optics
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Panasonic teases 42.5mm f/1.2 and 150mm f/2.8 MFT lenses, slated for release by 2014
Panasonic further reinforced its commitment to the Micro Four Thirds form factor when it released the Lumix GH3 mirrorless camera today, but the company also announced the development of a pair of prime lenses, set to ship next year or in 2014. Details are spotty at this point (limited to what you see in that slide above, in fact), but you can expect a 42.5mm f/1.2 optic (85mm equivalent) and a 150mm f/2.8 lens, which offers a 35mm equivalent of 300mm. There wasn't even a hint of pricing, but we'd expect both of these offerings to be quite costly, though they'll likely be significantly less expensive than DSLR equivalents.
Olympus reportedly in final talks for Sony investment
If the recent chapter in Olympus' history was a photo, it'd be a blurry thumb covering the subject's head. But, if reports from Nikkei are correct, it looks like the next one might be a happy family portrait. As suggested earlier this year, Sony is reportedly close to agreeing on a 50 billion yen (about $620 million) investment in the scandalized firm. This would likely give the Japanese electronics giant a 10 percent stake in Olympus, making it the largest single shareholder. This isn't the first time we've seen the troubled camera and optics brand associated with other electronics firms, and with Olympus telling Reuters that "This is not something that we have announced" we'll just have to wait and see exactly how this next frame develops.
Nokia 808 PureView heads to Mexico, sends high-resolution postcards
Hold off on that Aeroflot booking just for now. While this isn't the US release many will be anticipating, it looks like Nokia's big-eyed 808 PureView phone is getting a release a little closer to home. Those of you wanting to sample some of that 41-megapixel delight, now need only plan a trip south of the border, as Mexico is set to start selling the handset sometime this month. Much like its Russian and Indian debut, specifics on dates are sparse, with the Spanish version of the Nokia blog only going as far to say "some weeks later" (than the India / Russia release) qualifying that, however, as "this month". At least if you do venture down you can bank on some killer holiday pics.
Nokia 808 PureView available this month in Russia and India
Are you eagerly awaiting to get your hands on that 41 megapixel Symbian Belle flagship? We bet you are, and perhaps today is your lucky day -- if you live in Russia or India, that is. Nokia's just officially announced that the 808 PureView will be available this month "in select markets." Strangely, the company didn't give a specific date or list any countries beyond the aforementioned two. The handset, which was revealed at Mobile World Congress in February, is expected to retail for 450 Euros and "revolutionize the imaging experience" with its large sensor, Zeiss optics and pixel oversampling technology. Speaking of which -- Nokia's also just renewed its partnership with the German lens manufacturer. Coincidence? We think not. Check out the full PR after the break.
Researchers build optical transistor out of silicon, provide path to all-optical computing
The speed of light is the universal speed limit, so naturally, optical technologies appeal when trying to construct speedy computational devices. Fiber optics let us shoot data to and fro at top speed, but for the time being our CPUs still make their calculations using electronic transistors. Good news is, researchers from Purdue University have built an optical transistor out of silicon that can propagate logic signals -- meaning it can serve as an optical switch and push enough photons to drive two other transistors. It's constructed of a microring resonator situated next to one optical line that transmits the signal, and a second that heats the microring to change its resonant frequency. The microring then resonates at a specific frequency to interact with the light in the signal line in such a way that its output is drastically reduced and essentially shut off. Presto, an optical transistor is born. Before dreams of superfast photonic computers start dancing in your head, however, just know they won't be showing up anytime soon -- the power consumption of such transistors is far beyond their electronic counterparts due to the energy inefficient lasers that power them.
Lensbaby Composer Pro gets Samsung, Sony, Micro Four Thirds mirrorless mounts
Lensbaby faithfuls awaiting a mirrorless-compatible Composer Pro lens need not hold out any longer. The company's high-end creative optic is now shipping for mirrorless mounts of the Samsung NX, Sony NEX and Micro Four Thirds variety -- including the Panasonic Lumix G and Olympus PEN. These latest additions join Canon, Nikon, Sony Alpha, Pentax K and Four Thirds versions, which are all available for 300 bucks at the source link below.
