Hasta La Gadget!

It’s no secret that the Nokia EOS (or Nokia 1020 as it’ll be called later this week, more than likely), will be rolling out with some serious photography power. Here as we saw very, very briefly earlier this week, we’ve gotten another look at a key accessory for this machine – a camera grip that makes the machine much more like the big-handling machines its amalgamation of lenses and processing abilities suggests.

This case works – or would very much appear to work – with an extra bit of battery as well, adding on 1020mAh (likely an added 40% life-span or so) to the Nokia smartphone as well. Plugging in through the smartphone’s microUSB port at its bottom (if you’re holding the machine vertically, that is), this accessory also makes way for the device’s massive lens and flash cover.

You’ll find this machine delivered in white, but as it has been with the large cross-section of Nokia devices revealed over the past several years, you can expect a set of alternate colors as well. Wouldn’t want to be left out in the cold without options!

Up top is a physical shutter button that’ll depress to hit the Nokia smartphone’s own physical shutter button. On the side is a battery button that’ll light up 1-4 bulbs depending on how much power the machine has in it, and you’ll find a grippier bit up front for your left hand’s remaining tendrils. The bottom, then, also reveals a socket with screw rings for mounting this machine on a tripod.

Have a peek at the rest of the tips and leaks revealed in recent days and weeks on the Nokia 1020 and get ready for the full event on the 11th of July – that’s tomorrow!

VIA: The Nokia Blog

Nokia Lumia 1020 camera grip leaks at all angles is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

That smartphone in your pocket has changed you. You’re not just able to stay in contact with your friends and family now—you’re also a photographer. But what good has really come of it?

Read more…

Canon is pretty proud of its new EOS 70D and particularly the DSLR’s innovative Dual Pixel CMOS AF system, so it’s no surprise there’s a demo video showing the clever multi-part pixels at work. The 1080p footage, dubbed “Handmade” by Canon, shows not only exactly what is going on in the camera while it’s recording, but also comes with a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of the making-of the whole thing. If you’re considering splashing out on the EOS 70D, it’s a must-see.

Traditional autofocus systems on DSLRs split the incoming light into two paths, one being used to figure out how crisp the image is and what adjustments are needed to the lenses in order to get the subject sharply in focus. Canon, though, wanted to boost the speed and accuracy of that – as well as allow for continuous autofocusing during video recording – and so came up with a new system.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF, as we explained the other day, involves changes at the level of the CMOS sensor itself. Each individual pixel of the 20.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS is in fact made up of two photodiodes, which can be used individually to make the necessary calculations in phase-detection focus mode.

Canon EOS 70D “Handmade” Dual Pixel CMOS AF demo:

However, for shooting, the input from both photodiodes is combined. Canon says the new system is not only faster and more accurate than before, it also considerably maximizes the usefulness of the 3-inch LCD display on the back of the EOS 70D.

In fact, while purists might scoff at anybody using anything other than the regular viewfinder, Canon argues that the LCD has advantages of its own. Now that the delay has been cut down, it should be more useful in low-light scenes since it will likely be clearer than what’s coming through the optical viewfinder.

If the demonstrations convince you, you may need to save up some. The Canon EOS 70D will be $1,199 body-only when it hits store shelves in September.

Canon EOS 70D “Handmade” Dual Pixel CMOS AF background:

VIA PhotographyBLOG

Canon EOS 70D sample movie demos Dual Pixel CMOS AF is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Photographers still go wide-eyed when you tell them the Sony Cyber-shot RX1R has a full-frame sensor. The party-trick of 2012′s RX1 is just as impressive in its new sibling; approached by a curious “enthusiast” while we were out in London this week testing out the updated version, we saw once again how disbelief quickly gave way to amazement and then lust when we explained the camera’s 24-megapixel prowess (swiftly followed by horror at the $2,800 price tag). This time around, you’re actually getting less with the RX1R: the anti-aliasing filter from the CMOS has been removed, for what Sony claims is an increase of detail. Read on for our first-impressions and some sample shots.

If you’re familiar with the original Cyber-shot RX1, you’ll hunt in vain for any noticeable differences between it and this new RX1R. Bar the addition of the red subscript “R” there’s literally nothing, externally, to tell them apart. Both are an easily handled 113.3 x 65.4 x 69.6 mm and around 453g, feeling more than sturdy in the hand thanks to solid metal construction. Even the lens cap feels premium, milled from metal rather than the lightweight plastic cover most lenses come with.

Nor has Sony tampered with the core specifications. So, you still get the 35mm F2.0 lens with an ISO range of 100 to 25,600, support for 14cm macro shots, up to 1080p60 AVCHD video recording, and support for various accessories including both optical and electronic viewfinders on the RX1R’s hot shoe. The interface is the same too, navigated via a control wheel next to the 3-inch, 1.2m-dot TFT LCD display (which is non-touch) that also functions as a 4-way joystick with center-select.

There’s also room for a dial to quickly snap through things like shutter speed, depending on which mode you have the top dial set to. Exposure gets its own dedicated dial on the top, too, while aperture and minimum focus are controlled by dials around the barrel of the fixed Zeiss Sonnar T* lens. That’s good for F2.0 to 22, and is near-silent in operation.

