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Google Search adds AR and big Lens upgrades
Google is going to start displaying search results in augmented reality, the company announced today at its I/O 2019 developers conference. "Sometimes what's most helpful in understanding the world," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on stage, "is being able to see it visually." The idea, he added, is to bring visual information directly into search by letting users take advantage of their smartphone's camera. Google said it will use a combination of computer vision and augmented reality to turn your phone into a powerful search tool, whether you're looking to shop or wanting to learn more about the Solar System.
Snapchat 'Landmarkers' bring the Eiffel Tower to life in AR
Snap is kicking off its Partner Summit in Los Angeles with a few announcements about the feature that makes Snapchat tick: augmented reality Lenses. For starters, Lens Studio, which lets anyone create their own AR filters, is getting a new feature called "Landmarkers." This will allow creators to bring landmarks across the world to life using Lens Studio's augmented reality tools, including the US Capitol Building (Washington, D.C.), Flatiron Building (New York City), TCL Chinese Theater (Los Angeles), Buckingham Palace (London) and, as pictured above, the Eiffel Tower (Paris). Snapchat users near any of these locations can check out the new Landmarkers Lenses starting today, and the company says AR support for more landmarks will be coming in the future.
Sony's 135mm f/1.8 G Master full-frame lens is all about bokeh
Last year at Photokina 2018, Sony said it had big plans to keep growing its E-mount lens portfolio. The company revealed back then it was working on 12 new lenses for its Alpha mirrorless cameras, which would increase the number of native glass for those shooters from 48 to 60. And Sony is staying true to its word: It has announced the FE 135mm f/1.8 GM lens, the latest addition to its G Master lineup for full-frame mirrorless cameras. This telephoto prime is intended to be a beast for shooting portraits, offering a fast, accurate and quiet autofocus, as well as shallow depth of field for intense bokeh effect. Sony says that the FE 135mm f/1.8 GM's control and ergonomics are designed for both still photography and movie shooting, and it promises "superior performance plus mobility and reliability" compared to any other 135mm full-frame lens on the market. If you're interested, Sony's FE 135mm f/1.8 GM is set to arrive in April for $1,900. Until then, see below for some sample images taken with the lens mounted on an A9 full-frame mirrorless, which turned out to be super sharp and bokeh-laden. To view our sample images in full resolution, click here.
Inside Nike's DIY studio for Snapchat selfie Lenses
Snapchat's Lens Studio, which lets anyone create their own augmented reality filters, has been a big hit for the company. There are now more than 300,000 Lenses created by independent users, and those have been viewed over 35 billion times. Still, Snapchat wants Lens Studio to get even bigger, and what better way to help it do that than by teaming up with one of the biggest brands in the world: Nike. At NBA All-Star Weekend 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nike and Snapchat built a do-it-yourself studio for people to create AR Lenses on the fly.
Moment's latest telephoto lens is designed for newer phones
Moment released a telephoto lens for phones back in 2014, but it was designed for small phones like the iPhone 5S and quickly developed distortion on phones with larger camera sensors. You had to investigate alternatives like OlloClip's upcoming Pro Telephoto to get a lens designed for newer handsets. No more -- Moment has unveiled a 58mm telephoto lens that's designed for the latest smartphones, including those with dual cameras. Pair it with a device like the iPhone XS or Galaxy Note 9 and you can achieve up to 4X optical zoom. It's also one of the "sharpest" lenses of its kind with a six-element glass design, according to Moment, and promises to spruce up portrait photos on single-lens phones like the iPhone XR and Pixel 3 series.
Snap is bringing augmented reality Lenses to the desktop
Fresh off its Q3 2018 earnings report, in which it broke a revenue record, Snap Inc. is making another major announcement. Meet Snap Camera, a standalone application that will bring the company's popular augmented reality filters, aka Lenses, to the desktop. Interestingly enough, the new app won't require a Snapchat login, a move Snap says is part of its vision to expand the Lens ecosystem beyond mobile.
Google Lens comes to image search in the US
Back in September, Google promised to bring Lens to image search -- now, the feature is live in the US for English language queries. The object recognition techology can help you find out more about particular items within a photo you're looking at. If you want to try it out, do a Google search on mobile and go to the Images tab. Say, you want to look for a new sofa -- simply search for "sofas," go to Images and tap on one of the results. You'll find the new Lens icon underneath the photo next to the Share option, and tapping it will make dots appear on objects you can explore further.
Sony is working on 12 new lenses for its Alpha mirrorless cameras
Now that Canon and Nikon are eager to get a piece of the mirrorless camera market, Sony is letting it be known that it isn't slowing down its efforts in the space anytime soon. The company announced at Photokina 2018 that it has 12 new E-Mount lenses in its roadmap, which will increase the number of native glass for its Alpha shooters from 48 to 60. Just last week, Sony introduced the FE 24mm f/1.4 GM, a full-frame format lens priced at $1,400.
Laowa's probe lens gives a bug's eye view, even underwater
Laowa, a brand known for its special photography lenses, is leveraging Kickstarter to launch its 24mm f/14 Probe Lens. The standard version comes with mount options for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony FE, Pentax K, with the cine version compatible with either Arri PL and Canon EF.