HP eyes 2015 release for 3D integrated photonic chips
It's unavoidable -- mention HP and images of the TouchPad come floating to the surface. What most geek folk don't realize, however, is that the company recently famous for open sourcing webOS has been hard at work behind-the-scenes prepping for the next stage in computing: integrated photonics. The project, codenamed Corona, aims to create stackable 3D chips that communicate using inbuilt, microscopic lasers made from gallium. This new breed of CPUs is on track to combine "256 general purpose cores organized in 64 four-core clusters" created using a 16nm process for a performance boost of up to six times faster than traditional circuitry. Why do this? Well, the nature of optical communication would not only speed up the rate at which the various cores could relay data (a theoretical 20 terabytes per second), but would also drastically lower power requirements from a current 160 watts to 6.4 watts. Sounds like the future, indeed, but as with all things forward-facing, many of the necessary components are still being developed, so take that 2015 target date with a heady amount of sodium chloride.
Sony promises eight more NEX E-mount lenses by the end of 2013, doesn't elaborate
Have you been holding out on that NEX purchase because of the currently limited E-mount lens selection? Well, Sony's got some good news for you -- there will soon be eight additional lenses to choose from (for a total of 15), with all models making it into circulation by the end of 2013. That's still no match for the hundreds of optics available for Canon or Nikon DSLRs, but you'll at least be able to build a collection that covers (almost) all of your bases. Sony hasn't detailed any of these upcoming models, but the company's chart above lists a few categories, including a High Performance Standard Zoom in the pricey Zeiss category, along with High-magnification, Standard, Wide Angle and Mid-magnification Zooms. There will also be a trio of prime lenses, including a Large Aperture Standard lens, a Middle Telephoto and a "Snap" (pancake) optic. We're just as anxious as you to find out exactly what Sony has in mind for each of these categories, but you should at least take some comfort in knowing that the E-mount collection is far from complete.
Canon EOS 1000D washes ashore in BC, Canada, SD card reveals it was lost at sea for over a year (update)
What you're looking at was once a fully functional Canon EOS 1000D, now merely a relic of the sea (the Pacific Ocean, to be exact), which was recently posted on Google+. User Marcus Thompson, found the DSLR washed up near a wharf while on a diving job in Deep Bay British Columbia, Canada and decided to take it home to find out what could be salvaged. After removing and cleaning the SanDisk Extreme III SD card inside of it, he was successfully able to recover about 50 photos with EXIF data from August 2010, showcasing what's described to be a firefighter and his family on vacation. While he hasn't located the owner of the shooter turned coffee table decoration just yet, Marcus is currently asking the "Google+ hive mind" to help get the two reunited. If you're from BC area and want to help out -- or just curious to see this DSLR from more angles -- you'll find some pictures from the SD card and more information about the camera at the source link below. Update (5:00PM): The original Google+ post was updated within the last hour, noting that the owner of the camera has indeed been identified!
Chipworks throws an iPhone 4S under its infrared microscope, finds Sony-sourced image sensor
Look closely. Can you spot it? That gray abyss is actually an infrared image by Chipworks revealing an iPhone 4S' Sony-branded, 8 megapixel CMOS sensor. Looks like Howard Stringer wasn't bluffing to Walt Mossberg back in April, after all. At the time, it was reported that Apple's usual sensor supplier, OmniVision, was experiencing production delays, prompting speculation that Sony would eventually usurp the position. While the iPhone 4S that Chipworks looked into seems to confirm this, it's pointed out that Apple does have a habit of "dual sourcing" components (with its contacts saying this should be no different), so Sony may not be the sole supplier this time around. What ever the case, there's no denying that the iPhone 4S takes some stellar shots. You'll find more information -- including X-rays of the 4S -- at the source link below.
