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Photography News of the Week: Fujifilm creates A.I. for use in designing albums

Hydrophobia V3.0 Camera Rain Covers

Afraid of missing out on the latest photo industry news while you’re out, well, actually taking pictures? Photography News of the Week is all the news you might have missed this week, published on the weekends. Alongside the biggest stories of the week, like the GoPro HERO7, the new Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, and the Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master lens, find briefs on the latest in accessories and photography news from this week.

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Scared of ruining gear in the rain? Think Tank Hydrophobia keeps gear dry and accessible

Sure, rain can ruin your gear, but it can also lead to some great shots. Think Tank Photo’s updated rain covers shield your gear from the elements while still allowing easy carrying with its own camera strap supported by the camera lens, not the rain cover alone. The covers have two sleeves for operating the controls and two windows to see both the back and top of the camera. A custom eyepiece allows the cover to seal without impeding the viewfinder, and a front cover keeps rain off the glass in between shots. The Hydrophobia V3.0 comes in five different sizes.

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The company’s third-generation covers also launch with a new line of emergency covers that are smaller and more compact than ever. The Think Tank Photo Emergency Rain Covers have a single access for hands at the bottom and fewer extras. Both series are available now, with the Hydrophobia starting at $115 and the Emergency at $35.

Fujifilm has A.I. to cull photos and design your photo books for you

Sorting through images and designing photo albums is a time-consuming process, but Fujifilm is designing artificial intelligence (A.I.) to help. This week, Fujifilm announced Personalized Select and Personalized Layout. The first selects the best images for you while the second automatically generates album layouts.

Fujifilm says that both programs are personalized — as the A.I. gets to know your preferences, it will adapt to making selections and layouts in the future, improving the more you use it. The company says the software is a response to the growth in the number of images taken by digital cameras that makes selecting images and designing albums a tedious process. Fujifilm says the tech will be part of “several products and services” in the spring of 2019. Fujifilm didn’t share exactly what programs the A.I. will be part of, but it’s easy to imagine the technology in an online photo-ordering platform or even integrated into editing software.

The Lowepro ProTactic series mixes organization and durability

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The ProTactic line of camera bags is one of accessories giant Lowepro’s best sellers — and it just got an upgrade. This week, Lowerpro launched the second-generation ProTactic series, a line of camera and lens bags designed for durability and shock protection with updates for better organization. The series includes two new backpacks, two lens cases, two utility bags, and several accessories.

The ProTactic BP 350 AW II fits up to two standard DSLRs with up to eight lenses and a 13-inch laptop, while its bigger sibling, the ProTactic BP 450 AW II fits up to two pro-sized DSLRs, up to eight lenses and a 15-inch laptop. The backpacks also use convertible utility belts and multiple attachment points for adding on storage.

The series also includes the ProTatic Lens Exchange 100 AW and 200 AW, the ProTactic Utility Bag 100 AW and 200 AW, and smaller accessories including a bottle pouch, phone pouch, utility belt, and quick straps. The series is already available from Lowepro’s website as well as select retailers, with accessories starting at $12 and bags starting at $50.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Microsoft is making a major change to using your iPhone in Windows
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In a recent Windows Insider Blog post, Microsoft announced it's adding the option for iPhone users to access their phones from the Start menu. Thanks to a special widget next to the Start menu, when you connect your phone, you can see data such as notifications, battery indicators, recent contacts, connection status, and more.

To enjoy this feature, you must use the recent Windows 11 preview build from the Dev and Beta channels, and you must be a Windows Insider. You must also update the Phone Link app to version 1.24121.30.0 or higher, have a Microsoft account, and have a PC that supports Bluetooth LE. Microsoft said it does not support PCs running Pro Education or Education SKUs. Even if this doesn't affect you, the update is rolling out in phases, so reaching your PC might take some time if you don't already have it.

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Where to buy the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 today
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The day is finally upon us -- Nvidia's best graphics cards are here, and you can buy them now. The RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 are now available at various retailers, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. There's just one problem: The cards may suffer from limited availability, so the sooner you shop, the better.

While we expect these GPUs to sell out quickly over the next few weeks, it's still possible to buy them today. Find out where to buy the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 today.
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Microsoft is killing this popular Word feature and replacing it with AI
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In a Microsoft Support blog post, the software giant announced the end of a helpful feature called Smart Lookup available in Word. It appears like an attempt to get users to use Microsoft's Copilot AI. The feature has been around since 2016, and it gives users definitions, relevant links, and synonyms directly inside of Word. Now, it's gone for good.

Nevertheless, if you right-click on a word and choose Search from the context menu, you will see only an empty search panel. Some users will see a message saying, "Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again," while others will see a blank space that never stops loading. Microsoft even removed the Smart Lookup feature from the standalone Office 2024 suite.

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