Jeremy Salvador assembled this strange contraption in an attempt to combine an SLR lens with the iPhone. Salvador created a prototype with an Owle Bubo iPhone camera mount, a 37mm filter with glass removed, a 37-58mm step-up ring, a Canon EF mount adapter ring, and a 35mm Canon lens. Though he’s managed to fit all the pieces together, he’s been unable to actually take a useable photograph.
Salvador is first to admit that the “iPhone DSLR” is pretty impractical:
I realize that some people will be shocked and appalled that I would even attempt to Frankenstein together a DSL[R] lens on a crumby pocket phone camera. And I realize that this contraption will have no practical value. But for me it’s more of a piece of art than anything else. And I’m hoping to have some fun and learn something in the process.
Obviously, the design is pretty cumbersome, and you’d be sacrificing the standard DSLR’s 10 megapixel camera and sensor for 5 megapixels or less, on a tiny cell phone sensor. On the other hand, the idea of being able to snap a DSLR-quality image and be able to upload it instantly online or use Photoshop in-camera is nice, but you probably can’t get all that from the iPhone. But enough talk about what the iPhone can’t do — after all, you can make some amazing fashion photos with it.
Photographer Samuel Cockedey created a series of time lapse photos of Tokyo landscapes and skylines called “Floating Point.” The images were captured on a Canon 5D and 5D Mark II. Cockedey has several more environmental time lapses that can be watched on Vimeo.
Since Sony’s announcement for the NEX-VG10 video camera, Sony has released another demo video with actual footage taken by the camera. The demo video has a slightly creepy storyline of a videographer following a girl around with the NEX-VG10. Nevertheless, the video has some gorgeous footage, filmed in Bali, that really emphasizes the camera’s ability to take advantage of the lenses depth of field and wide apertures in low light. Also, keep watching for the clever shadow puppet show during the credits, complete with a puppet version of the NEX-VG10. Read more…
It’s the end of an era. Photojournalist Steve McCurry has developed the last roll of Kodachrome film produced by Kodak.
National Geographic has been following the final journey of the last Kodachrome roll ever since Kodak’s announcement last year that it would retire Kodachrome. Kodak has been manufacturing Kodachrome since 1935.
McCurry developed 36 slides on Monday at Dwayne’s Photo Service in Parsons, Kansas, which is the last labs to process the film type. The final images were shot in New York City, but the last three frames were taken in Parsons.
If you’ve got undeveloped canisters of Kodachrome of your own, Dwayne’s will develop them only through December of this year.
Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 7S landed a pretty prominent spot in hip hop artist B.o.B’s music video for “Airplanes,” featuring Hayley Williams. It seems like instant photo marketing is especially seeking exposure through music videos — Lady Gaga’s “Telephones” also contains a hefty 10-second spot for Polaroid’s instant camera.
Sure, you’ve got duster kits and lens cloths to boot, but what about your own body’s hygiene? Specialized soap-making duo Rob and Megan Green, better known on Etsy as Stinkybomb, have made this nifty camera-shaped soap for photo fans.
Like all of their soaps, the camera soap was created with a mold made from a real counterpart, an Olympus point-and-shoot modified to bear Stinkybomb’s logo. It’s amazing how much detail comes through in the soap version.
The soap is available in pink, yellow, green and more for $10 each from Stinkybomb’s shop.
UK lawmakers have been in the process of reviewing anti-terrorism Terrorism Act 2000, with particular attention to street photography rights. Section 44, the controversial and broad provision that allowed authorities to stop and search anyone, and to seize property that could be used in connection with terrorism, was suspended last week. Still, there has been a lot of tension due to the similar provisions of Section 43, which still allows stop and search, though with a more limited scope.
However, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the review of the anti-terrorism laws will pay close attention to protecting civil liberties.
May said in a statement:
Use of terrorism legislation in relation to photography, detention of terrorist suspects before charge and the use of control orders are among the areas to be reviewed as a priority.
You can read more from the Home Secretary’s statement here.
Final results of the review will be reported this fall, but photographer groups and advocates such as Amateur Photographer and the I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! campaign are noting this as a victory after months of protesting and lobbying.
Using a bit of drawer liner as both padding and case, Instructables Living editor scoochmaroo has created instructions for this simple DIY shock-resistant camera case. It’s fairly straightforward: just cut from a template, add velcro, and sew.
You can’t tote a DSLR in this thing, but it could come in handy for point-and-shoots, or even to protect your beloved smartphone from extra wear and tear. Plus, it’s only about $1 to make.
Canon and Nikon broke ground when they launched DSLRs that have HD video capabilities. Now Sony’s taking a different approach by offering a comparatively affordable HD video camera with all the attractiveness of interchangeable lenses, plus the ability to take high resolution stills.
Not only will the camcorder share the same Sony E-mount as the NEX series (it comes standard with a kit 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens), Sony DSLR owners will be pleased to know that with a separate adapter, the camcorder can be mounted with any A-mount lenses — including Sony G and Carl Zeiss lenses.
The camcorder also has the same Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor as the NEX-3 and NEX-5. The DSLR sized sensor alone gives the camera a lot of extra real estate to work with; Sony boasts the sensor to be approximately 19.5 times larger than the standard sensor of conventional camcorders.
The NEX-VG10 can shoot 1920×1080 high def video at 60 fps, which Sony says is ideal for Blu-Ray recording. And for stills shooting, it can capture 14 megapixel images with a continuous burst of up to 7 fps.
Some benefits of using the NEX-VG10 over a video DSLR is that the camcorder has the right ergonomics and image stabilization for shooting video, and doesn’t have the same limited clip time that plagues DSLR video shooters — it can shoot up to 315 continuous minutes. Also, Sony says the NEX-VG10 has a silent auto-focus system that could cut down on noise typical on video DSLRs.
Stills shooters may appreciate the camera’s Auto HDR mode, but the fact that it doesn’t shoot RAW images could be a dealbreaker.
Photographers can now use their iPad or iPhone to view images remotely during a photo shoot — if they’ve got a Leaf or a Mamiya digital back. Today, Mamiya and Leaf announced the release of a new App compatible with Leaf backs, as well as Mamiya’s DM-series and RZ33 digital cameras and backs. When tethered shooting on a Mac, the Leaf Capture Remote v 2.0 App allows one or more iPad or iPhone to function as a remote image viewer over Wi-Fi.
There is no live view mode, but images are available to view as they are taken. There are obvious benefits to workflow with this sort of program, since the photographer can move around while reviewing the results from shots. Also, several people can view and flip through the images on different devices, which could come in handy in large photo shoots.
The App is free from the Apple store, and works in tandem with Leaf’s Capture server, which must be installed on your computer.
Jeremy Salvador assembled this strange contraption in an attempt to combine an SLR lens with the iPhone. Salvador created a prototype with an Owle Bubo iPhone camera mount, a 37mm filter with glass removed, a 37-58mm step-up ring, a Canon EF mount adapter ring, and a 35mm Canon lens. Though he’s managed to fit all the pieces together, he’s been unable to actually take a useable photograph.
