Space shuttle Discovery was rolled out from the factory thirty years ago this month, and in an operational career spanning 39 missions, she spent 365 days in space and travelled almost 150 million miles. Discovery can currently be found on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia but if you're curious about what it looks like inside, click through for a 360-degree interactive panorama of the flight-deck of the most travelled shuttle ever to fly.
Apps come and go, but every once in a while, a newcomer will jump on the scene and make you shake up your mobile photography routine. Over the past few weeks, a number of photo editing apps have emerged on every mobile platform and a few have the potential to change our mobile photography workflow. Click through for our list of five new must-have photo editing apps.
We have added DxOMark's Mobile Report to our camera review of the Nokia Lumia 1020. The report includes DxO Lab's usual industry-standard scientific measurements and analyzes 14 aspects of mobile imaging including detailed image quality assessment, flash performance, autofocus reliability and more to calculate a final score. Click through to go to page 8 of our Nokia Lumia 1020 review for the DxO Mark mobile report.
It's been a busy few days here on DPReview.com, with new products being released in both the camera and mobile industries, news, previews and of course plenty of in-depth reviews still in progress. In this short article we look back at some of the things we've learned over the past week or so from the industry and from you, our readers. Click through to read more.
Sigma USA has announced availability of the Nikon-mount version of its 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art fast zoom for APS-C DSLRs. The Nikon version will retail for around $799, the same price as the Canon version, and will be available from November. We've been shooting with one for the past few days, and have put together a sample gallery of images showing what it's capable of.
There's no better view of the earth than the one you get from space. The European Space Agency's mission is to 'find out more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe', and as such, every year it produces thousands of high-resolution images of earth from orbit. Click through for a selection of stunning photographs and links to the ESA's website (which, unlike NASA's US government-funded site, is still online).
Canon's latest enthusiast digital SLR sports a radical new sensor-based autofocus system, where nearly every pixel is dedicated to phase-detect autofocus. As we come close to completing our review of the Canon EOS 70D, we've run the new AF system through a battery of tests to see what, if anything, it means for the enthusiast shooter. Click through for the whole nine yards, as well as new information about the camera's movie autofocus and Wi-Fi functions.
We've been taking plenty of photos while working on our upcoming review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7. Our samples gallery has been updated with an additional fifteen photos to tide you over until the review is posted. Follow the link to see glass sculptures, a beautiful sunset, and a defunct nuclear plant.
Good news for iPhone photographers. Flickr has released an update to its iOS application that allows users to automatically upload their photos to Flickr's free terabyte of cloud storage. In addition to the automatic uploading feature, users now have access to an easy auto-straightening tool. Read more on connect.dpreview.com.
If you're looking for a compact digital camera, you have a lot of choices. Although the past couple of years has seen a serious erosion of the entry-level, sub-$100 class thanks to the emergence of powerful smartphones, improvements in technology have meant that if you've got a couple of hundred dollars or more to spend, you can get yourself a very capable camera. In this guide, we examine the major classes of compact cameras, and discuss their relative strengths in order to help you make an informed buying decision. Click through for a link.
After months of teasing and speculation, Samsung has finally announced its curved smartphone. The Galaxy Round is a 5.7-inch device with a curved 1080p, AMOLED display. Like its Galaxy S4 and Note 3 predecessors, the Galaxy Round features a 13-megapixel camera. The Galaxy Round's unique shape allows for a different user experience. According to Samsung, the phone is more comfortable to hold than flat phones and users can take advantage of some features unique to the curved device. Click through for more details at connect.dpreview.com
Jony Ive, design mastermind at Apple, and Marc Newson, the creative force behind the thoroughly unconventional Pentax K-01, have collaborated with Leica to design a special edition Leica M for a good cause. The unique M will be sold at auction, at an event raising money for The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The one-of-a-kind camera is the product of 85 days' work and nearly 1000 prototype parts. Click through for the full details.
