camera

92 'camera' stories August 2011 - September 2013

Details and video of Sony’s upcoming QX lens-shaped camera leaked: two versions coming later this month

Scott Buscemi Sep 3 2013 - 11:13 am PT

[youtube=http://youtu.be/HKGEEPIAPys]

Details of the rumored smartphone-compatible, Carl Zeiss lens-weilding camera attachment from Sony, set to be announced tomorrow, have been leaked by sonyalpharumors. The promotional video above shows the features of the QX100/QX10 “lens-style cameras”.

For devices with NFC, a simple tap hooks up the camera/lens and makes it ready to share or save files right on the spot:

For added convenience, the app can be activated using NFC one-touch with compatible devices. Once pictures are taken, they are saved directly on both the phone and the camera*, and can be shared instantly via social media or other common mobile applications.

The device will take advantage of the PlayMemories Mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. The device will come with a piece to attach to a phone, however, it is also detachable as seen in the video.

The QX100 and QX10 will be available some time later this month for $500 and $250, respectively.

(Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com)

More details on Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch surface ahead of expected Sept.4 unveiling

Jordan Kahn Aug 19 2013 - 2:29 pm PT

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Samsung Gear Patent Filing

Following a report from SamMobile last week sharing some specific specs coming in Samsung’s much rumored Galaxy Gear smartwatch, today GigaOm reports on a few more details from developers with prototypes of the device. On top of confirming a Sept.4 unveiling at Samsung’s events scheduled to take place in Berlin and New York, the report claims Galaxy Gear will include a 2.5 inch OLED display, dual core processor, an accelerometer, speakers, and built-in NFC:

It is said to be around 2.5 inches diagonally (and 3 inches diagonally including the case), is powered by a dual core processor and should have pretty decent battery life. In addition, we are told the watch has a camera that is integrated into the strap and even has tiny speakers in the clasp of the watch, plus built-in NFC to allow for bump-to-sync and authenticate. The watch uses Bluetooth 4.0 LE to connect with smartphones for connectivity… In addition, the watch has a built-in accelerometer that makes it possible to switch it on when it is moved up towards the eye. It could be a great way to wake the watch and also the apps and manage battery power. The watch screen will support the usual touch, swipe and select type gestures but will likely not have text-input.

The report adds that watch will work with a Samsung watch manager app on a smartphone and utilize apps from the Samsung App Store, not Google Play. GigaOm also claims that Galaxy Gear will support Facebook and Twitter integration at launch. The Samsung App Store integration could mean the device will only be available for Samsung device users:
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Leaked press shots show Sony’s upcoming 20.2MP, Carl Zeiss camera lens attachment for iPhone & Android

Jordan Kahn Aug 12 2013 - 10:31 am PT

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Sony-Camera-Lens-01

Last month a report from often reliable sources claimed that Sony was readying a new Carl Zeiss camera lens with a 20.2 MP sensor that would attach onto a smartphone and connect over WiFi or NFC. Today, SonyAlphaRumors is back with more details on the new products and this time has high-quality images of the upcoming “Lens-camera” accessory with what appear to be leaked press shots.

What you see on these images are the DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 lenses. Actually these are not normal lenses! They have built-in sensor, Bionz processor, Wifi/NFC wireless connection and SD card slot. These lenses have no LCD screen and no usual camera controls. You will be able to control them through your smart phone or tablet.

The report claims that Sony will be launching two models “soon”, one with a RX100MII sensor and Zeiss lens, and another that features a “10xzoom lens with 1/2,3 inch 18 megapixel CMOS sensor” (pictured in the image with the f/3,3-5.9 lens). It also says the camera lens will be available for both Android and iOS devices.

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YouTube to live stream Kings of Leon concert tonight w/ controllable 360 degree camera

Jordan Kahn Aug 9 2013 - 6:29 am PT

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XURK5fviu38

This certainly isn’t the first time YouTube has live streamed a concert. Most recently the site live streamed the weekend long Lollapalooza festival from Chicago and it’s been hosting its own AMEX Unstaged series that brought live streamed concerts from Coldplay, Usher, Jack White and many, many more. However, tonight’s live stream of the Kings of Leon concert live from London will be the first time YouTube busts out a new 360 degree camera that will let viewers control every angle of the show while it happens.

For the first time on YouTube, watch the live stream through a 360 degree camera you control to see the event from all angles. This concert marks the latest in our AMEX Unstaged series that pairs musical artists and film directors to create innovative performances. Actor, comedian and drummer Fred Armisen will direct the concert at London’s Shepherd’s Bush, webcast globally on Vevo and YouTube.

