Archive for: camera
Who says the megapixel race is dead? Sigma’s new $9,700, 46-megapixel DSLR is the epitome of over-indulgence.
HItting the stratospheric megapixel count comes courtesy of a three-layer sensor (15 megapixels each) with a True II Image processor. Added touches such as 100 to 6,400 iso sensitivity, 11-point auto-focus, magnesium body w/ sealed o-rings, and a 3″ 460,000 color LCD ’round back ensure you take the very best pictures possible. Serious photographers can now begin jumping for joy.
Ships in early June.
[Sigma]
A race of epic proportions is currently invading the smartphone/tablet world — the race of megapixels. The same type of mad dash was first seen several years ago when good (read: high-end, expensive) digital cameras contained less than 5-megapixels of resolution. That has obviously changed in there here and now with higher-end “prosumer” and professional cameras hovering at or above 12-megapixels.
While phones have already more or less gone through and thankfully escaped the megapixel race, tablets are just now getting into the thick of it. Long-time mobile camera sensor manufacturer, OmniVision, has revealed their new OV5690 5-megapixel camera sensor features the ability to shoot 1080p video @ 30fps or 720p video @ 60fps. Also notable is the size of this new sensor which is said to allow 20% thinner camera modules.
While the 5-megapixel count is a tad low compared to the average 8-megapixel phones on the market, the real winner is in tablets. Getting back to the “megapixel race” analogy — early digital cameras boasted of high megapixel counts though ultimately suffered from atrocious image quality. With the use of back-side illuminated CMOS sensors (much better low-light shots) in OmniVisions new sensor, we should see better pictures come from tablets and get away from the dreaded race. With that said, a few tablets do have 5-megapixel sensors now but ultimately fall victim to the aforementioned issue.
Our stance is if it isn’t usable why include it. And in the tablet world, that literally eliminates just about every tablet with included cameras. The sooner the better we say!
- February 20, 2011 4:17 pm
If you’re on the lookout for a more robust camera app for iOS, you’ve no doubt come to the realization that the sea of suitable apps is vast and chock full of options. How is a consumer such as yourself supposed to choose? It’s quite simple actually. Read GS! On that note, today we’re taking a look at PhotoStudio for iOS. For mobile photographers and photo aficionados, PhotoStudio ads a considerable amount of extra options and features the stock camera app doesn’t offer. Hop inside and check it out…
While the biggest number of megapixels doesn’t always transfer to the greatest picture, there’s something to be said abou ta 16-megapixel sensor for a smartphone camera. Renesas Technology has announced a new sensor of theirs that could allow up to 16-megapixel image capture. On top of that, the chip is said to support high-speed continuous shooting at 15fps at 13 megapixels.
The company has already started shipping sample chips to manufacturers for testing purposes, and announced via press release that commercial shipments should being in March of this year.
- December 24, 2010 9:21 am
The 3D fad is still relatively strong — if not in consumers’ eyes, at least in the eyes of manufacturers. TV’s, cameras/video cameras, and even picture frames are joining the 3D club. In regards to the latter, there aren’t many options with which the normal consumer can easily take 3D photos just yet. That is, until Rollei releases their dual-5 Megapixel packing camera, the “Power Flex 3D”…
It appears that iOS 4.2 wasn’t all roses and sunflowers for iPad users. While the vast majority of features brought to iPad users with the latest iOS 4.2 update are highly functional, useful , it appears that at least one aspect of the iPad pre-iOS 4.2 has actually been impacted negatively. Specifically, users of the $29 iPad Camera Kit add-on dongles are finding that many different USB peripherals are failing to be recognized after upgrading to iOS 4.2. According to 9to5Mac, the Dock/USB woes can be traced to the fact that the dock connector now only outputs 20mA of power. Compare that to pre-iOS 4.2 levels which were measured at up to 100mA and you can see the problem. Now, a whole slew of 3rd party iPad accessories that make use of the 30-pin dock connector may not work due to the lower power allotment given to them.
It’s a rather senseless change that while probably done with good intentions, wasn’t thought through very well. Any iPad users experiencing dock connector woes with 3rd party accessories?
- November 30, 2010 6:10 am
As cameras grow in megapixel count, gain video recording capabilities, and life’s demands request more and more pictures, the memory cards that store said memories are pushed to their limits. Though, storage space isn’t really a concern. Numbers for such things have exploded over the last few years to the point that anyone can pick up more memory or storage than they’ll probably ever use for photos. But what good is a 2TB memory card if it transfers at a pokey 10-100MB/s?
Nikon, Sandisk, and Sony are coming to our aide, as they have started work on a next-gen Compact Flash standard that would see speeds raised from 100MB/s to nearly 600MB/s. A 6x increasing in transfer speeds could certainly give hardcore photographers a nice chunk of their day back that is currently wasted on waiting for images to transfer. The only downside of course, is that the new standard won’t be backwards compatible with existing Compact Flash technology.
For now, the wait looks pretty long. The Compact Flash Association is just beginning to receive the trio’s ideas and plans. From there begins many, many months of testing and planning. But if it brings about dramatically improved Compact Flash transfer speeds, I personally don’t mind the wait.
And just like that, the super handy Camera+ hardware shutter feature that was unlockable via a simple Safari URL is no more. Apple has decided enough is enough, that they don’t like innovation, and that the generally hate each and every one of us. In laymens terms, Apple yanked Camera+ from the market after the interwebs lit up yesterday with tales of the handy volume button/shutter trick.
The mindless followers will defend Apple religiously, citing developers of Camera+, Tap Tap Tap, as in the wrong. But let’s be real — they were giving iPhone users options…OPTIONS! How dare they. Count your lucky stars if you picked up Camera+ before the gate keeper unleashed their rath…
Camera+ is an awesome and well put together iPhone camera application. In a recent update, they made it even better by tapping into the volume +/- buttons to use them as a shutter button. Awesome! I along with countless other iPhone users know holding your precious iDevice and trying to poke the screen to aim and shoot isn’t always the best option. It’s nice to actually have…you know…options. But this is the iPhone and the infamous App Store approval process at work. So you know where this is going…
Apple rejected the app with the hardware shutter buttons saying it would confuse users. Stupidity is too nice a word. Moving on, Camera+ had the last laugh. While the latest version of Camera+ that’s in the App Store doesn’t have shutter button features enabled by default, an ingenious solution by the developers (Tap Tap Tap) is included to allow end users to enable and disable said feature easily and after the fact:
We’ve seen various apps and services get around Apple’s draconian App Store polices via Safari before. This is yet another notch in the belt if you will. Unfortunately as we’ve seen before, Camera+’s days in the App Store may be drawing to a close once Apple finds out (and probably already has because of our big mouths). When things don’g go their way, they get all ban happy. Best get to it while there’s something to be had…