The 24MP D610 is Nikon's latest enthusiast-targeted full-frame DSLR. Coming fairly hot on the heels of the D600, the 610 gains a new shutter mechanism, which is responsible for two out of the camera's three new features. We've had the chance to handle the D610 and have prepared a first impressions review of the refreshed enthusiast full framer.
When National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson ditched his usual DSLR kit and took an iPhone 5S out to the Scottish highlands, he wasn't sure he was going to get great shots. In the end though, he was surprised by how capable the smartphone's 8MP camera is. He shared his experiences (and some of his images) at National Geographic's 'Proof' blog and we've published extracts over at connect.dpreview.com.
Nikon has announced the much-rumored D610 24MP full-frame DSLR. Coming just a year after the D600, the D610 appears to be a very minor refresh, with a quiet continuous shooting mode, improved white balance and faster continuous shooting touted as its major changes. Beyond this, the D610 is essentially the same camera as the D600 and, given its launch at the same $2000 SRP, it's extremely likely that the D610 replaces the older camera. Click through for more details.
Ricoh's Pentax K-3 is the first DSLR we've encountered that allows you to totally disengage its low-pass filtering - letting you choose between maximum detail and moire suppression - it's also the first to wear the new parent company's branding. The more we looked at the K-3 the more we found it offers over the existing K-5 models. Read our First Impressions Review to examine the fine changes with no false detail.
Ricoh has announced the Pentax K-3 - a 24 megapixel enthusiast APS-C DSLR. In addition to the higher pixel count, the range-topping camera gains a 27-point autofocus system and a more advanced 86,000 pixel metering sensor, compared with the K-5 II. Rather than offering versions with an without an optical low-pass filter, the company has found a way to selectively use the image stabilization system to mimic its effect. It also offers twin SD card slots and USB 3.0 connection. Click through to find out more.
Ricoh has launched the HD Pentax DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR, a telephoto zoom that's weathersealed to complement the company's recent SLRs. It also gains Pentax's latest 'High Definition' coating to minimize flare and ghosting. Aside from that, the specifications are practically identical to the existing smc DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED. It'll be on sale in November 2013 for a suggested retail price of $449.95 / £399.99.
Canon's new 12MP PowerShot S120 arrived in our Seattle office a few days ago and we've created a small gallery of samples, taken in a range of different conditions to show off what the camera can do. The PowerShot S120 features a 24-120mm (equivalent) zoom lens which starts at F1.8 at the wide end. We've just added more images to the gallery, to show off the S120's abilities in low light. Click through for a link.
Samsung has revealed a brand new 13MP smartphone camera unit with optical image stabilization and improved low light performance. Samsung's press release doesn't specifically name any devices that the new camera is slated to appear in, but it's safe to assume that we'll see it next year in the Galaxy S5 and Note 4. Click through for more details at connect.dpreview.com.
We have added DxOMark's Mobile Report to our camera review of the Apple iPhone 5s. The report includes DxO Lab's usual industry-standard scientific measurements and analyzes 14 aspects of mobile imaging including detailed image quality assessment, flash performance, autofocus reliability and more to calculate a final score. Click through to read our Apple iPhone 5s review and go to page 8 for the DxO Mark mobile report.
Zeiss has announced the Otus 1.4/55, a premium manual focus 'normal' lens for full frame SLRs. It's the first in a new line of lenses aimed at 'uncompromising professional' photographers, with a price tag to match - €2,940 or US$3,999 (excl. VAT). According to Zeiss it's named Otus after 'a type of owl known for its excellent vision in darkness'. On the technical side, it employs a Distagon design that's unusually complex for this class of lens, to minimise aberrations even when shooting at maximum aperture.
Manfrotto has updated its popular 190 series tripod range, with a substantially reworked design. The mechanism for switching the centre column to the horizontal position has been redesigned to reduce weight and folded length, and now pops out from the centre casting only when needed. A rotatable bubble level has been added underneath the head platform, and the leg angle selectors redesigned for easier operation. The tripods come in either carbon fibre or aluminium, with a choice of three- or four-section legs. Prices range from £185 to £360.
