The latest of the seemingly endless iterations of Sony NEX interchangeable lens cameras is the NEX-3N. At $500 including kit-lens, Sony is shooting for the lower end with this one—primarily people who are just stepping up from a smartphone or compact point-and-shoot. We got a chance to toy around with the new camera today at the American Museum of Natural History. First impression? Adorable. More »
It feels a bit strange to report on a webcam privacy shade as if it were a novelty: various products already let users put a decorative background on screen in lieu of a live stream, or even pull a physical shade across the lens. What Apple is apparently proposing, though, is a camera with such privacy filters built into the camera module itself. The company just applied for a patent on a camera whose images could selectively transition from opaque to transparent and back again, depending on how much privacy is called for.
Based on that illustration up there, we’re going to hazard a guess it could be used in Apple’s MacBook and iMac lines, though the patent application doesn’t explicitly exclude mobile devices, either. (In fact, the filing acknowledges a camera like this could be used in, ahem, a television.) What we’d really like to know is how easy it would be for the user to active the privacy mode. Alas, though, the USPTO doc doesn’t give any definitive answers — the filing suggests the user could choose to switch modes, or that launching certain applications (i.e., those that use the camera) might trigger a change in privacy settings. In any case, that’s about all we can glean from the patent application, but feel free to peek for yourselves if you feel like letting your imaginations get ahead of you.
Filed under: Desktops, Cameras, Laptops, Apple
Source: USPTO
With the explosion of wearable POV cameras, it’s about time Sony trotted its own horse into the race.
Mary Poppins flew with a magical umbrella, but can you actually soar with one real life? Pretty much—provided you have the right umbrella, which pro skiier Eric Roner did. He captured the crazy feat with a GoPro (Hero 3). More »
Sony is releasing the smallest and lightest 20X optical zoom digital camera – the DSC-WX300 Cybershot. Black and white color models will be out on March 15; brown, blue and red color models will be out on April 5.
Sony says this model minimizes the effects of shaking more than conventional models and Autofocus speed is 3.6 times faster.
It is also possible to take photos remotely by controlling the camera from a smartphone or tablet.
Retail price: around …
It’s a sweet time to be a photographer and the Geanee Donut Digital Camera is the right camera at the right time. With the boom in online image hosting, photo-sharing and image-centric social networking services like Flickr, Instagram and Shutterfly showing no signs of fading, this cute yet capable camera should really hit the spot.
While the vast majority of Japanese medical device designs are insightful, beneficial and, er, normal, a rare few stand out by virtue of their extreme niche applications and distinctive attributes such as borderline inappropriate cuteness. This isn’t always a bad thing, especially if one of these strange and bizarre medical devices is about to be used on you!
As drones become better able to stay in the air for long hours, and get cameras that can zoom in and record entire cities all at once, the ACLU warns that a nightmare drone scenario could be happening sooner than we think. ARGUS, a recent advancement in spying technology, may be the first step towards this future.
In today’s digital word going retro is definitely in. An increasing number of photographers are taking a break from their digital cameras and going back to basics. Pinhole cameras are just one example of the analog hardware that’s out there and can be had for next to nothing. Find out how to build your own plastic or cardboard pinhole camera for under $20.
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