Brando's iPad 2 telescope is perfect for watching the next Apple keynote
If you're like us, you've spent entirely too much time wondering how the movie Rear Window might have played out differently, had someone just handed Jimmy Stewart's character an iPad to play with. With the introduction of the Super Gear Telescope, it seems that the plot would've been mostly the same, just as soon as he finished beating Angry Birds. The Brando add-on brings 6x zoom to the iPad 2 and generally looks far less awkward than its iPhone predecessor. All in all, $26 seems like a small price to pay to see what the neighbors are looking at on their own iPads.
$4,000 Leica lens split in two, sold on eBay as $1,000 piece of art
Discontinued products typically dip in value, but such is not the case with Leica lenses -- unless they're sawed in half. Leica students had an opportunity to "make" cutaways of two Leica lenses as part of a graduation project. A discontinued Tri-Elmar-M 28-35-50mm (valued at about $4,500 when fully functional) and a 50mm f/1.4 Summilux (about $3,700) were split, exposing various layers of glass and metal. Now forever unable to capture images of their own, all four halves were photographed, and the tri-focal lens was sold for $995 on eBay, complete with original box -- which, unlike its contents, appears to be in like-new condition. We were probably at home playing Frogger when Kermit went under the knife in biology, but we would have definitely had a perfect attendance record in any class that involved brushing camera equipment across a circular saw.
Ultra-thin handheld microscope could sniff out skin cancer, forged documents
It may not look like it, but that sleek black thing pictured above is actually a microscope. Designed by engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, this little guy boasts a 5.3mm optical length, rendering it slim enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet powerful enough to deliver images at a scanner-like resolution of five micrometers, over a wide surface area. Fraunhofer's researchers achieved this balance by essentially tossing out the manual on traditional microscope design. Whereas most devices slowly scan areas and construct images on a piecemeal basis, this handheld uses several small imaging channels and a collection of tiny lenses to record equal sized fragments of a given surface. Unlike conventional scanner microscopes, all of these 300 x 300 square micrometer imaging channels are captured at the same time. With a single swipe, then, users can record 36 x 24 square mm shots of matchbox-sized objects, without even worrying about blurring the images with their shaky hands. The prototype is still two years away from going into production, but once it does, engineers say it could help doctors scan patients for skin cancer more easily, while also allowing bureaucrats to quickly confirm the authenticity of official documents. We can only imagine what it could do for Pac-Man. Full PR after the break.
Intel touts 50Gbps interconnect by 2015, will make it work with tablets and smartphones too
Woah there, Mr. Speedy. We've barely caught up with the 10Gbps Thunderbolt interconnect, debuted in the new Macbook Pro, and now Intel's hyperactive researchers are already chattering away about something five times faster. They're promising a new interconnect, ready in four years, that will combine silicon and optical components (a technology called silicon photonics) to pump 50Gbps over distances of up to 100m. That's the sort of speed Intel predicts will be necessary to handle, say, ultra-HD 4k video being streamed between smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and TVs. Intel insists that poor old Mr. Thunderbolt won't be forced into early retirement, but if we were him we'd be speaking to an employment lawyer right about now.
DARPA's new Space Surveillance Telescope will keep our satellites safe from interstellar debris
What's that in the sky? A bird? A plane? Oh, it's just some junk floating around in space, posing major threats to our military's spy satellites. To help keep an eye on it, engineers at DARPA, MIT and the Air Force have unleashed a new $110 million telescope that's been in the works for nine years now. The new Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) is capable of delivering wide-angle views of the Earth's firmament thanks to a curved CCD. This allows for a massive 3.5m aperture and f/1.0 exposure settings, capturing more light in a day that your average scope can in a week. As part of the Air Force's Space Surveillance Network (SSN), the telescope's primary task will be to look out for any microsatellites, meteors or other alien droppings moving at the same speed at which the Earth rotates. The system developed its first images earlier this year and the Air Force may eventually place SSTs all over the world, creating a 360-degree surveillance blanket and going a long way toward keeping our spycraft warm, cozy, and safe from galactic hazards.
