For those of you who often take pictures with your smartphone, but find that you never have a stand or tripod with you when you need one, here's a creative Kickstarter that may solve that problem. Called KeyProp, this ingenious little key shaped smartphone stand fits on your key chain so you always have it with you -- and it comes with a free camera timer/clap-to-snap app to boot.
Nokia recently announced its new Lumia 928: a 8.7-megapixel PureView, Carl Zeiss, OIS-toting replacement for the already impressive Lumia 920 that will do its best to blow away the rest of the market in terms of image and video quality.
But in case words aren't enough, Nokia has also released the above video comparing the low-light video capability of the new Lumia with that of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5.
David Hobby over at Strobist uncovered an intriguing new type of parabolic umbrella by B2Pro Lighting last week that has some people intrigued, even as many others are calling BS. The umbrella sports a patent pending pattern of RGB photo sites that, according to B2Pro, will "bring lighting for digital photography and motion picture into the 21st century."
In addition to the Photoshop CC and Camera RAW announcements, the Adobe XD team also debuted something entirely different at the MAX conference: the company's first shot at hardware. Coming in the form of a pressure-sensitive stylus and digital ruler, the two accessories are meant to take the creative brainstorming experience and shift it from pen-and-paper to pen-and-tablet.
In the video preview above, Adobe's VP of Product Experience, Michael Gough, introduces the two products -- code named "Mighty" and "Napoleon" -- and walks you though the experience of using them.
A while back, Atlanta-based editorial and commercial photographer Zack Arias decided to start a Q&A blog that would, in his words, "add signal to an industry filled with far too much noise." On this Tumblr he's answered 1,000+ questions ranging from the relevant to the rude about the art and business of photography.
Now he's decided to take that blog project to another level by compiling 100+ of the best and most common questions he's gotten into a book called, appropriately enough, Photography Q&A -- Real Questions, Real Answers.
A couple of weeks ago, we shared a sneak peek of Adobe's upcoming Shake Reduction Tool for Photoshop that has been dropping jaws ever since an advanced preview was debuted all the way back in October of 2011. The tool selects a section of the image, uses some complicated calculations to determine how the camera was moving when the photo was taken, and then remove the blur -- pretty incredible stuff.
But it looks like Adobe has been beaten to this magical release by the small startup Intelligent Imaging Solutions and their newly announced Photoshop plugin Piccure.
Photo booths are seeing a renaissance in the world of photography recently. We're not so much talking about the photo booths you'll find at the mall, where you feed them a dollar and they take your picture. We're talking about little contraptions that pros are building/buying nowadays and bringing along with them to parties and wedding shoots.
One great example is the Instagram-inspired DIY photo booth put together by Alexander Morris. Unfortunately, that one required a bit of electrical DIY skill to put together yourself, so for those of you looking for something similar minus the DIY part, Photoboop may be the perfect solution.
Are you so crazy in love with photography that you would wear a lens-inspired wedding ring on your finger? If so, alternative ring company Titanium Buzz has a wedding band just for you.
The company has just launched a new product called the Camera Lens Ring. It's a simple ring that looks like something torn from the middle of a camera lens.
Created by photographer Peter Basma-Lord, the Eternal Light Mac and iOS app offers users a way to play back an infinite number of photos in a slideshow format, set to music, at any speed they like. If you so chose, you could select every single photo you have hidden deep within all of your external hard drives and play them back at breakneck speed -- a sort of, near-death experience slideshow if you will.
And even though this may not seem like something one would want to do, it's actually the idea that inspired Lord to create the app in the first place.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada-based photographer Chris McVeigh is incredibly good at building camera replicas with LEGO pieces. Last month we featured his LEGO recreation of the Leico M9-P Hermes rangefinder camera.
Now McVeigh (who goes by the name "Powerpig" online), is back with a beautiful new camera creation. This time he has built a Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Rainbow instant camera.
