Hasta La Gadget!

Sigma has unveiled a handful of new lenses that will join the company’s current lineup of Art lenses, which are designed to be high-quality alternatives of the competition, like Canon and Nikon lenses, but with a slightly lower cost than you would normally see with these companies. The four new lenses that Sigma announce are a 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM, 60mm f/2.8 DN, 30mm f/2.8 DN, and a 19mm f/2.8 DN.

The 30mm f/1.4 lens is designed for large-aperture APS-C format cameras, and the angle of view is equivalent to 45mm on a 35mm camera. The lens promises to deliver the highest level of image quality, thanks to a Hyper Sonic Motor for quiet, high-speed autofocusing, as well as a 9-blade rounded diaphragm that creates a bokeh effect. It also has a brass bayonet mount designed to withstand long-term use. The lens has been specifically optimized to reduce field curvature and improve focusing capabilities.

The 60mm f/2.8 DN lens is designed for Micro Four Thirds cameras, as well as Sony E-mount shooters. It has an angle of view equivalent to 120mm on the Micro Four Thirds system and 90mm on the E-mount system (35mm equivalent focal length). The lens contains Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass, which helps minimize chromatic aberration. The lens is specifically created for telephoto shooting and portrait work, and it will be available in both silver and black.

Sigma’s other new 30mm lens is a f/2.8 lens also meant for Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-mount cameras. This lens is meant for everyday shooting and is engineered as an all-around lens that you can anywhere. It’s also perfect for casual and formal portraiture, and documentary photography. The lens includes a double-sided aspherical lens that improves its optical performance.

Last, but not least, the 19mm f/2.8 DN is yet another Micro Four Thirds and E-mount lens that has an angle of view equivalent to 38mm on the Micro Four Thirds system and 28.5mm on the E-mount system (35mm equivalent focal length). This lens is designed for street shooting, as well as landscape, architecture, and studio work.

Pricing and availability on these lenses have yet to be disclosed, but Sigma says that the 30mm f/1.4 lens is expected to arrive in a couple of months, while we have yet to hear a release window for the other three lenses.

Sigma unveils four new Art lenses is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Smartphone cameras have come a long way in a relatively short period of time, progressing from sub-1-megapixel sensors incapable of taking images in anything but the brightest locations to modern sensors that are challenging the point-and-shoot camera market. Earlier today, a patent filing from Google cropped up showing a multi-flash camera model for smartphones, an intriguing idea that may never see the light of day.

Despite the improvements in mobile phone cameras, inadequate lighting is still a common issue and one of the reasons photographs end up dim and grainy. Google’s patent filing would seem to be a partial solution to that issue with multiple flash lights on a phone. Depending on the external lighting situation, one flash or multiple flashes would be utilized by the phone.

One of the sketches gives us a good idea of what Google is up to, showing multiple flash bulbs that can be re-positioned via tracking in the back of the phone. Another image shows a different design with the flashes stationary. The flashes that are mobile are nestled in different designs, with one being circular in nature and the other resembling the π symbol.

Not only would multiple flashes increase the overall lighting, but it would also provide better lighting in individual environments and help eliminate shadows by adjusting which lights go off. Another use indicated for the multi-flashes is HDR photography, with the flashes being used to simulate different exposures, which would then be stitched together. Of course, as with all patents, this might never come to fruition, but it is an interesting concept nonetheless.

[via Android Community]

Google patent filing shows off multi-flash smartphone camera is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Pentax also unveiled its 14th generation WG-10 camera that offers a professional set of features under a portable and compact design. Pentax wants to go beyond the traditional point and shoot cameras. With the WG-10, Pentax built an ideal option for on-the-go shooters who are in need of a capable yet sturdy image and video capturing device. The WG-10 is waterproof and can survive depths of up to 33 feet. Although it is not as ruggedized as the WG-3 GPS And WG-3 cameras, the WG-10 is still a good camera for the outdoors. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Underwater camera that can tweet photos of swimmers used in London Olympics, YouTube Allows Publishers to Solicit Donations for Kickstarter and Indiegogo Projects,

…and to the dentist’s office. Etsy seller Hans Chung has created the opposite of the camera that looks like a chocolate bar. I wonder which of the two is stranger. You be the judge. Behold! A life-size chocolate replica of the Canon D60, including a lens and battery grip. Your teeth just fell off didn’t they?

According to Hans, the mold that he used to create the chocolate was made from an actual D60 and lens, which were both rendered unusable in the process of making said mold. Granted, Hans didn’t say if the camera was already broken when he bought it. Still, he earns points for authenticity there. Chocolate connoisseurs might be glad to know that Hans used Guittard chocolate to make the replica. Or you might not be glad. I don’t know what you guys are into.

Having digested all those details and images, I’m sure you know by now that this is is going to cost you. Hans is selling the solid chocolate Canon D60 camera on his Etsy shop for $500 (USD), i.e. half the price of the actual camera. If it’s any consolation, as of this writing Hans said that he will make only 5 more of these, which makes it a lot rarer than the actual D60.

[via WhattheCool]

Watch out, kids, because surveillance drones are about to get an upgrade. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have developed what’s called the Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (ARGUS), and it’s said to be the most advanced surveillance system in the sky with a price tag of $18.5 million for the program.

The ARGUS camera system can be attached to the main pod of a drone, and once in action, the camera can capture images at 20,000 feet with a resolution of 1.8 gigapixels — so high-res in fact, that you can see what color shirt a pedestrian is wearing. It can’t quite make out facial features, but it’s able to spot a six-inch object within a 10-mile radius.

While DARPA doesn’t want to give anything away, they at least say that the imaging system consists of a collection of 368 sensors that are the same found in modern smartphones, but it’s the processing power that really makes the ARGUS stand out. The camera can also stream around 1 million terabytes of video, which is around 5,000 hours of HD footage per day.

Whether the ARGUS is currently deployed right now is unknown, and we can’t see what the camera looks like either. Overall, DARPA is keeping quiet on any future implementations of the imaging system, and they’re not telling us exactly how they can stream an exabyte of video per day. There’s got to be some crazy processing power on board, for which we know nothing about at this point.

[via ExtremeTech]

DARPA unveils 1.8-gigapixel drone camera, can target hostiles at 20,000 feet is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.