Todd Blatt wants to have more fun with Google Glass than just the occasional game of Battleship, and he has been crowdfunding 3D-printed GlassKap add-ons to spice things up. His newest additions to the line have us especially intrigued, though: he just unveiled a set of crosshairs (pictured above) and a macro lens (after the break). Both function as you’d expect, letting Glass wearers either live out their future soldier fantasies or snap up-close photos that they’d normally miss. The September launches for both accessories are contingent on Blatt reaching his $1,500 funding goal, although that should happen soon when it takes a $30 pledge to set aside a GlassKap. The real challenge is obtaining Glass in the first place.
Today we’ve had our first look at the Nokia Lumia 1020 – a device with a 41-megapixel back-facing camera more than ready to take on the already revealed Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. Where not too many years ago it was considered amazing to see a camera present in a cellphone, here in 2013 we’ve got not just cellphones, but smartphones, bringing on camera constructs far more powerful than most standard pocket-friendly point-and-shoots! Now both Nokia and Samsung have machines with as much focus on the smartphone as on the photography power they possess – so what’s the difference?
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom works with a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor with an f/3.1-f/6.3 24-240mm 10x zoom lens. This produces results that we’ve just begun to test in our first Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom hands-on with photo examples posted this week. It’s appearing here to be an extremely well-balanced shooter with the ability to take fine photos on its back as well as its front (where a 2 megapixel shooter sits).
Meanwhile the Nokia Lumia 1020 works with a 41-megapixel sensor branded PureView by the company working with an f/2.2 ZEISS lens. The Nokia device works with an up-to 6x digital zoom setup, but claims said zoom will result in no loss of quality due to the machine’s ability to collect so much more image information in the first place.
The physical shape of each of these machines puts the line between camera and phone at a new level of blurry, each in their own way. While the Nokia machine literally has the back-facing lens set in landscape, letting you know that the back side is not a portrait-facing sort of situation, the Samsung device has a similar aim – the Samsung logo may be set in portrait, but the rest of the back is clearly a standard camera and lens looking aesthetic.
The fronts of both machines, too, are set to look like smartphones on their own. The Samsung Galaxy S4′s final size comes in at 125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4 mm while the Nokia Lumia 1020 is thinner – yet taller and wider 130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4 mm in total. NOTE: You’re seeing the Samsung machine here next to the Nokia 808 PureView here, the 808 resting atop the comparably thin Nokia Lumia 1020.
Internal Storage
You’ll need a lot of space for all the photos and video you’re going to be capturing. For the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom you’ve got a rather modest 8GB of space built-in, but you’ve got a microSD card slot capable of working with up to 32GB cards. Meanwhile the Nokia Lumia 1020 works with 32GB of internal storage right out of the box, but has no microSD card slot. It’s a tradeoff or a bonus either way – depending on your perspective!
Operating System
The key factor in deciding between these two machines for you may very well come down to the operating system that backs them up. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom works with the newest version of Android, Jelly Bean 4.2.2, while the Nokia machine has Windows Phone 8. Both machines have a rather healthy amount of backup from their respective manufacturers as both machines are heavily invested in the operating systems they roll with, and both work with extremely unique systems under the hood.
While we’ve gotten our first taste of what the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is working with thanks to our first hands-on on the review bench (as linked above) and through our original Galaxy S4 Zoom hands-on, it’ll be a bit before we get as involved with the 1020 as we want to be before we make any judgements on the Nokia machine. For now you’ll have to take a peek at our first Nokia Lumia 1020 hands-on to see what you make of it!
The group shot dilemma—it’s the bane of both narcissists and scrapbooking enthusiasts alike. But what are you supposed to do when you want to snap a pic of a precious moment between friends, but the only person around to take the picture is, well, you? Fortunately for you, Groopic has taken it upon itself to leave no group shot incomplete.
What does it do?