The concert and live stream kick off at 9 p.m. GMT (4 p.m. EST) on Vevo and YouTube.

Leak allegedly shows new, minimalistic camera interface for Moto X

Chance Miller Jul 23 2013 - 6:14 am PT

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In a continued barrage of Moto X news and rumors, Android Police has just published an extensive gallery of images showing what it believes is the camera interface and app that the device will feature. The interface is noticeably different from what we saw on the Google Play Edition devices, as well as all Android 4.2 devices.

Along the left hand side of the interface is a control wheel that allows you to adjust certain settings, such as the exposure, flash, focus, camera setting (HDR, video, etc) and more. It appears that you will be able to scroll the wheel around to see even more options. I’m not exactly a fan of this interface, as it’s not always clear what settings the icons are representing. It also looks like the device will be capable of slow motion video.
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Vine for Android adds support for front-facing camera, new upload manager, & speed improvements

Zach Kahn Jun 27 2013 - 4:30 pm PT

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Twitter’s Vine has pushed out an update for its Android app today that brings the video app to parity with its iOS counterpart. The update adds front-facing camera support as well as a new upload manager for all compatible devices.

In addition to these two new features, Vine for Android has also gotten some all-around speed improvements and support for more Android devices, although Twitter wouldn’t explicitly specify which ones.

The full Vine 1.2.0 for Android changelog is as follows:

Front-facing camera.
New upload manager for unsubmitted posts.
Improvements to settings.
Improvements to camera loading time and support for more devices.
Speed improvements overall.
Bug fixes and UI improvements.

You can download the new version now directly from Google Play.

Google rolls out Street View imagery for New York including Central Park & the 9-11 Memorial

Jordan Kahn May 29 2013 - 7:25 am PT

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A little over a year ago Google took to Central Park in New York to capture 360-degree Street View imagery using its pedicab trike camera. Today Google is officially rolling out the new imagery to Google Maps users and is also releasing historic images of other parts of the city including the 9-11 Memorial and neighborhoods hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Imagery of Hurricane Sandy
To create a space where the New York community can share memories from before, during, and after the storm, we partnered with Historypin on a community photo and video album called Hurricane Sandy: Record, Remember, Rebuild. In the album, you can discover and contribute old and new images of the places that mean the most to you.

Tour the 9/11 Memorial
The 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site is a moving tribute to those who lost their lives in the attacks on New York City, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA. Panoramic images of the North and South pools allow you to see victims’ names engraved along the edges of the pools. If you aren’t able to visit lower Manhattan to pay your respects in person, let Street View be your guide to this important and moving memorial.

Explore Central Park
It’s hard to find a more beloved piece of the city than Central Park. In partnership with the Central Park Conservancy, our Street View crew went all around park collecting 360-degree imagery of its trails, paths, and plazas, to bring views of both famous and little-known areas of the park to your browser or mobile phone.

Report says Samsung planning 4.3-inch Galaxy S4 Zoom with 16 megapixel camera

Jordan Kahn May 7 2013 - 11:10 am PT

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Samsung Galaxy Phone

Samsung must have received a good response with its Galaxy Camera that we first got a look at last year during IFA in Berlin, as new reports suggest the company is getting ready to introduce a new camera/smartphone hybrid dubbed the “Galaxy S4 Zoom”. The report comes from the often reliable SamMobile, and suggests that Samsung is preparing to introduce the device as its first “camera phone” with a 16 megapixel camera similar to that included in the Galaxy Camera:

SamMobile says the Galaxy S4 Zoom will include a slightly smaller 4.3” qHD SAMOLED display, 8GB of onboard storage, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, A-GPS, and the latest version of Jelly Bean alongside Samsung’s Touch Wiz UI. The report also claims the device will run dual or quad-core processor but CPU and RAM specs aren’t yet finalized.

According to the report Samsung is hoping to launch its new Galaxy S4 Zoom camera smartphone sometime in June and July in both while and black variants.

Tesla’s Elon Musk in talks with Google over self driving vehicle tech, says sensor system still too expensive

Jordan Kahn May 7 2013 - 6:51 am PT

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Sergey-Brin-Pink-Model-S-Tesla

(Googlers turned Sergey Brin’s Tesla Model S into a pink Batmobile for April Fool’s Day)

According to a report from Bloomberg, Tesla’s Elon Musk has discussed with Google the possibility of adding self driving vehicle technology to its fleet of all-electric cars. The problem, says Musk, is that Google’s approach to the technology is currently too expensive compared to camera-based systems:

“The problem with Google’s current approach is that the sensor system is too expensive,” Musk said. “It’s better to have an optical system, basically cameras with software that is able to figure out what’s going on just by looking at things… “We’ve had some technical discussions with Google” about its Light Detection and Ranging, or Lidar, laser tracking system, Musk said last week, noting that it’s an expensive approach that may not prove feasible, Musk said.

