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10 of the Most Expensive Cameras Ever

We all love interesting and perhaps somewhat obscure facts and anyone reading this site has at least a moderate interest in cameras -- and hopefully, their history. Part of that history includes the unique, weird, one-of-a-kind, and (you guessed it) extremely expensive cameras which have, in one way or another, played a role in paving the way to where we are today.

Rare Leica Lens Sells at Auction for Whopping $290,000

A rare Leica lens has sold for more than some people will pay for a house. The Vario-Elmar-M 3.5-5.6/28-75mm ASPH. prototype was initially estimated to sell for between €60,000 and €80,000 (~$72,430 and ~$96,570), but blew past those projections easily, closing at €240,000 (~290,000).

Hands-On with Sharp’s Sub-$5,000 8K Mirrorless Camera

During the be beginning of the year, Sharp Corporation unveiled a surprising, small handheld Micro Four Thirds 8K camera – but back then we had very few details about it. Now, just before NAB 2019 is about to begin, we had the opportunity to talk to Kaino-san from Sharp, who was kind enough to answer our questions and also let us have a short spin with it.

This Widest-Ever 4.9mm Fisheye Lens Can See Behind Itself

LensRentals founder Roger Cicala is known for disassembling camera gear and sharing his findings on his company blog. Now he has done the opposite: he's sharing how he built (from scratch) a prototype 4.9mm f/3.5 "hyperfisheye" lens, the widest fisheye lens ever made. It's a lens so wide that it can literally see behind itself.

Razer Had Two Prototypes Stolen from Their CES Booth

Razer made headlines this week with a couple of cool prototypes, including the world's first triple display laptop codenamed "Project Valerie." Unfortunately, what seemed like a great week with some great products and press ended badly when two of their prototypes were stolen off the showroom floor.

HyperCam is a Low-Cost Hyperspectral Camera That Captures What We Can’t See

Hyperspectral cameras can see things in the world that the human eyes can't by capturing information from across the electromagnetic spectrum beyond visible light. This type of technology has all kinds of interesting applications -- researchers are using the cameras to uncover secrets in old documents and paintings, for example.

The HyperCam is a new hyperspectral camera that aims to make the technology cheap enough to be casually used by the masses.

What Canon’s Prototype ISO 300,000 Sensor Can See in Near Darkness

At Canon EXPO Paris 2015 this past week, Canon was showing off the capabilities of a prototype ultra-high sensitivity 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor. The 3.5-minute video above shows what the camera can see when taken into the "Blue Milky Way" of Waitomo glowworm caves in New Zealand, which make for dazzling long-exposure photos.

This Concept Camera Won’t Let You Shoot Unoriginal Photographs

Say hello to "Camera Restricta," a new concept camera by designer (and photographer) Philipp Schmitt. It's described as a "disobedient tool for taking unique photographs." In short, the camera searches the Web for other photos that have been captured from the same place and if too many photos are found, the camera will prevent you from taking another unoriginal photo.

Leica Camera Rifle Prototype Valued at Over $350,000

One of the "most unusual" Leitz accessories is up for auction. This year's WestLicht photography auction features a New York Leica Gun Rifle Prototype, a device that lets photographers shoot images sniper rifle-style. The starting price is €150,000, and it's expected to fetch up to €350,000 (~$394,000).

Adobe Sneak Peek: Retouching a Giant 50MP Photo in Prototype Mobile Software

Adobe wants to be the 800 pound gorilla of mobile photo editing. Today the company released the 2-minute sneak peek video above showing off some mobile retouching features its currently developing. In the clip, Photoshop product manager Bryan O'Neil Hughes shows how effortlessly photographers will be able to edit 50.3 megapixel Canon 5DS photos in the app.

21 Rolleiflex Prototypes Appear on eBay with a Price Tag of $178,000

The factory that manufactures Rolleiflex cameras is being liquidated in a bankruptcy auction, so there's a chance we may never see new Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex cameras produced ever again. As the fate of the brand is in limbo, 21 original Rolleiflex camera prototypes have appeared in an auction on eBay. For a cool $178,000, collectors can own a unique piece of photographic history.

A First Glimpse of Canon’s Small 4K Camera

Canon has long been rumored to have a small 4K camera up its sleeve, and now the world is getting its first glimpse of the new product. The company has unveiled the camera at a press event in China ahead of its rumored official launch in the United States at the NAB 2015 show in Las Vegas next month.

Firefly Footage Captured in 0.01 Lux with Canon’s Amazing Low Light Sensor

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Back in March, Canon announced that it was working on a special 35mm low-light sensor that would blow away all other competition when it came to seeing things in near complete darkness. In order to further prove that point, the company sent a prototype out to shoot tiny fireflies in less than 0.01lux on Japan's Ishigaki Island.

First Working Compound Eye Cam Gets a Bee’s-Eye-View of the World

Just like the human eye, the arthropod eye is a marvel of natural engineering. But unlike human eyes, insect eyes approach seeing very differently. Instead of a curved lens focusing an image onto a plane of rods and cones, insects have curved eyes covered by "ommatidia," each acting as a tiny pixel.

In a paper published today in the scientific journal Nature, a team of researchers from the U.S., South Korea, Singapore and China announced that they have managed to create a camera that mimics that type of eye -- and all of its advantages and pitfalls along with it.

Rumors: Multiple High-MP Prototypes in the Wild, Canon Miffed About Rumors

PhotoPlus is going down over in New York City in the second half of this week, and that's when we might be hearing a peep out of Canon regarding its rumored high-resolution DSLR. If there's any mention of the camera at all, it will probably at most be an "in development" announcement that confirms rumors but doesn't reveal too much else.

Remote Instagram Printer Instaprint Going from Prototype to Product

One year ago we featured a novel new device called Instaprint, a location-based photo booth that lets people create instant prints of Instagram photos by simply tagging them with a specific tag. It constantly scans Instagram for its tag, and when a photo is found the image is immediately printed out as a Zink print. Now Breakfast, the company behind the prototype, is trying to turn it into an actual product. They're trying to raise half a million bucks through Kickstarter and a $400 contribution effectively preorder one.