Photo organization app Loom is fairly new on the scene but it is already turning heads and getting a plenty of positive reviews. Loom's latest update has improved its user interface to better reflect iOS 7's new aesthetic and also allows for RAW photo uploading. Click through to read more on connect.dpreview.com.
The first consumer point-and-shoots didn't have art effect modes or face detection smile-shutters. They looked like the Kodak 1, a leather-encased box with a key to wind the film, a shutter release and not much else. Introduced to the public in 1888, each Kodak 1 contained a roll of film with 100 exposures. The UK's National Media Museum owns a collection of prints from these first consumer 'compacts.' Click through to take a look at a set of these early snapshots.
Our friends and collaborators over at DxOMark have recently been looking into how lenses score on specific cameras, and the latest model they've examined is Nikon's 24 MP APS-C flagship, the D7100. The article looks at no fewer than 126 lenses, and gauges the advantage of the D7100's higher pixel count and lack of a low-pass filter compared to the 16MP D7000. As a bonus, there's also an assessment of how the imaging performance of Nikon SLRs has improved over the last decade. Click through for the link.
PDN PhotoPlus Expo celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The annual conference and tradeshow, held at the Javits Center in New York, will feature a lineup of more than 130 presenters taking part in keynotes, seminars and panel discussions with topics ranging from creative techniques to making a living as a photographer. The show takes place October 24-26th, and registration is open to the public. Click through to read more.
We've been shooting with the Olympus PEN E-P5 for some months now and have just completed our review. The arrival of the E-M1 may have grabbed the limelight in recent weeks but the latest PEN deserves its share of the attention. Although it continues the classic PEN look, it shares most of its specifications with the E-M5, which should make it pretty special - but what's it like to use? Read our review to find out.
Cyber attackers breached Adobe's security recently, compromising data on 2.9 million customers. Data accessed includes 'customer names, encrypted credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, and other information relating to customer orders,' according to a company blog post. The attack exposes a weakness in the company's new Creative Cloud subscription model, which omits the 'bits-in-a-box' distribution method in favor of faster access to software updates through a monthly subscription. Click through for more.
Ricoh has released firmware v2.03 for its GR enthusiast compact. The list of updated features includes support for Raw file transfer via Eye-Fi card, the ability to use 1/2500 sec shutter speed with maximum aperture and a 47mm-equivalent crop mode. Also new is a 'Maximum Aperture Priority' setting available in Program and Manual exposure modes. Click through for a link to download the latest firmware version.
Another contender has entered the relatively small ring of Raw converters that can work with Fujifilm's X-Trans sensors: Photo Ninja. The latest version of this already-capable image editor has added 'preliminary' support for X-Trans Raw, and early results seem promising. To see how this $129 software performs, click through to see side-by-side comparisons.
Nikon's new Coolpix P7800 arrived in our Seattle office a few days ago and we've been doing our best to get as many sample images as possible on it, despite the unpredictable autumn weather. We've managed to create a small gallery of samples, taken in a range of different conditions to show off what the camera can do. There's more on the way, but for now, check out our gallery of pictures from Nikon's newest zoom compact flagship.
GoPro has revealed two revised and improved action cameras, as the updated Hero 3+ line. The tiny yet rugged cameras are smaller than their popular predecessors yet still pack some impressive specs. See what's changed in the new Hero 3+ Black Edition and Hero 3+ Silver Edition today on connect.dpreview.com.
DxO Labs has released version 8.3.2 of its Optics Pro RAW conversion and image correction software, adding support for the Canon EOS 70D and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R. It also adds 448 extra camera/lens combinations to the library of optics correction modules. Click through for the full press release, including download links.
Just a quick update on a couple of new forums we've added over the weekend. The first is Feedback and Suggestions, a place for your questions, feedback and suggestions for the DPReview team (both technical and editorial). We hope this will be a more efficient and more effective method than the feedback form / email system we had previously, and will ensure we don't miss bugs, suggestions and feedback that until now has been spread over dozens of forums. The second new forum is Photographic Science and Technology: a home for those wishing to discuss advanced technical matters related to imaging science outside the brand-specific forums. It's also intended to be the place for less technically-minded readers to pose questions of our community's smartest eggheads.
