Face detection has become the snapshot photographer’s invaluable assistant in ensuring tack-sharp faces, but soon it’ll be able to add two more job responsibilities to its resume: exposure metering and speedier autofocus. Two patents recently awarded to Apple show that future iOS cameras (perhaps the next iPhone?) will have standard camera features that rely much more on face detection technology. The first patent, titled “Dynamic exposure metering based on face detection“, allows the camera to automatically select faces as the primary target for metering. In more difficult situations — group shots or people standing in front of a crowd, for example — the camera will use factors such as “head proximity” to select the primary subject.
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The deadline to put up initial bids for Kodak’s 1,100 patent sale is Monday, and The Wall Street Journal reports that the two biggest contenders, Apple and Google, are forming “coalitions” with other companies in preparation for the all out patent brawl. The last time this happened, an Apple/Microsoft alliance ended up winning the battle against Google, that time over a patent sale by Nortel Networks. Read more…
Artist Kyle McDonald caused quite a hoopla last year after using a custom-written program to photograph unsuspecting people using Apple Store computers. Apple quickly issued a takedown request and the Secret Service was sent to confiscate McDonald’s gear. Yesterday Wired published an interesting article in which McDonald gives his long and detailed account of the whole fiasco:
I didn’t want to break the law. I was prepared to make people a little uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to do anything illegal. That ruled out using private computers. I tried to think of a busy public space full of computers, and the Apple Store seemed so obvious. I read “The Photographer’s Right” to make sure it was ok to take the photos.
[It] sounded simple. There was definitely no expectation of privacy: the 14th Street Apple Store has glass walls. And I saw people taking pictures inside all the time, so I just had to double check with an employee. It seemed clear that I was legally within my rights, but I wanted to be sensitive to the people being photographed. I decided in advance that I would make sure it was easy to contact me if someone saw their photo and wanted it removed. I would try to keep Apple out of the discussion by always referring to it as a “computer store”, but Apple’s strong aesthetic makes it hard to hide.
When Art, Apple and the Secret Service Collide: ‘People Staring at Computers’ [Wired]
Diptic, a top 5 paid photography app in the iTunes App Store, has been selected by Apple as this week’s free app. The app normally costs $1 and lets you quickly combine multiple photographs into diptychs. There are 52 preset layouts that support between 1-5 photos each, and 14 filters for giving your images different looks. You can see sample diptychs created with the app in this Flickr group.
Diptic – iTunes App Store (via Photography Bay)
Backing up your photos is always a good idea, but if your storage device failed and the photos you lost consisted of some very precious family memories, would you hold the hard drive company responsible? Lawyer Perminder Tung would, which is why he is currently suing Apple over the photos of his first child’s birth that were lost when his Apple Time Capsule failed. Read more…
Published earlier today and already discovered by AppleInsider, a new patent from Apple seems to show that the Cupertino company would like to put swappable lenses in future iPhones. The camera in the iPhone 4S is already great — it was even used all by itself for an editorial fashion shoot — but there is always room to improve in creative ways and swappable lenses are certainly uncharted territory for a camera phone. Read more…
Rounding out a day packed with Apple announcements and general excitement at the WWDC 2012, here’s one final Apple tidbit coming from rumor site Apple Insider. According to them, recent job postings at Apple hint at the possibility of an Aperture mobile app coming in the near future. After receiving a tip from an anonymous user, Apple Insider found that the Aperture team is looking to fill quite a few manager and developer positions, many of which require experience developing on the iOS platform in one form or another. Read more…
It looks like previous rumors about an updated photo stream in iOS6 were right. Apple has officially announced what they’re calling “shared photo streams,” which are exactly what they sound like: mark certain photos or albums as “shared,” choose who you would like to share them with, and you’re done. The folks you chose to share the album with will get a notification (if they have an iOS6 device or a Mac with Mountain Lion) and be able to browse, like and comment on your pictures in iPhoto, Aperture, or even on AppleTV. Non-Apple users will have to settle with browsing your shared photos on the web. Read more…
Big updates coming at you from Apple’s WWDC for the MacBook Pro line today, the most impressive of which was their super thin, “next generation” 15-inch MacBook Pro that now boasts a retina display. With 220 pixels per inch, and over 5 million pixels overall, the screen will offer 4-times the resolution of previous models — needless to say we’re impressed with the photo edition possibilities here. Read more…
Kodak has been selling off its assets left and right as it tries to dig itself out of its financial hole. Most recently, it “successfully” sold its Gallery business to Shutterfly. But Kodak’s most prized possession, and the sale it was hoping to make up the most ground with, is its massive collection of patents split into two portfolios. Read more…