Am a fan of Larry, Sergey & Google in general, but self-driving cars comments to Bloomberg were just off-the-cuff. No big announcement here

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 7, 2013

While it’s possible Google could contribute to bringing the driverless features to future Tesla vehicles, Musk told Bloomberg it’s more likely the company will develop its own “autopilot system”. That’s something that other automakers are already doing with Toyota, Lexus, and Audi all showing off self-driving car technology at CES back in January:
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Google’s Vic Gundotra promises insanely great cameras on upcoming Nexus phones

Jordan Kahn Feb 18 2013 - 8:01 am PT

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Screen Shot 2013-02-18 at 10.46.19 AM

As noted by Android Central, Google’s Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra yesterday made some comments about the quality of cameras in upcoming Nexus devices. While Google’s Nexus lineup has never been known for having the best cameras, Vic promised in the comments of a photography-related Google+ post that Google is committed to making improvements to the cameras in future Nexus phones.

Gundotra’s original post questioned if he should bring his DSLR in addition to his Android phone and Google Glass on an upcoming vacation. When asked by a commenter whether a future Nexus could replace a DSLR, Gundotra responded:

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Rumor: HTC M7 flagship to be announced at CES

Jake Smith Jan 2 2013 - 3:56 pm PT

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If a new rumor is to be believed, the launch of HTC’s new flagship may be coming sooner than we thought. Prominent XDA Forum member Football4PDA tweeted that the One X+ successor, the HTC M7, may be announced at a CES 2013 event by HTC and not at Mobile World Congress. The M7 is rumored to feature “several industry firsts,” boasting a 4.7-inch display with a pixel density of 468PPI and a number of visual improvements. It will also sport a second-generation 1.7GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal flash storage, and LTE. There are also believed to be several camera improvements, with a 1080p, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1080p front-facing camera. A CES announcement may give the device a quicker launch, with Sprint and Verizon looking to be the destination stateside. We will cover CES from the show floor next week and will bring you the latest as we get it.
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Polaroid exec confirms mirrorless Android-based camera will debut at CES

Jake Smith Dec 20 2012 - 11:22 am PT

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On Tuesday, rumors surfaced that camera manufacturer Polaroid was set to enter the Android-based camera game with a new mirrorless solution, surely firing up the Android and camera fanatics alike. Today brings better news. Without confirming any specs, Polaroid CEO Scott Hardy confirmed the rumor in a statement to Imaging Resource, announcing: “There will be an Android powered, interchangeable lens camera introduced by Polaroid at CES 2013.” The camera is rumored to feature an 18-megapixel sensor and 3.5-inch LCD for photo perusing, all while running Android 4.0 as the base operating system.

The main players in the Android camera game right now are Samsung’s Galaxy Camera and Nikon’s s800c—both of which have received mixed reviews. But, with higher megapixels and interchangeable lens system, what is to stop Polaroid’s solution from being all that? We’ll make sure to bring you a full hands-on as soon as we can, as 9to5Google is your prime spot for all-things Android at CES 2013. [Imaging Resource via Gizmodo]

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AT&T to offer Samsung’s Galaxy Camera for $500 starting Nov. 16

Élyse Betters Nov 12 2012 - 9:27 am PT

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AT&T just announced the Samsung Galaxy Camera would land Nov. 16 for $499.99 with or without a data plan.

The Galaxy Camera is Samsung’s first 4G-connected camera to marry point-and-shoot technology with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software. It sports AT&T mobile internet connectivity, access to Android apps from the Google Play store, a quad-core 1.4 GHz processor, 4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD display, 21x optical zoom lens, and a 16-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor.

Samsung also noted a limited time-only sale for customers who want to purchase any Samsung Galaxy smartphone. They can now receive up to $100 off the new Samsung Galaxy Camera or any connected Samsung device. The Samsung Galaxy Camera will hit AT&T’s online store and select company-owned retail stores nationwide.

AT&T further said the camera will have access to its new cloud-storage app, AT&T Locker, and it revealed data plan options for the camera:

AT&T Mobile Share: $10 to share between 1 GB and 20GB
AT&T DataConnect 250MB: $15 for 250MB
AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

Check out 9to5Google’s coverage of the camera’s unveiling in Berlin last August for a full-spec rundown.

