When a NASA Space Shuttle lifts off, there’s always high definition cameras carefully placed around the launch site, documenting the launch in high-definition photographs and slow motion videos. Back in April we featured a slow motion video of the Apollo 11 launch in 1969, and now here’s another neat super slow-mo documentary of more recent launches (i.e. 2005). If you have 45 minutes to spare, this video is sure to amaze and educate you.
By the way… during the launch, the shuttle burns 1,000 gallons of liquid propellants and 20,000 pounds of solid fuel every second.
With the ongoing craze in photo sharing services on mobile devices, it’s not surprising to see new photo apps launching left and right. Stealthy startup Path is a bit different though, with their high powered team launching an unusual sharing service service a couple days ago. Read more…
Nikon is a player in the 3D game now, though not by releasing any 3D-capable camera. Instead, they’ve announced my Picturetown 3D, a 3D conversion and sharing service for registered members of their photo sharing and storage service my Picturetown. The service can take your boring old-school 2D photographs and convert them into 3D for you.
Converted images are viewable on a special viewer — the NF-300i — provided to subscribers for the duration of their membership (you can’t buy the viewer). For ¥1,995 per month (~$25) or ¥19,950 per year (~$247) you can borrow the frame from Nikon and have three photographs converted. Converting additional photographs will set you back ¥300 (~$4). It’s only available in Japan for now, with no word on whether it’ll ever be available elsewhere.
Itching to get your hands on the Nikon D7000? You might want to try Best Buy. Apparently some Best Buy stores are breaking the rules and selling Nikon D7000 kits before the camera is officially available on Sunday. Here are some unboxing videos created by the lucky few who were able to purchase the D7000 early. Read more…
Pentax has unveiled a new “Rainbow” version of the K-x DSLR camera. The limited edition camera will only be available in Japan through Tower Records starting on July 23, 2010.
Only 1,000 of these units will be made, and each one will set you back ¥74,800 (~$800). Aside from the funky colors, the technical specifications of this camera are exactly the same as other K-x DSLRs:
The camera is part of a 2010 campaign with a “Rainbow” theme by Tower Records that also includes footwear, t-shirts, and backpacks.
As Newsweek continues to cause its parent company to bleed money, a new magazine is trying to defy the demise of print by being agile and efficient. 48 Hour Magazine is a project that aims to “write, photograph, illustrate, design, edit, and ship a magazine in two days.”
The team of editors behind the mag include Heather Champ (former community director of Flickr) and her husband Derek Powazek. The duo were previous the founding editors of JPG Magazine so, needless to say, they know a thing or two about the business.
“Issue Zero” had the theme “hustle”, and went from an idea at noon on May 7th to a complete magazine at noon on May 9th. The team received 1,502 submissions from all around the world, including from artists and writers at well known publications such as Rolling Stone and Wired.
Canon isn’t letting Sony have all the fun today — they’ve announced their latest Digital ELPH camera, the SD4000 (also known as the IXUS 300HS outside the US). The 10-megapixel camera has two features that really popped out to us: 240 frame per second slow motion video at 320×240, and ISO 6400 for low-light shooting. It can also capture 720p HD video, just not in slow-motion. If you’ve always wanted to play around with slow motion, this camera can enable you to do so (just for lower-res videos). The camera is priced at £379 (~$560) in the UK, and US pricing has not been announced yet.
Sony officially announced their new EVIL cameras, the NEX-3 and NEX-5. There wasn’t really anything in the announcement that we didn’t know before today. After all, the actual camera was spotted in an Asian bar at the end of last month, and official photos and specs started appearing online yesterday.
Both cameras are intended to compete with the Micro Four Thirds format, and use Sony’s new E-mount interchangeable lens system. They boast 14 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensors, and have tilting 3 inch LCD screens. The NEX-5 offers 1080i AVCHD video on top of the 720p found on the NEX-3. For more specs, check out our post about the camera yesterday.
Now onto the surprising news… Sony is developing an interchangeable lens camcorder!
The camcorder will use the same sensors found in the NEX cameras and the same E-mount lenses. Additionally, it will accept any of the lenses designed for the Alpha range of Sony cameras with an adapter.
Imagine if Canon or Nikon released a camcorder that accepted their DSLR lenses! I’m guessing they’re already working on such things, and that Sony simply wanted a slight head start by announcing their efforts earlier.
What are your thoughts on these new cameras? Do you think Canon and Nikon should jump into these markets?
Olympus just launched a new online publication called “PEN – The Magazine“. It’s available through a Flash viewer online (sorry iPad users), or as a PDF you can download. The first issue features six users of the Micro Four Thirds PEN system, and also an advertisement for why you should be using the system too (gasp!). Now all the other camera companies need to release free online magazines for their camera systems as well.
By the way, yesterday Olympus launched the “PEN your story competition“. All you have to do is submit a proposal through YouTube for what you would do with a PEN camera and a $5,000 budget. Judges will select 6 videos from the top 20 most “thumbs uped” by the community, and those individuals will receive the camera and money to bring their vision to life.
Here’s some nerdy news: Israeli facial recognition startup Face.com has just opened up its API, allowing developers to integrate its facial recognition technology in third-party websites and applications. Since launching a year ago, the company has scanned more than 7 billion photos and tagged more than 52 million faces through its Photo Finder and Photo Tagger applications on Facebook.
Now, the technology is no longer limited to Facebook, as any third-party developer can integrate facial recognition into their own apps. The API uses a REST-like interface similar to Twitter’s API, and takes in URLs to photos.
As Newsweek continues to cause its parent company to bleed money, a new magazine is trying to defy the demise of print by being agile and efficient. 48 Hour Magazine is a project that aims to “write, photograph, illustrate, design, edit, and ship a magazine in two days.” 
