News

USA Today Drops Sports Photographer Over Misrepresented Baseball Photo

Any professional photographer who's been working long enough has experienced the humiliation of missing the big shot, so it wasn't that big a story when two sports photographers missed Ichiro Suzuki's landmark 4,000th base hit at a recent New York Yankees game.

It's what happened afterward, when USA Today Sports Images photographer Debby Wong passed off a photo of another Suzuki swing as the iconic moment, that turned the incident into a significant photojournalism ethics fail.

Ukrainian Camera Collector Faces 7 Years in Jail for Owning Soviet Spy Cameras

Collecting vintage equipment isn't an uncommon hobby among photography and camera enthusiasts, but it is one that has apparently gotten one Ukrainian man in trouble with the law. A well-known collector and dealer named Alexandr Komarov (seen above) was recently arrested for possessing decades-old Soviet spy cameras, and now faces up to 7 years in prison for the offense.

The US Govt Has Records of ‘Suspicious’ Photographers Legally Taking Pictures

Don't want trouble with the US Government? Then you might want to reconsider photographing anything that might cause suspicion among law enforcement -- especially if you're Middle Eastern or a 'Chinese national.' A newly published document has revealed that government agencies have been compiling lists of "suspicious activity" reports, many of which contain records of photographers legally taking pictures of bridges, dams, courthouses, and post offices.

Nikon Reveals the AW1, the World’s First Waterproof and Shockproof Digital ILC

We told you yesterday to watch out for a "rugged" Nikon 1 announcement in the next 24-hours, and lo and behold, it happened. Introducing the Nikon 1 AW1, a camera Nikon is calling "the world's first waterproof and shockproof interchangeable lens camera," with a convenient asterisk added in for those of us who remember the Nikonos system.

Viral Photos from the Navy Yard Tragedy Don’t Show a Shooting Victim

Update: The Associated Press has re-released the photos, and is now confirming that they DO show scenes related to the Navy Yard shooting.

A widely distributed image used to illustrate stories about Monday's horrific shooting at the Washington Navy Yard likely had nothing to do with the tragedy, offering a cautious tale of modern media overreach.

Adobe Reveals Parallel and Contour Apps to go With Mighty and Napoleon Hardware

Adobe made several announcements yesterday, and one of the most talked about revolved around projects Napoleon and Mighty, the digital ruler and pressure sensitive stylus the company debuted in early May.

Back then, both pieces of hardware were basically prototypes in the "technology exploration" phase, but now Adobe has announced that Mighty and Napoleon will be hitting store shelves in the first half of 2014, and they won't be alone. Two accompanying iOS apps -- Parallel and Contour -- are being designed as well.

iPhone 5S’ Camera Abilities Shown off in Photos and Video from Fashion Show

In conjunction with the iPhone 5S debut, Apple also announced that the phone -- or more importantly, it's camera -- would be put to the test at luxury fashion house Burberry's London fashion show. And now that the show is over, the duo is sharing photos and videos taken with the phone to whet your appetite for the September 20th release.

Photog Helps Disaster Victims to Rebuild their Lost Photo Albums

Of all the items that can be destroyed in a disaster, few are as valuable or hard to replace as family photo collections. Photographer Brian Peterson saw that first-hand while living and working in Japan two years ago, when an earthquake and even more devastating tsunami swept away everything many families owned.

Sensing that photography could be a way to help them heal, Peterson started the organization Photohoku (named for the Tohoku region devastated by the tsunami) to help families rebuild their photo albums.

New Tech Totally Eliminates Zoom and AF Noise from Video Soundtracks on the Fly

DSLRs and Compact System Cameras are becoming increasingly capable video capture devices in addition to being solid still shooters. But when it comes time to focus or zoom using the lens' or camera's built-in motor, you're often left with glaringly obvious noise on your soundtrack.

So far manufacturers have tackled this problem by introducing silent focusing motor lenses, but one group of engineers is taking a firmware-based approach that seems to work just as well (if not better) and might someday soon do away with zoom and AF noise entirely.

SanDisk’s New CFast 2.0 Card Clocks in as the World’s Fastest Memory Card

SanDisk made it clear last September that it would not be pursuing the XQD memory card format, but instead would focus its energies on CFast 2.0, the then newly-announced high-speed CompactFlash spec.

Almost a year later, SanDisk has finally debuted the fruits of that decision: a card that is both the world's first CFast 2.0 card, and the world's fastest memory card of any kind.

Rogue Safari Flash Booster Promises 8X More Light from Your Pop-Up Flash

ExpoImaging has just announced a new DSLR attachment for the amateur photographer who wants better flash capability, but doesn't feel the need to buy an external flash. It's called the Rogue Safari Pop-Up Flash Booster, and once mounted to your Canon or Nikon SLR, it promises to provide up to 8x more light and a lot more range from your less-than-capable pop-up flash.