Go below to get more details in the press release.

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Google’s Vic Gundotra posts photos taken with Nexus 10

Jordan Kahn Oct 26 2012 - 6:06 am PT

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Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra posted some vacation photos to his Google+ (via AndroidCentral) page that appear to have been snapped by a yet-to-be unveiled Samsung Nexus 10. Some information that we learn about the tablet’s camera specs: the image is shot at 2,048-by-1,536 resolution (3.1 megapixels), which is rather low, but that’s likely because Google+ resized the images. It seems unlikely Vic would post images from another device with the camera listed as “Nexus 10,” but we’ll know for sure on Monday when Google is expected to announce the Nexus 10 alongside the new LG Nexus 4 in New York.

Another one of the images is below:

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Jealous of the new iOS Facebook App? An Android version is in the pipeline says Facebook Director of Mobile Engineering

9to5 Staff Aug 24 2012 - 6:45 am PT

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Android Police pulled some nice quotes from a recent Reddit thread on the future of the Facebook App on Android…

FB: Facebook is committed to both Android and iOS, and you’ve now seen what we can do. Stay tuned. (There are things in the Android app that aren’t in the iOS one today, like mentions in posts and comments, photo multi-upload, event creation. Since version 1.9 the Android app has tested faster than the iOS one, but FB-iOS 5.0 obviously changes the game.)

Android presents some unique challenges for developers, especially those with a large user base, but we do and will power through them. A lot of time is spent dealing with device-specific issues and limits, and you really have to fight with the toolkit to get iPhone-smooth interactions. Some vendors have a different HTTP stack (!), none implement the Camera APIs consistently, and reliability of hardware acceleration is…imperfect, GC pauses are terrible, lots of the toolkit insists on doing real work on the UI thread and allocating recreationally. On iOS you can test on 5 devices and basically have the market covered. We have to test on many dozens to get to the top 1/3 of our users, and then the tail starts to getreally long.

Q: Do you know when we could expect a native app too? I realise you probably can’t give away too much but are we talking weeks? Months?

A: Nobody is more excited about the state of our current development version than we are, and we will get it to users as soon as we can. One of our awesome PR people is standing next to me (10,000 miles away) with a gun (frowny face), so I can’t say more. Also, I have been doing software 20 years too long to make estimates in public. Experience and quality determine the time. I am utterly confident that you’ll find it worth the wait, and I wish I could give it to you today.

Q: Pretty much everyone I know has problems with the app even loading anything at all, and that’s before complaints about performance issues. This has gone on for ages, how come something as important as this has been unresolved for so long?

A: There are lots of reasons that people can experience problems, and we work through (and fix) different ones all the time. We have pretty detailed metrics on different aspects of performance, stability, load-time, load-error, etc. We can see them getting better in meaningful chunks, but that spreads out across 130M users in a way that isn’t to anyone’s satisfaction. (This is one area in which neither the inherent characteristics of the Android webview nor the OEM-specific tweaks that occur are our friends. Really, they aren’t even cordial.) We’ve been on fixed-date release cycles since 1.9, and we’re now down to every 4 weeks (where we’ll stay); this was a shit-ton of work for a large number of people, but it means we can get improvements out to users faster even while investing in longer-term features or architecture changes.

Q: What’s the best way for us, as users, to make it known that something isn’t working right with the app and make a difference? As of right now I could make quite a list of things that don’t work with the app, however it would feel a bit like a drop in the ocean for all the feedback you probably receive and feels like it would go unnoticed…We want to help :)

A: There’s a bug reporting mechanism either via the website or the app that someone on my team reads and rolls up for the developers weekly. My internal build has another mechanism for it, so I embarrassingly can’t tell you in more detail right now. :-/

Q: Is it true that Facebookers have been forced to use the android app to get a feel for how bad it is?

A: Neither the assertion nor the implication are true to my knowledge, and I am virtually certain that my knowledge on this issue is complete.

Nikon unveils $350 Android-powered Coolpix S800c [Photos]

Élyse Betters Aug 21 2012 - 9:18 pm PT

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Update: Nikon added more press shots (above) to its website with the S800c’s white paper.

Nikon just unveiled its Android-powered, point-and-shoot Coolpix S800c camera that we detailed earlier this week.

Just as rumors suggested, it boasts built-in GPS for geo-tagging, a 10X optical zoom lens, 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, 3.5-inch touchscreen display, 1080p video capture, 4GB of internal storage, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Google Play access.

