Hasta La Gadget!

Some companies have taken to using Kickstarter as almost a default step in their product pipeline, and New York’s Lomography is one of them. The photography focused company has successfully Kickstarted its film scanner for iPhone, and now it’s looking to fund a throwback portrait lens for DSLRs based on the historic “Petzval” 19th century design.

The Petzval lens was the most popular choice for photos in the 19th century, and produces a unique bokeh (background blur) effect with a very narrow depth of field. They’re pretty recognizable once you see some samples taken with them, and the effect is very impressive when paired with the sensors and imaging capabilities of modern DSLRs.

Lomography’s version would retain the signature visual style but also offer up mounts for Canon EF- and Nikon F-compatible cameras, along with a very bring f/2.2 maximum aperture, which beats the classic Petzval’s by at least a full stop. It also has terrific color saturation and high contrast, according to Lomography, and is very sharp in the in-focus area. Vignetting is also intentionally quite noticeable with the Petzval, for an art-house effect.

The Petzval is unique in its design in terms of being intentionally made to capture a super narrow depth-of-field, which is a key ingredient for portrait photos that really pop. And as an awesome bonus just from an aesthetic standpoint, the new Lomography Petzval will be crafted from brass, just like the original.

Lomography has been making lenses and throwback lo-fi cameras for over a decade now, and the Petzval is ambitious but definitely within their scope. The campaign is seeking $100,000, and has over half of that pledged already. Pre-order backer levels start at $300, though few are left at that price, and there are backer levels at $350, $400 and up after that.

The trend of companies like Lomography that are established using Kickstarter as a way to poll interest for potential products, while also creating a pre-order channel and defraying some of the risk of building something new is great for consumers, since it pairs trusted brands with an innovation platform. Kickstarter gets a lot of flack for projects that don’t deliver as promised, but it could end up being much more successful on this scale, with medium-sized companies looking for wider audiences, than as a money vacuum for early adopters who are loose with their wallets.

Last week, we looked at bugs. This week, I’m sending you back into the bush to catch more of nature’s nuance on the macro level. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, photograph the wonder of plants.

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Here’s your great time waster website for the day: Dronestagram. Exactly like how it sounds, it’s a website that shows you pictures taken by drones which means you get to see amazing angles of the world you’ve never seen before. It’s like being a bird or taking a helicopter tour of Dubai, France, Rio de Janeiro, Maldives and other cityscapes and countrysides from your computer.

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There are a lot of factors that go into taking a great picture. You need a good subject, background, lighting, equipment, and the right angle. Of course, probably the most important thing to have is a good eye for photography. It’s amazing how a small change in your angle, or a few tweaked settings on your camera can make all the difference. But even the best eyes can’t see everything. Which is why it’s good to have a little help from your tools.

This Luxi Status Indicator is a small light diffusion dome that can be used with your iPhone. When you place it over the phone’s front-facing camera, it will be able to work with a special light meter app to give you the perfect settings for your DSLR. Once you hold it up next to your subject, you’ll be able to get a readout on the settings you’ll want to use on the camera. It will give you shutter speed, ISO, and aperture settings for you to use.

There are light meter apps on the market, however, the Luxi’s diffusion dome is what will make the difference when you’re using it. It should give a more accurate reading of the light. The small accessory doesn’t come with a big price, either. Just $25 will get you on the pre-order list. Yours will ship in 4-8 weeks.

Source: ChipChick
[ Luxi turns your iPhone into a photographer’s light meter copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

You may remember our friend Destin at Smarter Every Day shooting an AK-47 underwater. It was a cool experiment, but the pressure caused the aquarium to shatter, ruining what we now know would have been an amazing shot. To solve this problem, he built a sort of reverse-periscope for a Phantom camera and shot the AK-47 in a pool. The results are absolutely stunning.

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