Nikon Files a Patent for a 100mm Medium Format Lens

Recent rumors have hinted that Canon might be making a move into medium format -- be that by investing heavily in a medium format manufacturer or building its own camera -- but a new patent seems to indicate that Nikon is at least thinking about it as well.

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.

Powerful New In-Browser Photo Editing Tools Added to Google+

Snapseed's team has been hard at work since their company was acquired by Google last September. They've already put new photo filters in the Google+ app and some auto-enhance tools in Google+, and now they're working on something even grander: turning Google+ into a full-fledged, browser-based photo editing tool.

Frog Photobombs NASA Launch Photo

Check out this photograph NASA captured recently during the launch of its LADEE spacecraft. Notice anything unusual? If you're thinking that the strange dark spot seen in the middle of the smoke plume looks familiar, you're right -- that's a frog.

Photography is a Sin, According to India’s Leading Islamic Seminary

Update: The rector of Darul Uloom came out to clarify some of the statements included in the original Hindustan Times article quoted in this post. We have included the significant portion of the update at the bottom.

In response to a question by an engineering graduate who wanted to follow his passion for photography, Darul Uloom, India's leading Islamic seminary, issued a fatwa declaring photography and that particular career path "unlawful and a sin."

Lexar HR1 Reader Hub: Customize Your Setup and Read Multiple Cards at Once

It goes without saying, but we'll say it anyway: pro photographers deal with a lot of photos. Each assignment can mean several thousands, all of which need to be imported to the computer for sorting and post processing. A new card reader hub from Lexar, however, promises to make at least the importing part of the process that much faster and more efficient.

Apple Unveils New iPhone Camera with a Larger Sensor and Slow-Motion Video

Today is a big day for tech sites and Apple fanboys alike because it's the day that the Cupertino-based company announces their newest iPhone -- you know, the one that makes you wish your contract was up now and not in 12 months.

This time around Apple announced two new phones -- the more affordable iPhone 5C and the more capable iPhone 5S -- and as you might expect given the smartphone camera culture, the more expensive of the two came with some significant camera improvements.

Hasselblad to Open Its First Retail Store in Tokyo

The online shopping revolution has wreaked havoc on brick-and-mortar stores, and photography shops are no exception. If you need an example, look no further than Jessops in the UK, which is down from 187 stores to only 36, and even those are only open because of some serious funding from investor and Reality TV star Peter Jones.

Stories like that, however, don't seem to be stopping camera companies from jumping into the retail store game. Over the past year, Canon opened its first Experience Center, Polaroid opened its first Photobar, and now Hasselblad is joining the party with its first retail store, which will be opening in a few days time in Tokyo.

Olympus Unveils the E-M1, Its New High-End Micro Four Thirds Camera

The Olympus OM-D E-M5's retro styling drew a lot of looks when the camera was first announced back in February 2012. Glowing reviews of the camera subsequently showed that it was more than just a pretty face.

Today, Olympus has finally unveiled a followup camera to continue the new OM-D line: the E-M1.

Rare Jonathan Ive-Designed Leica M to be Auctioned Off for Charity in November

Back in September of last year, we told you about an incredibly rare Leica M Rangefinder that was being created by Apple design guru Jony Ive. The emphasis there was on incredibly rare, because only one of these puppies is ever going to get made.

At the time we knew the camera would be auctioned off for charity, but it wasn't until today that we found out the specific event. So if you were banking on trying to buy this uber-special Leica, have your black AMEX at the ready: the date is set for September 23rd.

Using Crowdsourcing and Satellite Cams to Help Protect Endangered Animals

Remote cameras are a great way to shoot wildlife, and have captured to some pretty incredible photos and footage over the years. An example that comes readily to mind is the amazing Bear 'dance party' captured by one of Park Ranger Glenn Naylor's wildlife cams back in July.

The Instant Wild project also uses remote cameras, but their purpose is a little different. Their cameras are helping to protect some of the world's most endangered species ... with a little help from you.

Facebook Delays Troubling Policy Update to Address User Concerns

The dust has barely settled from the Instagram policy fumble, but it looks like parent company Facebook might be in for a similar upheaval.

The company's recently proposed changes to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Data Use Policy -- which were supposed to take effect on the 5th -- have been delayed after users and privacy groups alike have voiced serious concerns.

Is This the First Toy Camera Photo Taken from the Edge of Space?

We've seen cameras sent to the edge of space to take pictures, and we've even seen toys photographed at the edge of space. What we had never see, however, was a toy camera photo taken from the edge of space -- until now that is.

The photo above was the result of a summer-long project by a class at Harrington College of Design in Chicago, and it's the first Holga toy camera photo taken from the Stratosphere.

Thief Caught on Video Stealing $6,000 of Camera Equipment During a Wedding

It's unfortunate that this is a piece of advice we need to give, but alas, it's necessary: never leave your camera gear unattended. One photographer recently learned that lesson the hard way at an outdoor wedding he was shooting when he was deprived of some $6,000 of camera equipment in one fell swoop. And what's more, the entire theft was caught on camera by the wedding's videographer.