Ariana Grande's Snapchat lens lets fans try on album merch
If you're an Arianator, you'll probably like Snapchat's newest selfie Lens a lot more than the recent ones the app launched, including those Lenses that react to sound and your voice. The company has teamed up with Ariana Grande to give you a way to try on new merchandise tied to her newly released album Sweetener, which you can also buy straight from within the app. Starting today, you'll be able to try on a Sweetener-branded tied-dyed face mask via a Lens.
Nikon's 58mm f/0.95 'Z-Noct' lens shows why it created the Z-Mount
When you see Nikon's new Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras, the first thing that stands out is that massive 55mm lens mount. With the announcement of a new lens (under development), Nikon has shown exactly why it's that large. The manual focus Z-Noct f/0.95 lens will allow for extreme low-light shooting with a razor-thin depth of field. At the same time, Nikon is promising more sharpness than ever for such a fast lens.
Google Goggles is officially dead
Google signed Goggles' death warrant the moment it launched Lens, and now it looks like the tech giant is ready to bid farewell to its old image recognition app. As Android Police has noticed, the only thing you'll see when you fire up the Goggles app is a note that says it's going away. If you have a phone that's compatible with the standalone Google Lens app, the note will come with a button that leads straight to Lens' download page. But if your phone isn't, then the memo mentions that Lens' features are available in Google Photos, and the download button is replaced with one that opens the Photos application.
Nikon teases a substantial lens mount and grip for its new camera
Nikon is not exactly known for breathless marketing, but it's going all out for its upcoming mirrorless full-frame camera. The company has unveiled yet another video teaser called "Mount" that gives us a good look at the shape of the camera, especially the grip and lens mount.The latter has four interlocking tabs, rather than three like its DSLR models, and is pretty large for the size of the body. The grip also looks more stout than the one on Sony's A7 III.
Snapchat's new Lenses respond to your voice not your face
Today, Snapchat announced that it is rolling out a new set of Lenses that will respond to your voice. There's no need to make a facial gesture, like an eyebrow raise or sticking your tongue out, to activate these. Simply say one of the recognized English words, like "Hi," "Love" or "Wow," and the Lenses will animate. These Lenses will begin appearing today in a global rollout.
Snapchat's 'Harry Potter' Bitmoji invade the Muggle world
Snap's fondness for pop culture Bitmoji now extends to the Harry Potter universe. In sync with the titular character's birthday, Snapchat now offers a 3D Harry Potter Bitmoji Lens that brings a dash of sorcery to the Muggle realm. It's not terribly complicated (your avatar flies around chasing the Golden Snitch from Quidditch), but you might appreciate the customization -- you can choose your Hogwarts House in addition to your usual appearance. If you're bent on flaunting your Ravenclaw affiliation to your friends, it should only take a few taps.
Snapchat makes it easier to find user-made AR Lenses
Snapchat has let virtually anyone create Lenses for months. There's been one main problem, though: you couldn't just browse the user-made augmented reality effects, so finding one frequently involved a bit of luck. As of today, it's much easier. Snap is introducing a Lens Explorer that helps you discover community Lenses alongside the official examples. Tap a smiley face in the Lens Carousel and you can unlock user Lenses without having to find a Story that unlocks it. And if you're looking for a specific filter, you just have to search for it.
Snapchat’s new lens lets you play tennis against Serena Williams
Wimbledon is in full swing, and thanks to Snapchat you can get in on the action by playing your very own match against tennis legend Serena Williams. Kind of. Snap and Williams have collaborated on a new interactive 3D Bitmoji Lens that lets you take on the tennis queen in an increasingly fast-paced match. Let's be honest, you're never going to beat her -- but you might be able to beat the high scores of your friends, and that's still gloat-worthy. As the tennis star herself said, "It's so fun because how often do you get to play against me?" Watch Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian Sr. foolishly believe he can match her, below.
Google Lens comes to the Pixel camera apps (update)
Google has rolled out a more straightforward way to access Lens and its visual search features on Mountain View's own devices. You used to have go through Assistant to take advantage of the AI-powered tool, but now the tech giant has added Lens right into Google Camera app for the Pixel and Pixel 2. According to 9to5google, Lens functions as another mode within the application, so you can choose it in navigation next to AR Stickers.
Snapchat Lenses bring coral reefs to your neighborhood
How do you make nature exciting to a generation growing up with Snapchat and Instagram? The California Academy of Sciences has an idea: bring the nature to the apps that generation is using. It just trotted out a series of augmented reality Snapchat Lenses (the first of their kind, CAS said) that show reef life in your own corner of the world. You can get up close to creatures like sea turtles, nudibranches and moray eels without having to put on some diving gear or incurring the wrath of conservationists.
A DC-themed Snapchat Lens could get you into Comic-Con
You're not completely hosed if you missed your chance to attend San Diego Comic-Con... if you're willing to dabble in some augmented reality art. Snap and DC Comics have launched a DC Super Heroes Challenge that asks you to create a DC-themed Lens championing Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman for the chance to win an expenses-paid trip to San Diego Comic-Con in July. You don't have to start completely from scratch, thankfully, as there's a load of DC assets to bring into Lens Studio.
