News

Beware Counterfeit Memory Cards Being Shipped From Amazon Warehouses

Check out the two memory cards above. One of them is a counterfeit card while the other is a genuine one. Can you tell which is which? If you can't, we don't blame you. Japan-based photography enthusiast Damien Douxchamps couldn't either until he popped the fake card into his camera and began shooting. The card felt a bit sluggish, so he ran some tests on his computer. Turned out the 60MB/s card was actually slower than his old 45MB/s card.

While it's not unusual to come across counterfeit memory cards -- it's estimated that 1/3 of "SanDisk"-labeled cards are -- what's a bit concerning is how Douxchamps purchased his: he ordered the cards off Amazon -- cards that were "fulfilled by Amazon."

Twitter Retro Filters Coming Soon. This is What They Might Look Like

The mobile photo sharing wars are heating up, and two of the big players, Instagram and Twitter, are in the process of trading blows. Back in November, it came to light that Twitter is currently working to build Instagram-style retro filters into its smartphone apps. Instagram retaliated this week by announcing that its photos will soon no longer be embeddable on Twitter. The latest news now is that Twitter is trying to spoil Instagram's holidays by pushing out its new filters by year's end.

Panda on Plane Photo Making the Rounds on the Internet

Here's a photo that's currently going viral on the web. As with many other viral photos, it's being shared with all kinds of different descriptions, and people are simply passing it on to family and friends without bothering to verify whether or not the captions are real.

Rivals Apple and Google Team Up in Bid for Kodak’s Valuable Imaging Patents

Yesterday we shared some news courtesy of the Wall Street Journal that Kodak had received a generous bid for its patent patent portfolio of over $500M. This was good news for Kodak, seeing as $500M was the mark the company had to hit in order to receive $830M in exit financing that would play a crucial role in helping Kodak dig its way out of bankruptcy.

However, all we knew at the time was that the bid was being put forth by a "consortium of bidders" out of Silicon Valley. Well, as it turns out, that consortium is being led by none other than the unlikely team of Apple and Google.

Short-Lived Samsung Webpage Reveals Galaxy Camera Coming to Verizon

After receiving much press coverage for its groundbreaking fusion of camera and smartphone, Samsung's $500 Galaxy Camera finally hit store shelves in the middle of last month -- AT&T store shelves.

Although the launch was done exclusively through what's considered to be the worst US carrier, it appears that Samsung will soon be branching out to additional providers. Verizon customers are reportedly next in line for the unique smartcamera.

Disposable Cameras Exposed by Artists On Sale for $1,000 Each — Undeveloped

New York City gallery W/------ (pronounced "with") seems to think that art buying has gotten a bit snobby, and that photographers have gotten a bit used to having unlimited chances to capture the perfect shot. Enter their new Disposable Cameras project, currently on display at the NADA art fair in Miami through this weekend. If you visit W/------'s booth at the fair, you'll find a wall of 24 hanging disposable cameras, each with a very hefty price tag.

Canon’s New Wireless Photo Printers Can Receive Photos Directly from the 6D

With the release of the Canon 6D, the company's first Wi-Fi enabled DSLR, it was only a matter of time before the camera manufacturer began announcing products that took advantage of that wireless capability. Case in point: Canon has just announced a couple of new PIXMA photo printers that can communicate directly with your 6D, allowing those of you who ponied up the cash for the new full-frame shooter to print your photos over the air.

Kodak Patent Bids Exceed $500M: Slow Climb Out of Bankruptcy Continues

Over the last year, no news has been good news for Eastman Kodak. The company's slow and painful climb out of bankruptcy has involved everything from corporate greed to lost patent wars and sub-par auction outcomes. But just a few weeks ago a flickering light emerged at the end of the tunnel for Kodak in the form of $793M in conditional financing.

In fact, since we last reported on the story, the loan amount has gotten even bigger. That sizable $793M has been upped to $830M, every dime of which Kodak desperately needs to get its hands on if it ever intends to escape bankruptcy. But as the saying goes: there's no such thing as a free lunch -- and definitely not one worth $830M. The banks that have agreed to help Kodak out made the financing conditional: Kodak doesn't get the money unless the company's long-awaited patent sale exceeds $500M.

Geotagged iPhone Photograph Leads to Fugitive Software Tycoon’s Downfall

The saga of anti-virus pioneer John McAfee's run from the law is a strange one, but this much is clear: McAfee wishes geotagging wasn't a feature built into modern cameras. After a month of fleeing from Belizean law enforcement after a neighbor was found murdered, the software tycoon was finally taken into custody this week, largely due to a single photo loaded with GPS data.

Sony’s ‘Smart Skin’ Camera Can See Zits Before They Appear

We've all used a little bit of Photoshop magic to take care of a blemish or two when taking portraits, but Sony's newly announced Smart Skin Evaluation Program (SSKEP) is taking on blemishes in a whole new way. The sensor technology, which was announced just a few days ago, can actually go beyond skin-deep and take a peek at blemishes that haven't even surfaced yet.

Some Nikon D600 DSLRs Not Closing to the Apertures They’re Supposed To

A little earlier today, we reported on how Sohail Mamdani of BorrowLenses had discovered that one particular Nikon D600 he was testing was consistently overexposing photographs by two stops. After searching long and hard for the cause, he stumbled upon the culprit: the D600 wasn't closing the aperture blades to the correct opening size.

Strange Exposure Differences Between the Nikon D600 and Other DSLRs

Gear reviewer Sohail Mamdani over at BorrowLenses was testing the Canon 6D and Nikon D600 last week by shooting nighttime photos of San Francisco Bay, when he discovered something strange: the DSLRs exposed the scene differently even when all the settings were identical in full manual. The photograph above was captured using the D600 at f/8, 30s, and ISO 100 (in JPEG mode).

