
After all of those serious news reports and lens announcements, we thought it would be fun to share something on the whimsical side. You’ve seen camera lens mugs, now we give you a lens-shaped humidifier that’ll keep the dry skin away over the next few months. Read more…

Professional photographers have a choice to make: buy a car, put a down payment on a house, or buy Nikon’s new 800mm f/5.6 FL ED VR behemoth. Obviously the last one, right? Well, maybe not, but still, this thing is impressive.
It was announced as “in development” way back in July, we got to see one in action at the Olympics in August, and now it’s finally here — and it was kind enough to come attached to a $17,900 price tag. Read more…

Last week, Apple unexpectedly booted 500px’s photo sharing app from the iTunes App Store. At the time, Apple said that the issue was the app’s ability to search for photos featuring artistic nudity. Since then, reports have also stated that Apple received complaints of child pornography in the App, leading 500px to launch an ultimately unsuccessful search for these images.
Whatever the issue was, it seems it has been fixed to Apple’s specifications. The app is now back in the iOS app store and available to download. Read more…

Over the past three years, Foodspotting has made a name for itself by using user-generated pictures to help you find the tastiest dish in the vicinity. And even though we’ve seen an anti-photo movement in upscale restaurants recently, the app clearly still has a lot to offer. We say clearly because reservation company OpenTable just agreed to buy the company for $10M in cash. Read more…

It’s a big day for lens announcements, and we’re not even done yet. Sigma showed MFT and E-mount some love, and now it’s Tamron’s turn to make mirrorless owners happy. Earlier today, the company officially announced development of its first ever Micro Four Thirds lens: the 14-150mm F/3.5-5.8 Di III VC. Read more…

Mother + Daughter is an ongoing series of portraits by North Carolina-based photographer Carra Sykes. Each diptych features one portrait of Sykes and one portrait of her mother, with both women wearing the same clothes and holding the same pose.
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Sigma is making camera lovers happy today with the announcement of four new lenses. Well, actually it’s one new lens and three new versions of old lenses, but it’s good news all the same. All of the new lenses are part of Sigma’s sleek ART product line, and were announced today at the CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show 2013 in Japan. Read more…

Professor Isao Echizen from Tokyo’s National Institute of Informatics seems to think that photography and facial tagging are infringing a bit too eagerly on your privacy. So, in a bid to avoid being surveyed (perhaps by the all-seeing eye of the ARGUS-IS) he’s designed a pair of anti-photography glasses. Read more…

Ever since Canon’s new 24-70mm f/2.8L II arrived late last year, lens reviewers around the web have been saying very nice things about its sharpness. DxOMark is the latest tester to do so. Here’s what it has to say:
[...] the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 MkII is the highest scoring professional fixed-aperture mid-range kit zoom of any brand in the DxO Mark database and comfortably outperforms rivals as well as the firm’s earlier Mark I version, particularly with regard to the sharpness levels across the frame. We’re used to seeing a noticeable deterioration in performance in the outer fields at longer focal lengths even with high-quality optics from the big-name marques but the new Canon bucks that trend.
The company writes that the main issue is the lens’ price of $2,500 — quite steep when compared to rival lenses. Check out the full review for a more detailed breakdown of how the new 24-70mm performs.
Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM: A Peerless Performer [DxOMark via Canon Rumors]

We’ve seen Instagram photography on “jewelry” before, but nothing like this. JewelGram is the Kickstarter baby of engineer Gianpiero Riva and jewelry designer Michele Marzotto, and if they get fully funded, we may start seeing high quality Instagram rings and pendents all over the place. Read more…