About a year and a half ago, photographer David Fliger of Fusion Photo Gear found himself in a field, rushing to mount his camera onto a tripod in order to get a shot of a tractor in the fading light. There was only one problem: he already had his sling-style shoulder strap attached via the accessory loop that was sitting where his quick release plate would normally be.
It was a problem he ran into all too often (both used the 1/4" accessory hole on the bottom of his camera) and one he made up his mind that day that he would solve. That's when the Fusion Plate was born.
We've mentioned Sigma's upcoming revolutionary USB dock before, but until today we had no idea when the product would become a reality or how much it would cost. Thankfully, Sigma has cleared that up for us, and thrown in a demo video to boot.
Earlier today, brothers-in-law Daniel Fujikake and Mac Nguyen of HI Resolution Enterprises announced a new product for the photography enthusiast community that they're trying to get some help funding. Launched via Kickstarter campaign, the Snapzoom is a universal adapter that can attach a slew of optical scopes (i.e. binoculars, telescopes, etc.) to your smartphone in lieu of a telephoto lens.
A neat piece of photo-related home (or studio) decor: Brooklyn-based poster printer Pop Chart Lab has created a beautiful new poster called "A Visual Compendium of Cameras" that offers a brief visual history of photography.
Sony clearly felt there was a gap in the action cam mount market that needed filling. And so, in addition to providing mounts for everything from surfers to scuba divers, Sony Japan had just debuted an action cam mount for man's best friend.
At the end of May, a signed copy of one of the most iconic photos ever taken, and the camera that took it, will both go on sale at the WestLicht Photographica Auction. The photo is a signed print of the iconic V-J Day "Kiss in Times Square" photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, and the camera is the Leica IIIa rangefinder that he used right up until the day he died.
Putting together presentations often involves breaking out either PowerPoint or Keynote. But while both programs are great, they're designed to work just as well for the high school student, business professional, and creative professional. Fortunately, there's finally a program that focuses on the last of these.
As a photographer, it would be nice if you could always have your portfolio in your pocket so that you can show prospective customers your work right away. And even though there are portfolio websites that will allow you to display your work on your phone, you're not always around a solid data connection; and keeping your work on your phone isn't a good idea either, since high-res photos fill up a 16GB iPhone hard drive before you know it.
Thankfully, there's another option. Keep them on the i-FlashDrive by PhotoFast. A thumb drive that plays nice with both computers and iOS devices, this little guy can store either 8GB or 16GB and will allow you to keep any photos or other data easily accessible and in your pocket without taking up space on your phone.
Instagram has been used in many different ways. We've seen the app inspire an awesome DIY photo booth and even become the tool of choice for certain photography projects. However, we never expected to see the day when you could use your Instagram photos to customize your footwear. And yet, that's exactly what you can do with Nike's PHOTOiD web app.
Remember that giant wooden Nikon 14-24mm hanging lamp we featured back in February? The designer, Spanish studio Monoculo Design, is back with another interesting piece of photography-inspired home decor -- this time for Canon shooters.
The latest creation is a stool that's designed to look just like a Canon 8-15mm fisheye zoom lens.
HoldFast Gear makes gear for photographers that you won't really find from other companies. Last year one of their big products was the MoneyMaker, a suspenders-style leather camera strap that looks like it popped out of an old detective film.
Today the company added a new eye-catching product to its lineup: the Bison Tote. It's a tote bag that's made out of bison hide.
Over the last several days, one particular piece of new gear has been getting a lot of attention as a potential "game changer" for the videographers among us. A new hand-held stabilization rig, the MoVI is a three-axis, gyroscopic, completely silent system that's looking to revolutionize the professional stabilization market.
The folks at Hama just announced a new accessory that should make life as an iPad or iPhone toting photographer a bit easier. No, we're not talking about the guys who shoot with their iOS devices; we're talking about the people who use them for on-the-go storage, editing and sharing.
The accessory is simply called the Wi-Fi Data Reader for Apple Devices and it does exactly what its name implies: it allows you to upload photos from USB, SD, SDHC and SDXC to your iPad without plugging anything in.
