Digital Camera Reviews and Guides
All of the best cameras and lenses, including reviews and guides to all the latest photography gear.
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Nokia halts development of its $45,000 VR camera
Nokia created the Ozo spherical camera to get into the virtual reality market without having to compete with head-mounted devices like the Oculus Rift. Alas, things didn't go as well as the company wanted despite not having to compete with a plethora of VR goggles -- it's halting Ozo's development and cutting up to 310 jobs in the process. Nokia said the "the slower-than-expected development of the VR market" forced it to optimize its investments in virtual reality, and the rig happened to be one of the casualties. It now plans to focus on its digital health projects, particularly the ones it acquired when it purchased Withings, and its profitable patent licensing business.
Researchers can bring selfies to life with a separate video
Sure, Apple's Live Photos and Google's new Motion Photos do a decent job of animating a still image, but researchers at Tel Aviv University and Facebook have come up with a way to bring selfies to life, even if the only data they have to work with is single photo. The recently-published study details how the team can use a "driving video" of any person it wants to essentially map out different facial expressions that correlate to various emotions. Through some careful mapping, those same expressions can be translated to a still photo or even a painting.
New camera tech could help self-driving cars see around corners
Self-driving cars can detect much of the world around them, but they're inherently limited by their reliance on line-of-sight vision. They're not so good at spotting the visual cues that a car is just around the corner -- you might spot the encroaching headlight beams, but a car might not. MIT's CSAIL team may have a solution, though. They've developed camera technology that uses subtle changes in lighting on the floor to determine what's around a corner. As objects reflect a small amount of light around walls, creating a "shadow," you can piece together images of objects around the corner by capturing video of the floor and tracking the shifting colors.
Red's new flagship camera is the $80,000 Monstro 8K VV
RED's cinema cameras are too expensive for most of us, but they do push the state-of-the-art, making future cameras you can afford better. A case in point is RED's latest sensor called the Monstro 8K VV (Vista Vision). The bombastic name aside, it packs impressive specs. The sensor is 40.96 x 21.6 mm, which is slightly wider and slightly shorter than 35mm full-frame, handles 35.4-megapixel stills and 8K, 60 fps video, features 17+ claimed stops of dynamic range, and shoots at higher ISOs with lower noise than the last model.
The Essential Phone’s camera may be getting a lot faster
When Andy Rubin's Essential Phone came out in September, our review called out its poorly-performing camera while also noting that there were two new updates to improve things in the week we had the device. Now, Essential users are getting another upgrade for the phone and Camera app that brings impressive performance to the device, including a speed boost of 40 percent in regular or low light.
Google Clips hands-on: Not just a camera, but a photographer too
I'm not trying to gush too much, but I'm far, far more excited for the Pixel 2's camera than I thought I'd be. What's really bonkers to me, though, is that Google saw fit to squeeze its AI-powered photography tech into a cutesy 2-inch square it calls Clips. I don't think I'm alone, either: most of the people I chatted with at the event seemed at least a little perplexed by Google's ambitions here. Curiosity piqued, I had no choice but to track the thing down and have a closer look for myself.
Google claims Pixel 2 has the best camera, just like the first Pixel
Google was quick to brag about the original Pixel's camera prowess last year, and it's continuing with that confident stance now that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are here. Both phones use the same 12-megapixel rear camera, and have received an unprecedented overall DxOMark test score of 98 -- that's four points higher than the previous leaders, the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. If you ask Google, it's a combination of the hardware with its computational intelligence.
Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 Plus tie for top spot in camera test
Like it or not, DxOMark is currently the go-to tester for smartphone camera quality. Companies will even base their marketing around its scores. As such, it's a big deal when the outfit declares a new winner... and it just declared two. DxOMark has given Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 an overall score of 94, putting it in a tie for the lead with the iPhone 8 Plus. No, that's not going to trigger endless fan wars, is it? Of course, diving into the scores reveals that the devices reached their scores through different means.
‘The Agoraphobic Traveller’ confronts anxiety with Google Street View
Flying is Jacqui Kenny's worst fear. Two months ago, the London-based New Zealander learned she would have to travel to New York for the first exhibition of her photography. She hadn't traveled to the city in a decade, and the mental preparation began immediately. She visualized every step of the journey: Boarding at the gate, hearing the plane engine rumble, watching passengers stuff luggage into overhead lockers, the taxi, the takeoff. "If I don't visualize the next step, it feels too surreal," she said. "I feel like it's not really happening, and that is anxiety inducing." Kenny has agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder that, for her, means an irrational fear of busy, public areas and distance from safe spaces. A condition affecting 1.8 million Americans, it leads Kenny to fear losing control, which can spiral into imagining worst-case scenarios. "On a really bad day, even walking to the back aisles of my local supermarket is really difficult," she said. "I think I'm going to have a full-blown panic attack and fall over and shelves are going to go falling. I might hurt somebody; I'll embarrass myself."
