On a May evening in 2005, a group of us were spending time in my parents’ garage. We’d just graduated from high school days earlier and didn’t know what to do with ourselves. One of many boring nights spent pissing the time away, high on the excitement of graduation and fear of the future; I’m quite sure I’d have forgotten all about that night if it wasn’t for the noise we heard in the driveway.
The stealthy camera startup Light today announced a revolutionary new point-and-shoot camera that aims to transform the way we think about cameras. Called the L16, it packs 16 separate cameras across its surface that simultaneously expose photos at different focal lengths. The resulting images are combined into high-resolution, 52-megapixel photos.
The Sony RX100 III is a fantastic little camera and when I had the chance to play with its successor earlier in the year I was very excited to see if the RX100 IV would build upon the already high standards Sony has helped set. While Sony has been making some impressive advances in the high-end camera market, in the pro-compact area things are a lot tighter with Canon just edging ahead of the RX100 III with the G7X.
Bigger things may be coming to Sony's popular RX compact camera line, sensor-wise. A new report says that Sony is field testing a new RX camera that packs a significantly larger sensor -- possibly a Four Thirds format one -- that would put it in direct competition with cameras like the Panasonic LX100.
Olympus is getting more serious with its S series of compact cameras. Today the company announced the SH-2, a successor to the SH-1 that is mostly the same camera except for one very important difference: it can capture RAW photos.
Nikon today unveiled the new Coolpix P900, a superzoom compact camera with a crazy 83x of optical zoom, allowing photographers to "take creativity to extreme distances."
Canon perceived premium compact users to want a bright powerful zoom lens with relatively large sensor and a viewfinder in the PowerShot G1X Mk II and G16, but Sony proved astutely there was a huge demand for a quality compact that could slip into a pocket.
When Canon was busy building old-school destroyers, Sony designed a sleek modern frigate in the form of the RX100 with a 1” sensor. It took Canon two years to respond, but they finally launched a compact with but one purpose – to regain the throne of best compact from Sony.
Today has been all Leica at Photokina, and we're not even done yet. Beyond the new big guns in the S-series, the LCD-less digital rangefinder and the all-mechanical M-A film rangefinder, Leica also improved its compact camera lineup with a number of new additions.
Specifically, they announced the Leica X, Leica X-E, Leica D-LUX and Leica V-LUX.
The 7D Mark II might have been the big fat headliner of Canon's Photokina announcements, but it certainly wasn't the only newsworthy camera the company debuted. Joining the Mark II is the GX 7: Canon's very first compact with a 1-inch sensor.
Let’s start with a little quiz. What one thing makes a pro camera a pro camera? Build quality? Weather sealing? Fast autofocus? Fast motor drive? Dual SD card slots?
Don’t think too long over the answer because it’s none of the above. A pro camera is a camera that a pro uses. Period.
When it comes to high-end compact cameras, Sony doesn't exactly have a monopoly on the genre, but the RX100M3 is probably the most talked about of the offerings. With its nifty pop-up viewfinder, a 1-inch sensor and a bright 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens, it is quite the point-and-shoot.
But it soon might have some stiff competition, if news out of the Panasonic rumor mill is to be trusted.
One of the most sought after lighting accessories is a ring light. Meant to create a unique aesthetic, a ring light is a great way to add a sharp, but direct light source to any image. The problem is, ring lights don't come cheap, and are rarely meant for smaller cameras.
Thankfully, there's now a DIY solution for you hands-on types. Thanks to Instructables user alpacalypse, you now have a step-by-step guide to creating a ring light for your typical point-and-shoot camera.
Sprinkled in-between the more advanced lighting, photography and post-processing tutorials that we feature on the site, we've been trying to add in the occasional basic tutorial or walkthrough for the beginning photographer. Not everybody who reads PetaPixel is a pro- or even an intermediate-level photographer, and we all have to start somewhere.
The video above falls squarely into the "for beginners" category (in case the title didn't clue you in), and even though it was uploaded all the way back in 2010, it will still come in very useful if you're just starting out.
There’s no such thing as too many resources when it comes to learning how to take a good photograph. And here to prove this statement is a neat little pseudo-interactive web guide put together by Shutterfly for those among us who are just starting out.
While there isn't much information available on it yet, Olympus seems to be playing with the idea of what would be the worlds fastest compact camera, according to Patent No. 2014-48359.
Last week, Nikon executives said in an interview that they see smartphones as an opportunity in the compact camera game. By integrating more connectivity features, they seem to believe they'll make the point-and-shoot relevant again.
Canon wasn't the only one to food our inbox last night, and not even the announcements we were most anxious for. Sony also made some exciting announcements, including a refresh to its Cybershot line that includes three new superzooms and two new point-and-shoots.
Oh, and we should probably mention that one of those superzooms is the world's first bridge camera to feature a 63x optical zoom lens.
Samsung was the first to announce some of its new offerings pre-CES, but the company didn't let all of its cats out of the bag right away. In addition to the NX30, Galaxy Camera 2 and 16-50mm f/2-2.8 premium lens already announced, Samsung yesterday also refreshed its SMART camera lineup with a few point-and-shoots and two superzooms, one of which packs dual grips and monstrous 60x zoom.
We've said it before, but it bears mentioning again: smartphones might be bludgeoning the compact camera market, but that doesn't mean camera companies aren't putting up a fight. Fuji's new superzoom lineup is kind of a case in point, but a better example are the three new point-and-shoots just released by Canon.
This one is just too silly not to share. While browsing through Walmart's website looking for deals to share with their readers, the folks over at 1001 Noisy Cameras ran across a strange warning.