Digital cameras changed photography, and now smartphones are changing digital cameras. There’s never been more interesting ways to take a picture or record a video, and there’s also never been more ways to view those images. We’re focused on finding the most interesting innovations happening in all parts of photography.
Was it too good to be true? Perhaps if you’re a pro — but when I slapped Anker’s $35 MagSafe gadget to the back of an iPhone 15 Pro and shot in ProRes Log, I did get several consecutive minutes of usable 4K60 footage.
For most of us, it’s just a fast SD reader that makes for an awkward grip on the phone.
A quick hands-on comparison by The Verge’s action camera expert. It’s going to be hard to justify paying $50 more for the new GoPro flagship now that DJI’s rival is here.
When it launched on Android in June, the app only supported the Samsung Galaxy S23, S24, and the Google Pixel 7/8 lineups. Compatibility with OnePlus and Xiaomi phones running Android 13 was added later, but Blackmagic has released another update adding features like recording timecode, plus support for the Samsung Galaxy Flip 5/6 and Fold 5/6 phones.
Following the debut of the GoPro Hero 13 Black earlier this month, DJI will be announcing its next action camera on September 19th at 9am ET, as revealed in a short teaser video shared on its website and X.
Leaked details of the follow-up to the DJI Osmo Action 4 seem to indicate it will offer an improved four hours of battery life.
Leica’s played this tune before, as the new M11-D is its fourth screen-less model. This time it’s essentially an M11-P that’s gone LCD-free, and it has the same 60-megapixel full-frame sensor and Content Credentials.
These cameras are about as niche as they are expensive. But remember when they cost over $3,000 less?
The Rollei 35AF is inching closer to release, and photographers can now preorder one in chrome for $799 (or $828 for black).
It’s a new take on the original from 1966, with autofocus. Early adopters have until September 12th at 3AM GMT to preorder for the launch later this year.
New film cameras are just so hot right now.
Bringing more peace of mind to photographers, Lexar has debuted two new SD cards made from 316 stainless steel — an alloy that better resists corrosion — as spotted by PetaPixel.
Both the new Lexar Gold and Silver Pro SD UHS-II cards offer IP68 water and dust resistance, are much harder to bend and damage, and support read speeds of up to 1,700MB/s.
The Camovue is a new outdoor camera from the folks behind Reolink that can send alerts when it detects specific animals.
It can spot up to 12 species, including wild boar, deer (bucks and does), mountain lions, elk, ducks, weasels, cattle, goats, turkeys, raccoons, and foxes.
The company says it’s working on adding more critter-spotting capabilities. The camera is slated for launch later this year.
The company has teamed up with Bandai Namco to create detailed miniature versions of two classic film cameras, the Nikon F and Nikon SP, and two modern digital cameras, the Nikon Z FC and Nikon Z9.
All of the replicas in the Nikon Miniature Collection are non-functional, but they do have removable lenses. Unfortunately, they’re currently only available from gashapon machines in Japan.
Our basic assumptions about photos capturing reality are about to go up in smoke.
YouTube’s Computer Clan answers that question with a deep dive on the history of the pocketable camcorders that seemed to one day just disappear.
In 2009, Cisco bought Pure Digital Technologies, the company behind the Flip, but two years later abruptly shut down the product line as part of a restructuring. As for PDT’s founder, Jonathan Kaplan? He’s now the US ambassador to Singapore.
GoPro, which currently employs 925 people, says in an SEC filing that it’s issuing the layoffs as part of its plan to reduce costs. The company reported earning $186 million this past quarter — a 23 percent dip compared to the same time last year. It also laid off 4 percent of workers in March.
While visiting Copenhagen, Benj Haisch had a bag full of photography gear stolen off a bike. Thanks to a Sony A9 III with an Apple AirTag attached Haisch located the bag and recorded its successful (although not recommended) recovery from the thieves using the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. The footage was later turned over to authorities when Haisch filed a police report.
Pencilera, a free camera app exclusive to iPad OS, could make it easier to take photos with your tablet when you can’t reach it. It turns the Apple Pencil 2 or the Apple Pencil Pro into a wireless remote that triggers the shutter when double tapping or squeezing the stylus’ stem.
A big Wired piece with the Google team behind the Pixel cameras just hit. Let’s gaze upon the philosophical justification for the ongoing AI-powered what-is-a-photo apocalypse:
To Reynolds and the broader Pixel Camera team, it’s not necessarily the photo that’s important, but your memory. [...]
“What some of these edits do is help you create the moment that is the way you remember it, that’s authentic to your memory and to the greater context, but maybe isn’t authentic to a particular millisecond.”
No huge problems teaching people they can’t trust any photos at all worth thinking about there!
At this point maybe we should be asking if anything is a photo.
Here’s Guide to Computing, a loving collection of photos of giant computers from 1945 to 1990 by James Ball, who publishes as Docubyte. Sounds like a book is in the works; sign me up.
I’ve seen videos captured in wildfires before, but this roughly 90-minute timelapse of the California Park Fire approaching and consuming one of UC San Diego’s AlertCalifornia remote cameras really drives home how fast these disasters can spread, and how inescapable it can feel being trapped inside one.
When you slow down escaping water to 82,000 frames per second, it looks unreal — like magic pixie dust glittering in the light. Here’s an entire hour of that. I’m mesmerized.
Just the latest example of a slow-mo camera unlocking the fourth dimension; in this case, it’s a Phantom TMX7510 operated by The Slow Mo Guys.
The company’s “Z60 Ultra Leading Version” (yes, that’s the name) has optical image stabilization on all its rear cameras, including two 50MP main and wide-angle ones, and the 64MP “Portrait Prime” shooter.
Nubia’s Leading phone has an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while its running mate model Z60S “Pro” has a Gen 2. As for OIS on the Pro, well, only on the Telephoto.
The professional-grade video recording app debuted on Android in June but was only available on a small number of Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices.
An updated version of the app is now available on the Google Play Store adding features like HDMI monitoring while also expanding supported devices to OnePlus and Xiaomi phones running Android 13 or later.