Optical tweezers manipulate microscopic objects using an iPad, raw brainpower (video)
Okay, so maybe the whole brainpower thing is a distant second to the iPad itself, but still -- being a rocket scientist probably doesn't hurt when manipulating microscopic objects via a multitouch display. That's the kind of setup that students and boffins alike have going at England's University of Bristol, where iTweezers are being used to control a tiny rod about 300 nanometers wide, amongst other things. Essentially, the iPad is able to display what's under a microscope via a wireless display transfer, and then, touch points are converted into laser movements that are used to handle objects that are far smaller than those visible particles clogging up your left ear right now. All told, a user can select up to 11 different objects, and in theory, the iPad could enable scientists to do this remotely. Hey, we're all about new and improved ways to telework. Vid's below, kiddos.
HTC Incredible S auto-rotating buttons explained? (video)
We were quite bedazzled by the HTC Incredible S after our hands-on at MWC, but it's the auto-rotating icons for the capacitive buttons that left us most intrigued. So we went back to the HTC booth to try to make sense of it all. From what we were able to observe, there's some optical trickery happening here: the icons appear to be glittering and shimmering depending on viewing angle as if lit through a prism, half-mirror or grate of some kind. We think that a pair of LEDs are used to project the intended icon onto the glass surface via either a combination of prisms and half-mirrors, or via horizontally and vertically polarized grates. Watch our video after the break, and let us know in the comments how you think this actually works.
DARPA aims to make soldier of tomorrow impervious to sneak attacks with 360 degree vision
DARPA is currently soliciting proposals for the development of Soldier Centric Imaging via Computational Cameras, also known as SCENICC, for those who prefer brevity. This latest project is a visual enhancement system that seeks to meet all of our armed forces terrorist-hunting and war-waging visual needs. The system, which is purely theoretical at this point, will provide a 360-degree, three-dimensional field of view for soldiers in the field. This optical omniscience is obtained through the use multiple cameras, including images from airborne drones. Soldiers will have real time 10x zoom capabilities and can operate everything via voice commands. As if that weren't enough, SCENICC employs augmented reality to identify and track targets in a way (we presume) not unlike your garden variety T-800. As this bit of kit is years from production, our commandos will have to make do for now with smartphones and wrist displays to keep an eye on enemies of the state.
World's first 3D microlaser created, has a gooey Bragg-onion center
Solid-state lasers are fine, durable and reliable and all that, but what if you want something a little softer, maybe a little more conforming to your needs and moods? Or, what if you want something that can beam light in all directions at once? Then you need to go liquid, baby, liquid. That's what Slovenian scientists (and diacritic wunderkinds) Matjaž Humar and Igor Muševič have done, creating, in their words, "3D microlasers from self-assembled cholesteric liquid-crystal microdroplets." Various layers of fluids form what's called a Bragg-onion optical microcavity, including embedded crystals not unlike those that flip the tiny switches in an LCD. These blobs are self-assembled chemically and, when a little laser is applied to them, can create a 3D image by shining their light in every dimension simultaneously. Well, not every one -- you know the Fifth Dimension can only be seen if you let the sunshine in.
Dynamic 3D holograms can now refresh every two seconds, save galaxies in their spare time
Perhaps the biggest challenge in making holograms usable on a daily basis -- aside from having to film your subject with a million trillion cameras -- is in getting their refresh rates up to the levels we're used to with "normal" two-dimensional video. We're still a fair way away from those magical 30fps, but the University of Arizona is touting a heretofore unheard of redraw rate of once every two seconds. This is a major advance from their first dynamic holograms demonstrated two years ago, which required minutes to swap over to a new image. The current prototype is built on a 10-inch photorefractive polymer screen, with lasers beaming information onto it, though 17-inch versions are also being tested. Another present limitation is that the hologram displayed can only be of one color, but that is also subject to the continuing labors of the UA researchers, who foresee no major hurdles preventing them from eventually cobbling together full-color, fast-refreshing, and fully realized 3D holograms. Now that'd be 3D television we can all get behind. Or in front of, depending on the viewing angle we want.
