Panasonic has developed technology for highly sensitive image sensors that effectively doubles the brightness of color photography. It uses micro color splitters instead of conventional color filters in the image sensor.
Conventional image sensors produce color pictures by using red, green and blue filters for each pixel. The filters unfortunately account for a 50-70% light lost. Since Panasonic’s new technology does not use color filters, there is no light loss, resulting in an approximately double of the sensitivity. The technology can be produced using current semiconductor fabrication processes and can be applied to a CCD, CMOS, or BSI sensor.
Alice Truong has written up a first person account of the Lytro Field camera at DVICE. It’s an interesting article and points out the difficulty of establishing a new category when the current one has not fully matured yet. Digital photography in its current incarnation has yet a little bit more ways to go before it reaches its full potential, presumably when compact mirrorless full-frame cameras become commonplace. The Lytro camera itself faces some technological challenges, not unlike what digital cameras had to go through, re: sensor size, LCD quality/size, etc.
Market research company GfK surveyed 13 major Asian markets including Japan and China and found that customers there spent $2.74 billion to buy 8.44 million WiFi-enabled cameras in 2012. That amounts to a sales increase of 52 percent from the year before. The sharp rise is partly due to the widening range of models available and falling prices. Gfk estimates that there are currently 160 models of WiFi-ready cameras available in the targeted market.
WiFi-enabled “mirrorless” cameras, which are as small as compact cameras but with picture quality that rivals that of their bulkier DSLR counterparts, are cited as an emerging battleground, showing an eight-fold sales increase in 2012 compared to 2011, with a total of 765,600 units sold in the 13 countries surveyed.
Images of Earth taken by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have allowed us to view our planet from a different perspective. Bruce W. Berry Jr have selected, color graded, denoised, deflickered, slowed down and stabilized footage into a beautiful time-lapse video running in 1080 HD at 24 frames/sec.
Our Reviews Matrix is a handy directory of some of the best digital camera reviews you can read on the Internet. It’s a free service that we provide to the review sites, which can now post reviews update themselves on Photoxels. We then manually add the review to the Reviews Matrix. It’s a tedious job, but someone’s got to do it, right?
This week, we’ve just updated it with the reviews of the past week for cameras ranging from the top of the line Nikon D4 DSLR to the point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot S110, and lots more.
If you are looking to purchase a new digital camera, our Reviews Matrix will allow you to conveniently link to some of the best reviews on that camera. Give it a try!
Samsung GALAXY Camera Wi-Fi and the power of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Make it easier than ever before to capture images, access the world of Android apps to edit the images with users’ favorite apps, and then share over Wi-Fi to family and friends.
The new Samsung GALAXY Wi-Fi camera’s features include:
21x optical zoom
16MP BSI CMOS sensor
4.8-inch touchscreen display
Power of the Android Jellybean 4.1 platform
Wi-Fi connection for connectivity and sharing
Ron Gazzola, Vice President, Marketing for Digital Imaging, Samsung Electronics America said, “Focusing on features that simplify the user experience, the GALAXY Camera Wi-Fi offers an intuitive approach to feature-rich photography, without the need to be constantly connected.”
Samsung today announced pricing and availability for the Samsung GALAXY Camera Wi-Fi.
This video presents “[Samsung GALAXY Camera (Wi-Fi)] Product Concept Video”:
“A new era of visual communication begins”
Introducing the new Samsung GALAXY Camera with a 21x Zoom lens, Android 4.1 Jelly bean and Wi-Fi
PRESS RELEASE
Samsung GALAXY Camera (Wi-Fi) Offers Advanced Photographic Prowess and Access to Android Apps
New GALAXY Camera offers value to users seeking photo performance and connectivity
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. – April 4, 2013 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and convergence technologies, today announced a Wi-Fi version of the Samsung GALAXY Camera, giving photo enthusiasts another option to further their creativity and sharing potential. Centered on the Android™ Jellybean 4.1 platform, the GALAXY Camera is a powerful point-and-shoot camera with a familiar, intuitive user interface and access to Android applications from the Google Play™ market.
“The GALAXY Camera Wi-Fi blends cutting-edge digital imaging technology with Samsung’s latest line of class-leading Android devices,” said Ron Gazzola, Vice President, Marketing for Digital Imaging, Samsung Electronics America. “Focusing on features that simplify the user experience, the GALAXY Camera Wi-Fi offers an intuitive approach to feature-rich photography, without the need to be constantly connected.”
FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Shigehiro Nakajima) and Adobe Systems Incorporated have been working together to improve image processing of X-Trans and EXR-Sensor based raw captures. X-Trans CMOS has a new type of sensor filter array developed by FUJIFILM to improve image quality. The release of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 4.4 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.4 today offers significant improvements in the processing of X-Trans raw files for the X100S, X20, X-Pro1 and X-E1, resulting in better Moire reduction and enhanced performance in color reproduction.
