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Photography News: Instagram sues fake like factory, Zeiss launches luxury lens

Image used with permission by copyright holder

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 information you might have missed this week, published on the weekends. Alongside the biggest stories of the week, like Illustrator’s latest teaser and Luminar’s updated A.I. tool, find briefs on the latest in accessories and photography news from this week.

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Could the upcoming iOS 13 simplify photo editing on the iPad?

The iPad is powerful enough that even Photoshop is expected out on the Apple tablet, yet the system isn’t without a few quirks. Apple may be working to solve one of them with iOS 13, expected to be announced in June. Anonymous sources recently told 9to5Mac that iOS 13 will have the ability to import images from an SD card or camera directly to an app. Currently, images need to be imported into Photos before adding to an app such as Lightroom.

If the feature is indeed coming to the next operating system, it could streamline the mobile editing process. One of the quirks of photo editing on the iPad is that users have to import photos twice, one to Photos, then once to Lightroom. Besides making the import process longer, the quirk means images potentially take up space in both the iCloud and Creative Cloud if not deleted.

Apple hasn’t confirmed the feature. The company is expected to launch iOS 13 during the Worldwide Developers Conference during the first week of June.

Zeiss promises images on par with medium format from a new full-frame lens

Zeiss

How much of a difference can a lens make? Zeiss says that the new Zeiss Otus 1.4/100 lens for Canon EF and Nikon F mounts creates image quality that’s “on par with those created using a medium format system.”

The lens is a 10mm f/1.4 full-frame lens that Zeiss says creates exceptional detail and bokeh, allowing the subject to stand out from the background. The lens is designed for minimum distortion and maximum quality, but it’s also a manual focus-only lens and retails for $4,500.

The lens joins a 55mm, 85mm, and 28mm in the same Otus series.

Instagram is so tired of the fake likes, it’s suing a company selling engagement

After taking several steps to remove the platforms selling fake likes and followers, Instagram has had enough. This week, parent company Facebook filed a U.S. lawsuit against one company and three individuals in New Zealand for violating the Terms of Use and Community guidelines.

Facebook says that the company continued to sell fake likes on Instagram even after Facebook revoked access to the social network and suspended the company’s accounts. The lawsuit also says that the company violated California laws against computer fraud and abuse.

“Inauthentic activity has no place on our platform,” wrote Facebook’s Jessica Romero, the director of platform enforcement and litigation. “That’s why we devote significant resources to detecting and stopping this behavior, including blocking the creation and use of fake accounts, and using machine learning technology to proactively find and remove inauthentic activity from Instagram.”

Vimeo Showcase allows creatives to design their own video site or even smart TV channel

Vimeo Showcase

Need to launch a video-heavy website such as a portfolio, or even a smart TV channel? Vimeo Showcase is a new feature that allows users to create custom webpages highlighting their videos. Vimeo says the tool is designed to help users create their look and style when showing off their videos, without paying for a separate website builder. Made for tasks like videography portfolios, marketing or establishing an online presence, the tool offers custom layouts as well as custom domain names and embeddable playlists.

Pro subscribers can also use Showcase to design their own channel for the Roku and Amazon Fire without learning code, Vimeo says.

Showcase replaces albums and mixes in some of the features from Vimeo portfolios. The company expects to expand the tool with more layouts, livestreaming, presets, and more in the future.

Polaroid launches special-edition instant camera and summer-inspired film

Polaroid Originals

The Polaroid OneStep 2 has a new look. This week, Polaroid launched a special edition Polaroid OneStep 2 Summer Blue in color inspired by the summer sky. The new camera keeps the innards of the OneStep 2 instant film camera and gives the exterior a summer-inspired refresh.

Along with the special-edition camera, the company also launched Summer Haze and Summer Blues film, instant film that uses frames inspired by the sunset and the blues of the ocean. The camera retails for about $100, while the film sells for $17 for Summer Blues and $20 for Summer Haze.

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…
Phone cameras are so good, they’ve finally replaced my camera for work
Close up of the camera on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.

For almost two decades, I’ve carried more than twenty pounds of electronics in my backpack for the slightest chance of needing to capture content for my professional life. My backpack usually contained my MacBook, a full-frame camera with a big lens, a tripod, and an assortment of video and audio gear that I always deemed essential.

As it turns out, over the past two years, many of these items were rendered obsolete, as many companies launched new products that were quickly able to replace technology that I previously considered irreplaceable.

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This is what happens ‘when you get two uber-geeks in space at the same time’
NASA's Don Pettit on the space station.



During NASA’s first-ever Twitch livestream from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, current station inhabitant Don Pettit and recent returnee Matthew Dominick talked about what it’s like to live and work in a satellite 250 miles up.

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The GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is $100 off, but not for long
A person holding the GoPro HERO13 Creator Edition in front of the ocean.

Outdoor enthusiasts who want to buy a new action camera should go for the brand that popularized the product and look for GoPro deals. Best Buy has an offer that's going to be hard to refuse, as it features the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition. From its original price of $600, it's down to just $500 as part of the retailer's Presidents' Day Sale. There are still a few days remaining before the $100 discount ends on February 17, but we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out before then.

Why you should buy the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition
The star of the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is the GoPro Hero 13 Black, which is the latest version of the brand's popular line of action cameras. It's capable of recording video at up to 5.3K resolution, and you can grab photos of up to 24.7MP from your footage using the GoPro Quick app. The GoPro Hero 13 Black can also take videos that are slowed down by 13 times the normal speed, and it can last more than 5 hours on a single charge. The front and rear LCD screens will let you frame your shots perfectly, and the built-in buttons enable easy controls for lengthy sessions.

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