“The S800c establishes a new line in the COOLPIX S series powered by Android with built-in Wi-Fi compatibility for operation similar to that of a smartphone and wireless Internet connection,” announced Nikon on its website. “The S800c fulfills Nikon’s latest proposal for new ways to use digital cameras–Capture, View, Connect, Enjoy–all in a single, compact body.”

The S800c will be available in September in both white and black versions for a suggested retail price of $349.95.

The full press release is below.

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Leaked press shots tease Nikon’s Android-powered Coolpix ‘S800c’ [Photos]

Élyse Betters Aug 20 2012 - 10:05 am PT

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NikonRumors just posted leaked press shots of the Android-based Coolpix “s800c” camera.

The pictures reveal a touchscreen menu on the backside, apparently running a Gingerbread flavor, with apps for a camera, email, browser, music, etc. Additional specs labeled on the front of the camera detail a “12X Wide Optical Zoom ED VR” in HD and a 4.5-54.0mm stock lens.

NikonRumors, which has a decent track record in scooping Nikon, said the official announcement will occur “on or around” Aug. 22. The website first discovered the s800c in a filling with the Indonesian Communication Agency, and it originally noted the camera touts a 3.5-inch OLED screen, Android 2.3 with Google Play apps, and built-in GPS and Wi-Fi.

A full gallery is below.

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USPTO publishes Google patent for 3D video conferencing on a laptop

Élyse Betters Aug 17 2012 - 1:28 pm PT

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Google that illustrates the search giant is developing technology for a computing device, such a laptop, that will boast dual cameras with 3D video conferencing as the main function.

Patent Bolt explained:

Google’s specific example goes like this: the computing notebook with the dual cameras could be used by a first user to produce a stereoscopic image of, for example, the first user during a video conference session when while in the notebook’s stereoscopic mode. In some instances, the stereoscopic image could be displayed locally and/or sent to a remote computing device via the video conference session.

If a second user joins the video conferencing session in the same room as the first user, the notebook could be changed from a stereoscopic mode to that of a multi-image mode so that separate images of the first user and the second user could be used during the video conferencing session.

It is worth noting stereoscopy is otherwise known as 3D imaging. Most stereoscopic techniques present two offset images independently to the left and right eye of the viewer, but the brain combines them to give the perception of 3D depth.

Patent Bolt further contextualized the multi-image mode:

In Google’s example of this invention used in a video conferencing context, two people in one office could be both using the same notebook during the conference for the sake of simple communications. They could be sitting across the table from each other with one camera facing one participant and the other camera pointed to the back of the notebook to view the second participant. The party on the other end of the conference would simply see two side-by-side boxes on their screen as if the individuals were actually sitting side by side. For home users it could be handy application when there’s only one household notebook.

Get the full report and more images at Patent Bolt.

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Preview: Sprint’s HTC EVO One Pictured

Élyse Betters Apr 4 2012 - 10:22 am PT

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The first HTC Evo One reviews are starting to flood the gate before its official launch tonight and initial impressions indicate the device has both good and bad points.

An.droid-life.com said the smartphone is bulky, yet it boasts stellar-quality Beats Audio by Dr. Dre, Ice Cream Sandwich OS with Sense 4.0, and a 8-megapixel shooter and 1.3-megapixel camera worth drooling over.

Despite the praise, the reviewer noted the device “just feels like HTC’s same old thing.” The trimmed Sense and usual ICS experience seemed a bit ho-hum, but then he added that his time spent with the smartphone was limited so complete details are not possible at this time.

A screenshot gallery is available below.

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Explore the history of nearby locations with the Historypin iPhone app

Jordan Kahn Aug 16 2011 - 10:45 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdT3eKdto4w&feature=player_embedded]

Historypin, a user-generated map displaying historical data of nearby locations (previously only available on Android devices), is now available as an iOS app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Created in partnership with Google by not-for-profit We Are What We Do, the app allows users to add their own historical photos by pinning them to a map, capturing historic moments as they happen, and creating replicas of historical images. The images are then shared with users requesting data for a specific location….

Historypin uses Google Maps and Street View technology to reveal the user-generated photos and data related to historical events that happened close to your current location. It does this by “overlaying them onto the live camera view”…essentially aiming to give you a live snapshot of what your surroundings looked like in the past.

Simply holding your phone up in the street will provide you with relevant nearby images. Selecting one of the images allows it to be overlaid onto the iPhone’s camera view. You can then fade between the image and your live shot for comparison, as well as pull up stories and data related to the image and your current location.

Full list of features and some shots of the app in action after the break…

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