Quickly and easily merges two photos to create one cohesive final product. Your friends arrange themselves, you snap a pic, and then you switch out with one of your pals, who will then take the second photo. Once you have both shots ready, you tell the app which two individuals took on the role of photographer, and Groopic goes to work merging the two and creating a single photo of all your friends and, most importantly, you.
Why do we like it?
All this could be done with the help of most photo editing programs, yes, but while Groopic only offers one of the features those services might offer, it’s the feature that solves an incredibly common problem. You’re normally left with a few less than ideal options—praying for the mercy of a kind, passing stranger, forcing one unlikely friend out of the memory, or awkwardly attempting a group selfie.
People have generally come to accept this fate, but thanks to Groopic, there’s a better way. And though you do have to position yourself somewhat specifically for the app to work, it’s worth it for a group shot that isn’t cut in half by someone’s arm holding the camera. Plus, the app is on sale for a limited time for $2.
Nokia came forth today with its new Lumia 1020 phone. As anticipated, it’s all about the camera. 41 megapixels, woweeee! Xenon flash, egads! But along with those readily recognizable specs is a more subtle camera feature that will certainly warm the hearts of phone photographers everywhere: manual focus.
Nokia has just announced the new Lumia 1020, which sports a 41-megapixel camera on the back with plenty of bells and whistles. Now, developers will be able to take advantage of the PureView technology in their own apps, thanks to the launch of a new Developers SDK from Nokia that app developers can grab starting today.
The new SDK will give developers the ability to manipulate different camera settings in their apps, and it will provide “key image editing features” of the Nokia Lumia 1020 to developers. Several new apps are coming to the Nokia Lumia 1020 and Windows Phone 8, such as Vyclone, Yelp, Flipboard, Hipstamatic, and CNN.
Nokia ended up doing a short demonstration of the Hipstamatic app on stage, which includes PureView technology thanks to the new SDK from Nokia. The app has the 1020′s hi-resoltuion zoom feature built in, as well as the quality control indicators that help the user take a better photo.
The app also has hundreds of combinations of different filters and lenses that you can choose from, and you can also go into the app and click on the photos in order to share to different social media services like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Developers can actually download and begin using the new SDK today from Nokia’s Developer portal. The SDK is currently in beta, so play at your own risk.
This week the folks at Nokia have gone through not only the basic vision for the Nokia Lumia 1020, but it’s 41 megapixel PureView photography abilities as well. What we’re getting to see here is the machine’s aim to not just take one massive photo each time it shoots, but an array of photos. You’ll be seeing high-energy high-density sharp and bright photos no matter the size you capture: 38 megapixel or 34-megapixel images in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios, large and small.
This device works with a 41-megapixel backside illuminated sensor the likes of which advance that of the technology found in the original Nokia 808 PureView (a device which also uses a 41-megapixel sensor. This sensor is indeed – as you may have guessed, the largest image sensor in any consumer smartphone at the moment, and the machine comes in black, white, and yellow, as well – have a peek at full details on the device here: Nokia Lumia 1020 PureView official.
Then know this: as you take each photo at its massive 38 or 34-megapixel size, you’ll also be capturing a 5-megapixel photo. This photo will be captured and processed with Nokia’s own Oversampling techniques. This Oversampling process is said by Nokia to be processing 1 billion pixels per second when shooting video, as well.
This machine works with image stabilization the likes of which appeared in the Nokia Lumia 920, 925, 928, and the whole process will be working with “blur free, super high detailed photos day or night.” That’s Nokia’s Elop speaking, and he also promises “2nd generation image stabilization” for this machine while he’s at it – the Nokia Lumia 1020 also works with a new generatiopn in OIS, with a lovely series of ball bearings around this device’s housing.
With six lenses made by ZEISS – you might known it all better as Carl Zeiss, mind you, but the name is ZEISS forevermore. With this setup you’ll be getting digital zoom the likes of which we’ve not seen before.
