laser

Hisense Laser TV

Leica Partners with Hisense to Make Laser TVs

After its most financially successful year ever, Leica is not slowing down. The company has announced that it is expanding into the Laser TV market through a partnership with Chinese television manufacturer Hisense.

The Best Photo Printers in 2024

Photographers rarely need to carry a portfolio book of their work to show potential clients these days, but even with constant access to photos online, there will still be moments when every working photographer will need -- or want -- a printer.

Make It Your Own: Why I Laser Engraved My Camera

As photographers, we are immersed in a world of creativity, expression, and individuality. Our craft is one that we pursue in hopes of creating something that evokes emotion and thought, insight and so much more. So why are our cameras so... boring?

Lasers Reveal How Well Different Types of Facemasks Work

With a supply crunch in medical-grade facemasks, the general public has been turning to homemade masks in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now researchers are using lasers to reveal how effective different kinds of DIY masks are at blocking tiny droplets from coughs and sneezes.

Man’s $1,998 Camera Fried by Self-Driving Car Laser

Self-driving cars widely use a technology called lidar (which stands for light detection and ranging) to "see" the world using laser pulses. These lasers are designed to be safe to human eyes, but it seems they may not always be safe for cameras. A man at CES in Las Vegas says that a car-mounted lidar permanently damaged the sensor in his new $1,998 Sony a7R II mirrorless camera.

A Laser Can Turn Off Streetlights That Interfere With Your Astrophotography

Streetlights polluting your shots of the starry night sky? A strategically placed laser might be just what you need.

Destin Sandlin of the YouTube channel SmarterEveryDay recently paid a visit to the house of NASA astronaut (and photographer) Don Pettit, who showed Sandlin a trick that he uses to temporarily disable an annoying streetlight just down the street. You can see this "life hack" in action at 1:04 in the video above.

Take Your Photography to New (Literal) Heights with a 12-Foot Tripod

There are times when all you need to capture the perfect photograph is just a few more feet in height. A common technique is to carry around and use a ladder to stand on and snap the needed photograph. But a ladder is far from convenient in terms of weight in size.

Thankfully, there’s an alternative that’s far smaller and not overly cost-prohibitive. It’s often called a construction tripod, laser tripod or contractors tripod and it’s a much smaller, more convenient way to get your camera high up in the sky.

Video: $20K Camera’s Image Sensor Fried by a Concert Laser in Just Seconds

Update: The video has been taken down by the uploader.

The harmful effects of concert lasers when exposed to your camera's image sensor are well documented. In the past we've shared several videos (here and here) that showed three different Canon 5D Mark IIs rendered unusable after a concert laser passed over them for only a second.

And if it can happen to a 5D Mark II, you better believe it can happen to a sensor much more expensive than that. The video above shows what happens when a $20K RED EPIC's image sensor goes head to head with a similar laser. Gear lovers might want to look away ...

Long Distance Laser Cam Creates Precise 3D Images from Half a Mile Away

A team of researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have developed a new laser camera system that can take extremely precise 3D depth scan images from up to a kilometer away (0.62 miles). An impressive advancement in laser imaging, the camera uses a low power infrared laser beam to create 3D images precise to the millimeter.

World’s Largest Private Yacht Features a Laser-based Anti-Photo Shield

Earlier this month, we featured an upcoming license plate frame that uses bright flashes of light to prevent traffic enforcement photographs. In the article, we mentioned that the concept could potentially be used by the rich and famous to avoid the constant gaze of paparazzi cameras. Turns out the rich and famous are already one step ahead of us.

Eclipse, the world's largest private yacht owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, already features a high-tech anti-photography system that uses lasers to seek out and deny cameras.

Epic Photos of Lasers Slicing Through the Night Sky

European Southern Observatory photo ambassador Yuri Beletsky shot a series of epic photos showing astronomers shooting powerful laser beams into the night sky. The photo above showing a laser beam pointed at the center of our galaxy was voted as last year's Picture of the Year over at Wikipedia.

Triggertrap Lets You Trigger Your Camera with Anything You Can Think Of

We have a bit of a scoop for you today: there's going to be a new Kickstarter-funded gadget announced on Thursday called the Triggertrap. It's a pretty nifty universal camera trigger that can trigger your camera's shutter with anything you can think of using a built-in intervalometer, a laser trigger, a sound sensor, and an Aux input that you can connect custom triggers to:

Think about it: You press your car horn, it takes a photo. Your phone rings, it takes a photo. The sun rises, it takes a photo. Anything is possible - and that's why this camera trigger is so eminently hackable and exciting to experimental photographers all over the world!

There's also a private sneak-peek of the Kickstarter video over on Vimeo. The password is TriggerTrap123.

What Laser Light Can Do to Your Precious DSLR Sensor

We all know pointing your DSLR directly at the sun for extended periods of time isn't too healthy for your sensor, but what about laser lights like the ones used at concerts? Turns out those can be even more lethal for your camera, even with very brief exposures.