wi-Fi or cellular transceivers to let users send images directly from the camera; or 3) cameras will connect to a smart phone the user also carries, and use that device to transmit images — in partnership rather than competition.
Almost no one believed the first option would prove true; cameras must connect. Almost a third voiced support for a completely connected camera that integrated its own transceiver. But the clear choice of the majority of 6Sight’s expert attendees was the camera/phone combination, one that marries the primary strengths of both popular consumer electronics devices.
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