Zoom in on a shot, take the shot, look at the shot, and zoom out again (even if you’ve taken the shot zoomed in) – the extra image data still persists. This setup also allows “Rich Recording” – aka loud audio recording for when you’re at a massively ear-destroying concert – as well as long exposure modes (for light painting, of course).
This is all done with the machines’ new Pro camera app which we’ll get into deeper soon – stay tuned!
It’s time to jump in on the next generation of Windows Phone camera power thanks to none other than the Nokia Lumia 1020: the company’s fabled combination of PureView power and the shape of the 900. What does that mean to the lay person tuning in with us for this “Zoom, Reinvented” event? It means we’re in New York City for Nokia’s push that’s sure to show off at least the likes of the machine called Nokia Lumia 1020, a smartphone with Windows Phone 8 and a 41 megapixel camera on its back.
This device has all but leaked in full at this point, and with good reason. We’ve been looking forward to the technology shown off in the Nokia 808 PureView (ages ago, it would seem), with the slightly more standard Windows Phone environment. Here we’re getting a body that’s nearly as thin as the company’s recent hero phones in the Nokia Lumia 928, 925, et all.
The device itself is said to work with a 4.5-inch AMOLED display on one side, an f/2.2 lens and optical image stabilization on the other. And 41 megapixels of power, of course. There’s also said to be a Pro Camera app inside exclusive to this machine, giving the camera the abilities it needs to bring it well above the rest of the fray.
Inside there’s the capability for wireless charging – an add-on case will take car of such needs. There’s 2GB of RAM, a processor that’s at least dual-core and straight from Qualcomm, and there’s a grip shell, as well! This machine certainly won’t be going without a full-on multi-tiered collection of accessories right out the gate, that’s for sure.
SlashGear will be covering the event the whole way through – starting at 11AM Eastern Time (4PM in London, 8AM PT) and ending when Nokia says it’s ending. Stay tuned straight through our Nokia tag portal this instant!
Kodak may be in deep trouble financially, but it seems they’re trying to get their pennies in order and their balance back. Today, we’re seeing leaked photos of an upcoming Micro Four Thirds camera from the company that aims to put Kodak back into the photography spotlight. No official name has been determined for this new snapper, but it seems it’ll be called the S1.
It doesn’t appear to be the same one we saw back in January, either. Final specs are still a mystery, but based on the photos, we can get an idea of some of the things we’ll be working with when this bad boy eventually pops out on store shelves. The camera will have WiFi capabilities, and the overall body of the device seems pretty compact — nothing too surprising in the looks department.
The kit lens looks to be an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, which also comes standard on Olympus PEN cameras as well as discontinued E-P series shooters. The camera will have a generously-sized LCD screen on the back, although we’re not sure if it’ll be touchscreen or not. Seeing as how there’s already plenty of physical controls on the camera, it’s not likely we’ll see a touchscreen on this one. It will, however, be able to pop out at an angle for easy viewing in live mode.
As many other Micro Four Thirds cameras, the S1 will be able to shoot in manual, as well as either shutter or aperture priority. Of course, there’s also an automatic mode for the novices, and you’ll also be able to record video, which we’re guessing will be 1080p, but we can’t be too sure at this point.
Based on the photos, it looks like there will be a matching flash for the camera, but we’re not sure if that will be available separately or if it will come with the camera. Again, no specs have been leaked for the camera, nor do we know about price, but come next year, Kodak fans should be able to grab one of these.
Summer’s in full swing. So it’s time to make excuses. Excuses to use your camera, to be immature, and to hit somebody consentingly in the face with a water balloon.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
The group shot dilemma—it’s the bane of both narcissists and scrapbooking enthusiasts alike. But what are you supposed to do when you want to snap a pic of a precious moment between friends, but the only person around to take the picture is, well, you? Fortunately for you, Groopic has taken it upon itself to leave no group shot incomplete.