Amateurs just getting into post-processing sometimes opt to purchase the much cheaper Photoshop Elements over spending the hundreds more it would cost to get the industry standard pro version. Unfortunately, the gap in features between Elements and the upgrade leaves a lot to be desired, which is why the ElementsXXL plug-in came to be.
ElementsXXL is a Windows-only plug-in that brings a massive list of features previously reserved for the full-featured Photoshop to Elements -- all for only $50.
JTT has released what looks to be the smallest consumer night vision camera in existence. About the size of your typical CF card, the CHOBi CAM 3 can snap 11MP photos and take 1080p video for up to 120 minutes on a charge -- and it does it all in the dark.
When it comes to Instagram, there's been some serious controversy over ownership rights and Terms of Service. You can take the photos with the app, edit them in the app, host them on the app's servers, and ultimately sign over certain rights to the app. Not everybody likes this arrangement.
Pressgram is creator John Saddington's solution to the problem. It's an Instagram alternative that allows you to host your images using WordPress (either .org or .com) and retain 100 percent ownership rights.
Most smartphone photography apps are all about three things: taking, editing and sharing. ThrowBack, however, isn't about any of them. Instead of focusing on taking your photos and enjoying them now, the ThrowBack app wants you to "forget your memories so they can be remembered again."
Back in 2010, we shared how artist Luke Jerram had created a wedding ring that can project tiny slide photographs when placed in front of a light source. After seeing that idea, Cambridge-based engineer John Ding decided that he wanted to make something similar for his sweetheart, Becky.
Ding spent the next two years designing a silver pendant that can project a photograph. He ended up creating what he calls the "Projecting Pendant."
Printic is a new service that mixes two popular cultural movements. The first is that nostalgic pull back towards the days when we actually got to hold our pictures in hand; the second, the square crop, retro, lo-fi movement.
So what do you get when you combine these two? You get a service that lets you select and crop photos directly from your phone, and send Polaroid-style high-quality prints to whomever for just $1 a piece.
Photographer t-shirt company Dodge & Burn is taking its silk screening prowess and applying it to a new product: posters. In addition to apparel, it is now selling serigraphs (i.e. screen printed posters) with its "evolution of the twin-lens reflex camera" design, which is also available as a shirt.
If you've been wishing you could splurge on a 27-inch Apple monitor but just can't see yourself spending that kind of money, Monoprice has a cheaper solution for you. The company's 27-inch offering uses the same LG IPS LED panel as Apple's, but a Monoprice monitor will only run you $391 as opposed to the $1,000 you'll spend at Apple.
Leica's Hermes edition M9-P is a beautiful camera that comes with a steep price of $50,000. If you don't have a spare 50 Gs lying around waiting to be burned, check out this replica created by Halifax, Nova Scotia-based photographer Chris McVeigh using 114 LEGO pieces. Sure, it may not be functional as a camera, but it's a great conversation piece, and one that you can build yourself at home!
Spider Camera Holster just announced its newest addition to the holster family. Unveiled at WPPI Las Vegas, the company's new Spider Monkey does for accessories what the SpiderPro or Black Widow Kit does for your SLR -- it keeps them instantly accessible on your hip at all times.
Cinetics, the people who brought you the CineSquid and CineSkates, introduced their newest alteration to a GorillaPod this last week, the CineVise. While the CineSquid enhanced your GorillaPod's legs with powerful suction cups, and the CineSkates put your camera on wheels, the CineVise (quite literally) clamps your camera onto any clamp-able surface you may need to secure it to.
Lumio is an innovative new LED light idea that has been making quite a splash over on Kickstarter. Conceived by San Francisco-based industrial designer Max Gunawan, the lamp has raised nearly half a million dollars from nearly 5,000 backers over on Kickstarter -- after an initial goal of just $60,000. It's a lamp that's inspired by the design of a book: open the cover and the light turns on, close it and it shuts off.