“We worked closely with FUJIFILM to increase the quality of image processing of X-Trans and EXR-Sensor based raw captures,” said Tom Hogarty, group product manager, Adobe. “Lightroom 4.4 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.4 demonstrate the results of this cooperation and provides remarkable improvements in the raw file rendering.”
Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution, helping amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase all their images within one application. The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in provides fast and easy access to raw image formats produced by many leading digital cameras.
“The release of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 4.4 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.4 today offers significant improvements in the processing of X-Trans raw files for the X100S, X20, X-Pro1 and X-E1, resulting in better Moire reduction and enhanced performance in color reproduction.”
Clement Valla collects Google Earth images. But these images are unusual in that they look Dali-inspired, what with bridges, roads and buildings that seem to be melting in the heat of the Sun. Apparently, these pictures give us an intriguing revelation of how Google Earth actually creates its images.
These jarring moments expose how Google Earth works, focusing our attention on the software. They reveal a new model of representation: not through indexical photographs but through automated data collection from a myriad of different sources constantly updated and endlessly combined to create a seamless illusion; Google Earth is a database disguised as a photographic representation.
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents Between Princely India & the British Raj: The Photography of Raja Deen Dayal, which is a feature exhibition in this year’s Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, highlighting the photographic work of Raja Deen Dayal (1844-1905):
“This exhibition features over 100 works from three major collections, including the ROM’s collection of photograph albums produced by his studio in the latter decades of the 19th century
It also features one of the cameras used by the Dayal Studio in the last decade of the 19th century
The exhibition is presented in association with The Alkazi Collection of Photography, New Delhi, and coincides with a major new publication “Raja Deen Dayal: Artist-Photographer in 19th-century India.”
NEWS RELEASE
Between Princely India & the British Raj: The Photography of Raja Deen Dayal
The ROM Presents First Solo North American Exhibition of
Famous 19thCentury Indian Photographer
“Raja Deen Dayal was a visionary photographer whose artistic eye, technical skill, and good business sense made him arguably the most successful photographer in late nineteenth-century India,” Dr. Deepali Dewan, ROM Senior Curator.
(Toronto, Ontario – March 28, 2013) The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents Between Princely India & the British Raj: The Photography of Raja Deen Dayal, a feature exhibition in this year’s Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, highlighting the photographic work of Raja Deen Dayal (1844-1905), one of the most renowned photographers in 19th-century India. The exhibition, which takes place in the ROM’s Level 3, Hilary and Galen Weston Wing, from April 20, 2013 through until January 12th 2014, is presented in association with The Alkazi Collection of Photography, New Delhi. It is inspired by a major new publication, Raja Deen Dayal: Artist-Photographer in 19th-century India, co-authored by the exhibition curators, ROM Senior Curator Dr. Deepali Dewan & art historian Dr. Deborah Hutton, of The College of New Jersey. This publication, and by extension the exhibition, are based on almost a decade of archival research.
The Fujifilm XF1 is a compact premium digital camera that combines a 2/3-in. EXR CMOS sensor with a bright F1.8 retractable zoom lens in a beautiful retro design. It is pocketable and point-and-shoot easy to use, but underneath is Fujifilm's latest technology developed for the 'X'series and full manual control for advanced users.
The Samsung NX20 is an impressive Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC, aka mirrorless DSLR) that competes very well against entry-level DSLRs. It is well built, handles very well and provides exceptional image quality and performance beginner and serious amateur photographers have come to expect from a DSLR.
The Panasonic LX7 is a premium compact camera that has one of the brightest lens at F1.4. It delivers consistently great results in bright light and low light situations. An Aperture Ring and lots of manual controls provide total control.
The Fujifilm F800EXR is a super zoom that packs a 20x wide-angle optical zoom into a compact and light body. It is pocketable, intuitive to use and gives good image quality. Point-and-shoot photographers will love the EXR AUTO shooting mode while more advanced photographers will appreciate PASM modes and RAW.
FUNDAMENTALS If you are new to digital cameras, first read up on Digital Camera Fundamentals to understand the important features you should pay special attention to when comparing digital cameras.
BUYER'S GUIDE We have taken the mystery out of the selection process in our Digital Camera Buyer's Guide. Here, you'll find the best digital cameras in four categories. Select the digital camera that is right for you in 4 simple steps.
TUTORIALS After you have bought your digital camera, go through our Digital Photography Tutorials for some tried and tested tips on taking good pictures. You can take better pictures. We plan to regularly add new articles covering a wide range of subjects to this section.
