cameras

Michael Zhang

Freezing Time and Space Using a Bullet-Time Rig of 100 Digital Cameras

Last week we shared a guest post by photographer Martin Legeer on how he built a Matrix-style bullet-time camera rig using 50 Canon DSLRs. Shortly afterward, Greek photographer Theodoros Tziatzios of Real Creations sent an email telling us about his own camera rig projects, which use double the number of cameras.

That's right: a camera rig with 100 cameras for extremely smooth 360-degree views of subjects that freeze time and space.

Michael Zhang

Ilford Launches New Disposable Cameras Loaded With Its Black-and-White Film

The camera film industry may be struggling, but there are certain segments that are still profitable. One such niche is the one-time-use disposable film camera market, and Ilford Photo wants a piece of the pie. The company, which makes widely used films, papers, and chemicals, announced two new black & white disposable cameras today.

Michael Zhang

High-Speed Photos of Cameras Exploding

Last year we featured a CGI rendering of an exploding Polaroid One Step camera that makes for a nice wallpaper. Photographer Alan Sailer creates real photographs showing the same thing. Sailer drills a hole into each camera, fills the void with a firecracker, and then captures the resulting explosion with high-speed photography using a Nikon D90.

Tenzing Norgay

What I’ve Learned About Photo Gear Over the Past 40 Years

Editor's note: "Tenzing Norgay" is the penname used by the author of this article. He is not related to the famous mountaineer.

This entire story is about black-and-white film shooting, but I hope there are good lessons in this for you youngsters shooting digital. Hopefully, you won't take this as being arrogant, condescending, or hectoring. I offer this in the spirit of something I've found to be fascinating for some four decades.

Michael Zhang

Nikon Unveils the S01 and P7700: Beauty and the Small-Sensored Beast

In addition to the Android-powered compact camera announced this morning, Nikon has also announced two other compact cameras in the Coolpix lineup. We'd call them "beauty and the beast", except for the fact that the beast isn't very beastly (on the inside).

Lets talk about the semi-"beast" first. It's the new P7700 -- successor to the P7100 -- which was leaked extensively prior to today. The main spec people wondered about was the sensor: whether it would be another weak point-and-shoot sensor, or whether the company would upgrade it to the Nikon 1 series size. Guess what? It's still weak.

Michael Zhang

The World’s Largest Holga Camera is 20 Times Bigger Than the Real Thing

The folks over at Tucson, Arizona-based ArtsEye Gallery love the Holga so much, that decided to create a gigantic version of the plastic 120 format toy camera for an annual photo competition they host. They were originally planning to create it as a fun prop, but midway through the construction process, they had the brilliant idea of making it as a functioning camera.

Michael Zhang

Leica M10 to Launch Next Month, Said to Feature Live View and HD Video

The new Leica M10 will almost certainly be announced at Photokina next month, and may have quite a few "firsts" for a camera in the M rangefinder lineup.

In addition to confirming the launch date, Leica reviewer Steve Huff writes that that the camera will likely hit store shelves in late February or early March 2013.

Michael Zhang

Canon 6D Rumors Heating Up, May Not Arrive Until October

You know the major firmware update that just rolled out for the Canon 7D? The purpose of it might have been to hold Canonites over through a couple months of DSLR-less news. Northlight Images is reporting that Canon will not be unveiling a new DSLR at Photokina, but will instead be waiting until October to unleash a new full frame DSLR on the world.

Michael Zhang

Leica Updates Its Compact Camera Lineup with the X2 and V-Lux 40

The M Monochrom B&W rangefinder wasn't the only camera Leica unveiled today -- the company also announced two new models in its compact camera lineup. The first is the X2, successor to the X1 of 2009. It's an APS-C sensor camera that features 16.2-megapixels, a fixed 24mm Elmarit f/2.8 ASPH lens, a 2.7-inch LCD screen, and a hefty $2,000 price tag.

Michael Zhang

Smuggled Camera Gear Worth Over $60 Million Seized in China

This past Wednesday, customs officers in China announced the bust of a gigantic camera smuggling operation and the arrest of 14 suspects connected with the illegal transportation of $63.5 million worth of camera equipment. The smuggling ring has allegedly smuggled 60,204 cameras, 13,623 lenses, 483 flashes, 1,025 video cameras, and 348 projectors. Since camera equipment is much cheaper to buy in Hong Kong -- 20% to 30% less -- smugglers profit by sneaking the gear into mainland China (avoiding customs taxes in the process) and selling it through the gray market.

Michael Zhang

Nikon Prices May Increase Next Week Due to New Unilateral Pricing Policy

According to Nikon Rumors, Nikon has introduced a new Unilateral Pricing Policy on DSLR gear sold in the US that will take effect on October 16th. Saying that the policy is "designed to allow customers to make purchasing decisions based on service provided and not have to worry about hunting for a better price", Nikon plans to withhold sales to any store caught pricing equipment below "national prices" that the company will set for each product.

Michael Zhang

Samsung May be Working on a Retro X100 Competitor Called the R1

With the success of the Fujifilm X100, camera companies are starting to realize that consumers love both the design of old school cameras and the ease of shooting digital. Samsung may be looking to join the retro party -- the latest rumor to hit the Internet is that Samsung is planning a X100-style camera called the R1... with interchangeable lenses!

Michael Zhang

Forget DualView, Samsung MV800 Has a Back that Flips 180-Degrees

Samsung's DualView feature adds a small LCD screen to the front of compact cameras for self-portraits, but why use a small screen when you can use the screen on the back? Announced today, the company's new MultiView MV800 camera has a large 3-inch touchscreen on the back that can flip up 180-degrees, letting narcissists users view it from the front (or above, or below). No word on when it will be released, but the 16MP camera will be priced at $280 when it is.

Michael Zhang

Sony Hits a Grand Slam, Launches New Mirrorless and SLT Cameras

Sony is serious about this whole "catching up to Canon and Nikon" thing -- the company has announced four new large sensor cameras, and each one is a doozy. The cameras, which hit store shelves in a couple of months, include the NEX-7 and NEX-5N mirrorless cameras and the A77 and A65 SLT (AKA translucent mirror) cameras.

Michael Zhang

Nikon Unleashes Eight New Coolpix Cameras, “Pro” Model Still in Hiding

Nikon did launch a new Coolpix camera today -- eight of them, in fact -- but the rumored "Coolpix Pro" mirrorless camera was nowhere to be found. The bevy of compact cameras hits store shelves next month, and includes the P7100 -- a more polished successor to the P7000 announced around this time last year, and Nikon's answer to Canon's G-series line of prosumer compact cameras. The 10.1MP camera features a tilting 3-inch LCD screen on the back, manual controls, 720p video, and RAW capabilities. It'll be priced at $500.