Elgato's Cam Link turns your DSLR into a souped-up webcam
Most of the time, I buy cameras for specific purposes. My DSLR exists to capture vacation photos and product shots for Engadget reviews. When I go on hikes or long bike rides, I pull out a GoPro Hero4. For some reason, however, I just can't bring myself to buy a dedicated webcam for Twitch streaming or YouTube vlogs. I already have a handful of great consumer cameras -- shouldn't I be able to use one of those? In reality, that's easier said than done: Most cameras simply aren't designed to push a live feed out to a PC. It's a problem I've spent hours trying to solve, but never did. Then, I heard about the Elgato Cam Link, a USB capture device that can turn any camera with HDMI output into a functional webcam.
The Hero 6 and 'GP1' is GoPro's chance to grow again
"When I first was listening to our team's desire to make a chip, I felt a bit of anxiety, like, are we getting a bit ahead of ourselves? This might be beyond what our capabilities are," Nick Woodman, GoPro founder and CEO, told me in a rare break from his boyish bombast.
GoPro’s Fusion 360-degree VR camera ships in November for $699
We've been hearing a lot about GoPro's Fusion 360 VR camera. Now we have availability and pricing details for you, thanks to an event in San Francisco today. It will ship in November, and the price is $699.
GoPro updates Karma drone with much-needed 'follow me' feature
When GoPro announced it was working on a drone, pretty much everyone thought that it'd have some sort of "follow" feature. It didn't. But it had the required technology all along. Finally, today, Karma is being updated to unlock that feature, along with a few other goodies.
GoPro Hero 6: 4K 60 FPS, better stabilization and HDR photos
When GoPro hosts an event in the fall, you get no prizes for guessing what's coming. CEO Nick Woodman just revealed the Hero 6 here in San Francisco, to no one's surprise. What is surprising (if you ignored the leaks) is that the new camera has one big, largely invisible change: the image processor (which GoPro is calling the GP1). We'll get to why that's important in a bit.
Getty bans images photoshopped to make models look thinner
A law forcing magazines to label photoshopped model images goes into effect next month in France, but it's already reverberating around the fashion world. Getty Images, the largest stock photo agency in the world, has declared that it will no longer accept images "depicting models whose body shapes have been retouched to make them look thinner or larger" because of the new act. Technically, agencies and magazines can photoshop all they want in France as long as it's labeled, but Getty's outright ban will likely kill the practice widely.
Xbox One gets third-party camera support for game streaming
If you're serious about video game streaming, you most likely have a PC with a decent capture card, microphone, camera and software like XSplit or OBS. It can be expensive and a little convoluted, which is why Sony and Microsoft are making their respective consoles better all-in-one streamers. On the Xbox side, Microsoft has added third-party USB camera support for "Insiders," or beta testers, on its "Preview Alpha Ring." It only works with Mixer, the company's Twitch rival, and strictly for broadcasting video — so you'll still need a headset or microphone to handle your vocal chords.
UK lifeboat crew tests drones as search and rescue helpers
Drones are becoming an important part of the emergency services. Police are using them to search for missing people, while fire departments test them as a tool to survey dangerous sites. Until now, however, we haven't seen or heard about them being used by the coastguard. That all changes today, however, as a lifeboat service in Norfolk, England, has started using them in open water. As the BBC reports, they're equipped with cameras that can live-stream footage to monitors inside the boat. They could prove useful in choppy conditions when the crew can't see above the waves.
Nest's outdoor Cam IQ brings facial recognition to your backyard
Nest's latest media event could be big news if you're interested in spotting burglars before they break into your home. It's introducing the Nest Cam IQ outdoor, a rugged take on the regular IQ that's designed to watch over your yard. As you might guess, it applies the same facial recognition technology to a weather-resistant (IP66-rated) and tamper-resistant body that's always plugged in. In theory, it won't raise an alert if it sees your kids playing in the back, or a locked-out spouse frantically looking for a way in. The camera can automatically zoom in and follow people as well. And the speaker is 15 times louder than on the indoor model, so you can shout at trespassers if you catch them in the act.
Snapseed adds new photo filters and cleans up its interface
As smartphone cameras have beefed up, so have mobile photo editing apps. These days, both iOS and Android users are spoilt for choice. Those looking to make their Instagram posts pop, can choose from a range of free and premium software -- including Adobe's Lightroom and Photoshop Fix apps, VSCO, and Affinity Photo (for the iPad set). Sensing the increasing competition, Google has been adding more tools with each new update to Snapseed. To make more room for the upgrades (including "curves" and "face pose") the app is now getting a fresh interface.
Nikon is making a full-frame mirrorless camera
To say Nikon has been conservative with mirrorless cameras would be an understatement. While most of its rivals have embraced mirrorless (even a cautious company like Canon takes them seriously), Nikon's efforts have been timid at best -- the 1 series is closer to point-and-shoots in spirit than a DSLR replacement. Thankfully, it's mending its ways. In an interview with Xitek, company R&D manager Tetsuro Goto says that any new Nikon mirrorless camera "must" be full-frame. Given that the firm's president has already said that a mirrorless camera is in the works, it's clear that this upcoming model will come with a giant sensor.