Sony RX1R hands-on:

Of course, what makes the Cyber-shot RX1R different is what it lacks: an optical low-pass filter. That’s the layer which is used to reduce moiré – the rainbow-style meshing you get occasionally when fine grid patterns in the subject clash at just the wrong angle with the CMOS’ own grid – by introducing a very slight blurring. The end result is less chance of moiré but at the cost of a slight reduction in sharpness.

Some photographers will do anything to avoid that loss in sharpness, and so cameras without anti-aliasing filters have become popular – albeit niche – in recent years. Sony promises the “sharpest detail ever” in fact, as long as you can stomach the potential for extra moiré.

In practice, you have to be suitably obsessed to notice any difference over the RX1: both versions produce fantastic images. Even Sony admits that those who will get the benefit from the RX1R are those who work only from the RAW images the camera spits out; otherwise, you’re unlikely to spot the changes. Some of that is down to software processing: in-camera JPEGs, for instance, take advantage of new algorithms Sony has loaded to offset the missing optical low-pass filter. Go hunting for it, and you can find it, but otherwise it’s effectively a non-issue.

There’s no denying that the Sony Cyber-shot RX1R is expensive. With an RRP of $2,800 – just like its RX1 sibling, which remains on sale alongside it – you’re paying proper DSLR prices for what’s in effect a fixed-lens compact. That’s a very special, compact, though, and if you prize portability over the flexibility of a DSLR, the RX1R has bags of appeal. The combination of a slight increase in detail probably means the RX1R will be the favorite of the two versions, but we’d not turn our nose up at either.

All of the sample shots in the following gallery are unedited, bar having been resized.

Sony RX1R samples:

Sony Cyber-shot RX1R hands-on and samples is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s a sense that, for all the usual launch hyperbole, Sony didn’t quite realize what a hit it would have with the original Cyber-shot RX100; that’s not a mistake it’s making second time around. The new Cyber-shot RX100 II builds on the same winning formula as before – fit a compact-scale body with a relatively large, 1-inch sensor for DSLR-style images in something eminently more portable – but improves the sensor and throws in more convenience features like an adjustable LCD, WiFi, and NFC. We took the Cyber-shot RX100 II to the streets of London to see what it could do, and whether this is the camera to make you leave your DSLR at home.

Outwardly, there’s not a huge amount to show for the Mark II changes. The RX100 II remains small camera for the sensor size; at 101.6 x 58.1 x 35.9 mm and 254g it’s not the smallest compact around, but then the smallest compact doesn’t accommodate a 20.2-megapixel backside-illuminated 1-inch Exmor R CMOS with optical image stabilization and a 3.6x optical zoom.

It’s that big sensor that Sony is so proud of: around 2.7x the size of what you’d find in a regular compact camera, and though still smaller than a DSLR’s CMOS, it’s now 40-percent more sensitive in low-light conditions, the company says. Focusing is faster too, Sony promises, and noise reduced. In movie recording mode, it’ll now shoot 1080p24 in addition to 1080p30/60, all with stereo audio.

The physical alterations work well. The 3-inch, 1.2m-dot LCD display is now tiltable, making what was already an easily handled camera more flexible for over-the-head and waist-level shooting. Inside, WiFi has been added, along with NFC for easy pairing with an NFC-equipped phone; that allows you to upload photos directly from the RX100 II itself, or even control it remotely. A new Multi-Interface hot shoe opens the door for better accessories, such as an EVF, and Sony has also thrown in a Multi-Terminal socket for a wired remote and even a magnetic filter-adapter mount.

Sony RX100 II hands-on:

The result is a camera dominated by its lens barrel, though still comfortable to hold one-handed. We occasionally found the knurled mode dial slightly too easy to inadvertently move, but we appreciated the movie record key, which is embedded in the thumb-grip and easy to press. The RX100 II’s little flash only cranks up when needed – there’s no physical button – though we avoided using it in our test shots, since the camera’s low-light performance is so good unaided.

Fitting all the manual controls prosumers demand into a body this small means everything is tightly packed, and we wouldn’t have argued had Sony thrown a touchscreen into the mixture as well. We can certainly see beginners and amateurs getting overwhelmed by the surfeit of icons on-screen at any one time. When you actually get to shooting, though, it’s easy to forget the complexity: quickly strumming through shutter speed or aperture settings with the easily-rotated thumb wheel and letting the fast autofocus – which handled itself with aplomb, even at the extremes of the RX100 II’s zoom – work its magic.

The only slowdown we encountered was when trying the RX100 II’s onboard effects. For instance, as below, there’s an HDR-hybrid type effect which focuses on the main subject and then gives the rest of the frame a somewhat ghostly blur. It looks good, with the right scene, but it introduces a couple of seconds processing time after each shot.

In general, though, we were incredibly impressed by what the new Cyber-shot could produce. We weren’t in a position to do controlled side-by-side comparisons with the first-gen RX100, but we struggled to confuse the auto-focus and low-light performance was impressive.

Moving subjects proved no problem for the RX100 II, and colors proved bright but accurate. In short, Sony has kept what made the original popular, and given it a blast of extra flexibility, particularly listening to what its more demanding users have been asking for. At $750 RRP it’s not cheap for a compact – Sony intends to put the Mark II on sale alongside, rather than replacing, the first model – but it’s nonetheless impressive for a compact that certainly holds its own against Micro Four Thirds rivals.

All of the sample shots in the following gallery are unedited, bar having been resized.

Sony RX100 II camera samples:

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II hands-on (you want this camera) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.