Leica has announced the Elmarit-S 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH lens for its medium format S system. With an angle of view equivalent to a 35mm lens on full frame, it offers a classic moderate wide-angle field of view. Like several of the other S lenses it'll be available in two versions, either with or without an in-lens 'Central Shutter' (that allows flash sync at shutter speeds up to 1/1000 sec). At the same time, Leica is offering firmware updates for its S, S2 and S2-P cameras to give 'optimum functionality' with the lens. The Elmarit-S 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH will be in dealers this month at a price of £4650, or £5500 for the CS model.
We all know that smartphones are being equipped with better and better cameras, but few of us would ever consider using one for 'serious' photography except in an emergency. Nokia's 'conversations' blog is featuring an interesting project by its own 'camera expert', Ari Partinen and colleague Marko Saari, who wanted to see whether the new Nokia Lumia 1020, which features a 41 megapixel 'PureView' sensor, could hold its own in a studio fashion shoot. The results might surprise you.
Modern lenses tend to be large and expensive, with multiple glass elements combining to minimise optical aberrations. But what if we could just use a cheap single-element lens, and remove those aberrations computationally instead? This is the question scientists at the University of British Columbia are asking, and they've come up with a way of improving images from a simple single element lens that gives pretty impressive results. Click through to read more.
As part of the continuing celebration of its 125th anniversary, National Geographic once again features Steve McCurry's famous 'Afghan Girl' photograph on the cover of October's 'The Photography Issue'. Along with the new issue, National Geographic has launched some supporting content, as well as a new blog called Proof, offering 'new avenues for our audience to get a behind-the-scenes look at the National Geographic storytelling process.'
Mount adapters are incredibly useful for their ability to make lenses from one manufacturer usable with camera bodies from another. But do they have any impact on image quality? LensRentals' Roger Cicala, not one to take manufacturer's claims at face value, investigated. Knowing that slight mis-alignments between a lens and even its native mount can cause softness in images, the added complexity with a lens adapter in the mix seemed likely to cause more problems. His findings are indeed interesting.
Heard the one about the sculptor awarded over half a million dollars because a stamp was made including a war memorial he'd designed? At first that may sound surprising, but reading the court's judgement (and the rejections of the various defenses put forward by the US Postal Service), is an informative lesson about copyright and fair use. Click here to read more.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering are working on a miniature wide angle lens, taking advantage of the benefits of spherical lenses. At just a tenth of the size of a traditional wide angle lens, a spherical lens can create wide angle images without chromatic aberration or loss of resolution at corners. The challenge is capturing the lens' spherical projection on a flat sensor. The team have overcome this by using optical fibers fused to the rear of the lens to relay light to electronic sensors. Click through to read more.
Thinking of upgrading to the latest smartphone, and want to see which takes the best photos? We pit four top photocentric mobile devices in an imaging showdown to test three new smartphones — the Sony Xperia Z1, Nokia Lumia 1020 and LG G2 — and Samsung's Galaxy S4 Zoom in real world shooting scenarios. See how they fared in our tests on connect.dpreview.com.
Canon's PowerShot G16 might not be a massive upgrade compared to its predecessor, but it is a a solid camera that evolves the G-series in some interesting ways. In this article, we take a look at the G16's real-world performance and dig into its new Wi-Fi feature as well as taking a critical look at its improved video mode. We've also added many more images to our previously-published gallery of real-world samples. Click through for a link to our first-impressions review.
Google+ has introduced improved Raw-to-JPEG conversion for a number of cameras with some help from Nik Photography. As before, Raw files may be uploaded to Google+ for storage, and are automatically converted to JPEGs for previewing. The conversion from Raw has been fine-tuned for about 70 cameras, including high-end models like the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Nikon D800 and D800E. Click through for the full list of cameras and see how it handles a Raw file from the Sony RX100.
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