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Photography News: Samsung’s new smartphone sensor is the smallest one yet

KITE Optics Viato backpack

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 new Olympus OM-D E-M1X, Apple’s Shot on an iPhone contest, and DxOMark’s new “Selfie” scores, find briefs on the latest in accessories and photography news from this week.

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The Kite Viato thinks outside the box for a tripod-focused camera backpack

Don’t like dropping your camera bag on the ground? The Kite Viato is a photography bag designed specifically to fit in the space directly underneath a tripod, offering a spot to swap lenses without kneeling in the dirt. The triangular-shaped bag attaches to the tripod, stashing gear for easy access.

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The bag can even be worn with the tripod still mounted and set up, if you don’t mind looking a little odd and don’t want to set the tripod up again at the next spot. The bag has 15 liters of storage space with padding and waterproofing to help keep gear protected. When not mounted on a tripod, the back panel tucks in and the bag turns into a more typical backpack.

The bag comes from Kite Optics, a Belgium-based company that recently expanded distribution to the U.S. The bag is expected out at the end of February or early March, with pre-orders listed for about $220.

Meike’s 50mm f/1.7 is a Canon EOS R, Nikon Z mount lens on a budget

The recently launched Nikon Z series and Canon EOS R are beginning to gain third-party lens compatibility without an adapter. This week, Meike launched a 50mm f/1.7 lens for both the

RF mount

and

Z mount

. The lens was previously available for Sony FE shooters.

The Meike 50mm f/1.7 is a manual focus only lens. The all-metal body houses optics with six elements in five groups. The lens is also weather-sealed. But the biggest perk of the new lens? It sells for about $140.

Samsung just launched the smallest smartphone sensor yet

Samsung’s latest imaging sensor is also the industry’s most compact smartphone sensor. The Isocell Slim 3T2 is a 1/3.4 inch, 20-megapixel sensor that measures only about 1.5 millimeters diagonally. The smaller size will help hide the camera when used as a front-facing camera, reducing the size of the screen notch or the “hole-in display.” In rear-facing cameras, the sensor can help cut the size of the camera bump by seven percent compared to another Samsung 20-megapixel sensor.

Besides the small size, the sensor uses Samsung Tetracell, a technology that allows for that high resolution in good light but then merges four pixels into one for better results in low light with increased sensitivity. In rear-facing cameras, Samsung says the sensor can use an RGB filter instead of the Tetracell technology as a second telephoto sensor in dual-camera designs. The company says the sensor maintains a higher resolution at a 10x zoom than the current 20-megapixel sensor.

Samsung says the sensor will be integrated into smartphone production in the first quarter of 2019.

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…
Don’t miss the chance to get this 128GB SD card for less than $100
The Lexar 128GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card on a white background.

Your new purchase from camera deals will need storage for photos and videos, but you can't buy just any SD card that you see online. It's highly recommended that you invest in a high-quality storage device like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card, which you can currently get from B&H Photo Video with a $75 discount on its 128GB version that brings its price down from $170 originally to a more affordable $95. You may want to buy multiples of this SD card while it's available for less than $100, but you'll have to hurry because we're not sure how much time is remaining on this bargain.

Why you should buy the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
More devices are using microSD cards for expanded storage, but according to our guide on finding the right memory card for your digital camera, most DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras are still using SD cards like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card. Lexar is one of the brands that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to photographers, and this SD card's read speed of 300 MB/s and write speed of 260 MB/s will enable quick transfers and smooth shooting. Additionally, as an UHS-II card, you won't have a problem with advanced functions such as continuous shutter bursts, rapid shooting, and raw and JPEG captures.

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Capture all the action with the GoPro HERO12 Black — $150 off today at Amazon
The GoPro Hero 12 Black Creator Edition set up on a small tripod on the beach.

In the moment, when you're blasting over that jump on your dirt bike, catching that killer wave, or jumping off of whatever insane cliff you've found, you don't necessarily think about capturing it all. But one of the best ways to make that happen is to strap on an action cam, like a GoPro. You can capture all of the action, and it's relatively low-lift. You wear whatever unique mount is best for the situation and the camera does all the work. There's just one issue, action cameras can be expensive especially if you're on a budget. However, today, Amazon has the GoPro HERO12 Black for $150 off. That brings it down from its normal price of $400 to $250. You can use that extra money to grab an accessory and you're good to go. GoPro HERO12 Black captures it all in 5.3K or 4K so you can rewatch the glory over and over.

 
Why buy the GoPro HERO12 Black? To capture the action, that's why
An action camera like a GoPro makes it possible to capture the action, in full detail, no matter what you're doing. You don't even have to be doing crazy stunts either. A common misconception is that they're only useful for outdoor activities, but no they work for filming just about anything. Even if you're having a barbecue, or a birthday party, or want to see what your roaming cat sees throughout the day -- a GoPro is what you need.

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NASA astronaut Don Pettit talks photography from the space station
NASA astronaut Don Pettit discussing his photography from aboard the ISS.

NASA ASTRONAUT DISCUSSES PHOTOGRAPHY IN SPACE WITH NASASPACEFLIGHT.COM

NASA astronaut Don Pettit arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in September on his fourth orbital mission in 22 years. Besides working on various science projects on the space-based facility, Pettit is also known for his keen interest in photography, and he regularly shares his impressive efforts -- including rivers, clouds, star trails, and high-speed spacecraft -- on X and Instagram.

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