Using wood as a canvas for photo prints isn't uncommon these days, but the prints typically use some kind of transfer process that applies a photo onto the wood. German architects Michael Ahlers and Roland Heuger have been experimenting with a new wood photo process since the summer of 2011. Their company Photocarver can take any photograph and cut them into wood blocks using straight cuts that vary in thickness as they go along.
More and more cameras are being launched with touchscreen interfaces these days, especially as mobile operating systems are starting to appear in point-and-shoots and turn them into smartphone look-alikes. For those of you who live in a colder environment and often find yourself wearing gloves that aren't compatible with touchscreen cameras, there's now a way to make those gloves touchscreen compatible that doesn't involve sewing conductive thread into them.
It's called AnyGlove, and is a special capacitive gel that can be applied to -- as the name implies -- any glove or clothing item.
Template and Photoshop action maker The Shoppe Designs has been making a humorous series of posters called Shoppe Satire. Each graphic pokes fun at some aspect of the photography business, with inside jokes that certain types of photographers will be able to relate quite well with.
We've seen a number camera-shaped pendant necklaces before, but here's one that's a bit different from the rest. It's a camera pendant that doubles as a small clock that hangs around your neck.
Designer and web developer Ryan Taylor has developed a nifty piece of online software for photographers that he hopes to get funded through Kickstarter by the end of this month. Dubbed Safelight, the software would offer an online selling and proofing solution for those photographers who want to integrate an interactive store into their online portfolio.
New York-Based designers Sarah Frances Kuhn (SFK) and Meredith Wendell are teaming up to bring a little bit more fashion into the world of photography. Only their fashion accessories won't be displayed on a model standing in front of your camera, they'll be keeping your camera securely attached to you.
Here's another option for DSLR-toting photogs who want to control their gear wirelessly from a distance without spending a fortune. It doesn't have the range of the CamRanger or the ability to send over a live view like, say, the built-in wireless on the Canon 6D; however, it's less than one sixth the price of the first, and you won't have to upgrade your camera to get it.
It's the Satechi Bluetooth Smart Trigger, and it comes in three versions that are compatible with a range of Canon and Nikon DSLRs (plus a couple of Pentax options) for only $45.
Photographer Ed Pingol was sick of battling carpal tunnel every time he needed to cull or edit photos in Lightroom. So instead, he developed the Cullinator, a software app for Mac that pairs perfectly with an attachable gaming controller to keep you editing and culling ergonomically for hours without fatigue.
A couple of months ago we introduced you to Cycloramic, an app that used your iPhone 5's vibrations to take hands-free panoramic video. At the time the app could only shoot video, but after many requests (including our own) the Cycloramic team has released the much-anticipated V2.0, complete with Guided and Handsfree Panoramic Photo modes.
Waterproof housings for your DSLR typically come in two varieties: cheap bags that leave you wanting more in way of results, or extremely expensive cases that leave your bank account wanting more in way of funds. Outex hits a happy medium, providing much higher quality results than your typical bag housing for between $250 and $400 depending on your camera.
Inspirational quotes are usually the realm of motivational posters and self-help books, and idea journals the realm of writers (thank you very much) but that doesn't mean photographers can't get a piece of that action.
If you often find yourself dreaming of photography while eating pastries, or (more likely) visa versa, then this is the camera for you. In all seriousness though, here's a fun little novelty product that made its way across our desk, which combines a 3MP camera and a fattening favorite, the doughnut.
For Valentine's Day today (you didn't forget, did you?), San Francisco-based self-proclaimed super nerd Doctor Popular decided to give his significant other a card packaged inside a 35mm film canister.
Check out this DSLR Paparazzi lamp, created by Spanish design studio Monoculo Design Studio. It's a wooden hanging lamp that's shaped like a gigantic Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 camera lens.
Here's another curious photography-related novelty item for those of you looking to fill your house with them (i.e. those of you who purchased the lens shaped vacuum cleaner and lens-shaped humidifier that we featured recently): it's a lens shaped pepper mill.