Google Releases Snapseed for Android, iOS Version Now Free

When Nik Software was acquired by Google back in September, one of the prized catches -- besides Nik's impressive suite of high-end photo editing software -- was Snapseed, a highly popular photo editing app for iOS. Many people suspected that Google was gearing up to fight more directly with Instagram, now the Facebook-owned 800lb gorilla in the mobile photo sharing space.

Whether or not that was the motivation, it certainly seems like the case now: Google today launched Snapseed for Android, and has also made the app free for both platforms.

Black Marble: NASA Releases Incredibly Detailed Photos of Earth at Night

You've probably heard of The Blue Marble, an iconic photo of Earth captured in 1972 from 28,000 miles away by astronauts on the Apollo 17 spacecraft. Well, NASA has just released a number of photographs titled "Black Marble." They offer the same perspective as the iconic photo, except these new images show what our planet looks like at night!

Photographer Behind Infamous Subway Photo Gives Interview on Today Show

The New York Post got the whole world talking about it yesterday after publishing a morbid front page photo showing a man about to be struck by a subway train. The photographer behind the image, freelance photojournalist R. Umar Abbasi, has received criticism from people who believe he should have done more to help the victim, or, at the very least, do anything but snap photographs of what was about to happen.

Rumor: Canon To Replace the Speedlite 430EX II with a 450EX in Early 2013

Canon is reportedly planning to introduce yet another model name to its Speedlite family sometime early next year. Canon Rumors hears from a good source that two new Speedlites will be arriving in the first or early second quarter of 2013. Both are said to be replacements of the bestselling 430EX II, which was announced back in June 2008.

Ilford Launches New Disposable Cameras Loaded With Its Black-and-White Film

The camera film industry may be struggling, but there are certain segments that are still profitable. One such niche is the one-time-use disposable film camera market, and Ilford Photo wants a piece of the pie. The company, which makes widely used films, papers, and chemicals, announced two new black & white disposable cameras today.

Strange-Looking Digital Camera Design Spotted in a Recent Panasonic Patent

Could Panasonic be planning to jump into the action camera market and compete against the likes of GoPro? A recently published US design patent suggests that it might be the case. The patent, first spotted by 43 Rumors, was filed in December of last year but published a week ago. Simply titled, "Digital Camera," it contains a series of simple illustrations showing what appears to be a pocket-sized durable action camera.

Eye-Fi Unveils Circ, a Cloud Photo Service with Unlimited Free Storage

We reported in the middle of last month that Eye-Fi was planning to launch a new cloud-based photo sharing service with the name Circ. That day has arrived: the wireless SD card maker has officially launched the service into private beta. Unlike other cloud services, which cap storage space for free accounts -- 5GB is a popular limit -- Circ doesn't. Rather than limit free accounts by storage, Circ is based on the number of devices used. A free account lets you sync 2 devices, while a $50/year paid account allows up to 20.

Viewfinder-Equipped Canon EOS M Will Reportedly Arrive Late Next Year

One of the big complaints people have about the Canon EOS M (besides the horrendously slow autofocus) is the lack of a viewfinder. While autofocus can be improved through firmware updates, you can't simply add an EVF or OVF to a camera by rolling out a download. Luckily, there appears to be a second EOS M camera on the way that does offer an electronic viewfinder.

Photograph of Doomed Man on Subway Tracks Sparks Outrage, Debate

If you happen to catch a glance of the New York Post's cover today, the above photo is what you'll see. It's an attention grabbing image, showing a man who is moments away from being struck and killed by an oncoming subway train in New York City. It's also a controversial image, not just because of the morbid moment it captures, but because of the fact that it even exists.

EXIF Data May Have Revealed Location of Fugitive Software Tycoon John McAfee

If you've been following the news, you might have heard that a man John McAfee is on the run from police who want to question him about a murder. Not just any ol' John McAfee, but the John McAfee, the once-ultra-rich founder of anti-virus software company McAfee. Well, a photograph published to the web today may have revealed the exact location McAfee is was hiding.

Spotted: A Leica-Branded Pen and Coffee Cup, and a Pentax Q10 Watch

Canon started quite a fad back in 2010 by handing out novelty lens mugs at the Vancouver Olympic games. Within two years, it seems like everyone is making and selling lens-shaped coffee mugs now. If you thought Leica had stayed out of the craze, think again. Leica Rumors spotted the pen and coffee cup above being sold on eBay last week. The luxury Caran d'Ache pen carries the familiar red dot, while the cup features Noctilux lens markings.

Eyeist Brings Professional Photo Portfolio Reviews to the Masses

If you want more feedback about your photography portfolio than what your friends, peers, parents, and keyboard critics provide -- and you're willing to drop some money on a professional review -- you should check out Eyeist, a new disruptive service that's trying to bring high-quality portfolio reviews to the masses.

Rumor: Canon 7D Mark II Geared Toward Nature and Sports Photographers

Murmurings of an upcoming Canon 7D Mark II, which we first wrote about back in October, are starting to heat up. It was suggested that the camera, which may mark the merger of the 60D's and 7D's lines, was to offer a high continuous shooting rate. More recent reports seem to back up that particular spec, as we as offer some more info on who Canon is targeting with the camera.

Nokia Launches Magical Slideshow App PhotoBeamer for Lumia Phones

Earlier this year, we shared an amazing iPhone app by imaging company Scalado called PhotoBeamer. The app allows you to quickly run a slideshow of your Camera Roll photos on any device that can load the PhotoBeamer website, simply by pointing your phone at that display. One month later, Nokia acquired Scalado and began folding the small company's projects into its own software. Now, Nokia has launched a repackaged version of PhotoBeamer exclusively for its Lumia phones.