With a 1-inch sensor and RAW, Ricoh Theta Z1 may be ready for serious shooters
With a one-inch sensor and RAW shooting, the Ricoh Theta Z1 is a 360 camera that may even catch the eye of serious shooters. The new flagship to the Theta line has a higher resolution, 4K video, DNG compatibility, and a handful of new shooting modes. Those features are packed into a familiar slim design.
Photography News: Update Premiere Pro before a bug damages your computer
Adobe Premiere Pro users will want to install the latest update as soon as possible. The update corrects an audio bug after some users said the bug blew out their speakers. Also in this week's photography news are new lenses from Tamron and Tokina for full-frame cameras.
Ricoh unleashes long-awaited GR III alongside a new waterproof WG-6
The anticipated Ricoh GR III will finally go on sale next month. The company today shared full specs and a price for the advanced compact camera, which has several significant updates. The company also debuted the Ricoh WG-6 waterproof camera with a longer zoom, higher resolution, and more rugged build.
Watch the construction of a 270-degree fisheye lens, the widest ever
Think you've seen wide fisheye lenses? Think again. A team from Lensrentals recently shared a behind-the-scenes look at a custom prototype 4.5mm fisheye lens, which captures a whopping 270-degree view. Watch a time-lapse of the entire process constructing the more than ten pound lens.
Luminar’s libraries gain speed, drop need for you to manually import images
Luminar 3 just got a performance boost. Skylum Luminar 3.0.2 has improved speed over December's update, which added the long-promised libraries feature to give editors a Lightroom alternative with organization tools as well as the ability to sync edits. The update is available now.
5 features that make awful smartphone cameras a thing of the past
After five years of testing smartphone cameras, DxOMark is sharing the key features that mean access to better pictures in our pockets.
Photography news: Wacom’s slimmer pen, Leica’s cinema special edition
In this week's photography news, Wacom launches a new slimmer pen for pro users. Leica's upcoming M10-P is designed for cinema, inside and out, with built-in cinema modes in the updated software. Photo sharing platform Instagram could soon have Direct Messages from a browser instead of the app.
Cruise like Mick Jagger: Virgin Voyage’s new ship boasts RockStar Suites
Virgin Voyages, the new cruise company from the Virgin Group, is now taking reservations for the 2020 inaugural season. The company says the RockStar Suites are designed to help travelers feel like rock stars, going beyond the usual cruise luxuries. The company is now booking trips departing from Miami.
From f/1.2 primes to the mysterious DS, here are Canon’s upcoming RF lenses
Canon's EOS R mirrorless series will gain six new lenses this year. Canon just shared a list of six lenses under development, including four zooms and two prime lenses. One has a mysterious new feature called Defocus Smoothing. All six lenses will be available sometime in 2019, Canon says.
Fujifilm XP140 squeezes more durability, low-light ability into a waterproof cam
Fujifilm's waterproof compact camera can now head even deeper underwater. The Fujifilm XP140 features several upgrades, including a more durable body, a wider ISO range for low light, and expanded auto modes. The new camera is slated to arrive in March for a price of about $230.
Olympus packs an enormous zoom ability in its latest interchangeable lens
The Olympus Digital ED M.Zuiko 12-200mm F/3.5-6.3 has the widest zoom range of any interchangeable lens with a 16.6x zoom. The lens, which covers a 24-400mm equivalent, is also weather sealed with an autofocus system design for both stills and video. The lens will be available next month.
Nikon brings a classic workhorse lens to the Z series with new 24-70mm f/2.8 S
The Nikon Z series finally has a bright zoom available without an adapter. The Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/2.8 S offers new coatings and more customizable controls in a smaller, lighter body than the comparable F-mount lens. Nikon also shared updates on the previously teased firmware for the Z series.
Using A.I., Lightroom can now boost the resolution of RAW photos
Need to eek a bit more resolution out of a RAW file? Adobe Lightroom and Camera Raw can help with a new feature called Detail Enhance. The tool uses A.I. in the demosaicing process to enhance details and reduce artifacts. The updates also come with new tools in Lightroom CC.
Twitter users are declining but more people are seeing ads every day
Twitter's end-of-the-year report for 2018 is a mix of good and bad news. The good news is that more users are seeing adds daily, the metric the company will focus on moving forward. But the bad news is that monthly active users are declining. Twitter also posted a healthy profit, according to the report.
Snapchat finally recovers from its redesign — so here comes an Android update
Snapchat's drop in users after launching a controversial redesign has finally stagnated. During the fourth quarter and 2018 earnings report, Snapchat shared that the company is rolling out an Android update designed to increase performance. The company's finances have also improved in the fourth quarter.
New software allows GoPro Fusion to capture Google Street View
Thanks to a new software program, the GoPro Fusion can now capture footage for Google Street View. Panoskin TrailBlazer is a new program that uses the Fusion GPS to map footage onto Google Street View. Panoskin is approved by Google for the Street View program, the only U.S.-based company on the list.
Crouching, climbing, and creeping, the perfect Instagram shot knows no bounds
Just how far will you go for the perfect Instagram? A recent survey shows just how willing Instagram users -- and Instagram husbands -- are to climb, lie down, or let their food go cold for the perfect shot. With the survey, Adobe also launched a video as a tribute to Instagram husbands.
Quit saying ‘say cheese’: 7 portrait photography tips for beginners
The phrase "say cheese" is more cringe-worthy than smile-worthy. Learn how to get genuine smiles, along with six other portrait photography tips in this guide. From finding good light to creating a flattering pose, these tips are easy enough for even newbies to try.
Periscope tool adds guests to feeds so streamers can become talk show hosts
Periscope users can now invite viewers to chime into the conversation with more than just the comment tool. By enabling the option to add guests, livestreamers can add guests to the conversation, in audio format only. The tool allows up to three guests to be added to the livestream.
Photography News: Filters for cutting light pollution, $10K photo scholarship
In this week's photography news, meet the latest filter from Irix, designed to cut out some city light pollution by filtering out the yellow from sodium lamps. See the latest artificial intelligence feature coming to ON1 Photo RAW. Apply for a $10K scholarship from Nikon. And see Leica's latest special edition.
Facebook plans ‘major improvements’ as platforms grow to 2.7 billion users
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger now have an estimated 2.7 billion users -- and Facebook is making big plans. During the end of year conference call to investors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared the company's plans for expansion in 2019, including new 'major' features.
Teens, young adults willingly shared private data with Facebook for cash
Would you willingly share data like private messages with Facebook in exchange for $20 a month? A Facebook Research app does just that. After a report questioned the app's data collection, Apple removed the iOS app, while an Android version appears to remain available through beta testing platforms.
GoPro Plus will now stash all your videos in unlimited cloud storage
GoPro's $5 subscription service just got better. Now, GoPro Plus includes unlimited video and photo storage, along with a higher discount on mounts and accessories. The program automatically stores photos and videos to the cloud from Wi-Fi equipped GoPros.
Snapchat reportedly toys with the idea of making its snaps permanent
Snapchat could soon make public posts last forever. According to Reuters, the company is considering extending the lifespan of public posts shared in Our Story to make snaps more easily shareable outside the app. The change would not affect private posts shared only with friends on the app.
The Nikon Z7, Z6 just got a little sweeter with up to $400 off with a trade-in
The Nikon Z7 and Z6 offer full-frame mirrorless performance mixed with a wide selection of Nikkor optics -- but as new releases, the deals are hard to find. That's changing with a new trade-in deal from Nikon with $200 off the Z6 or $400 off the Z7 in addition to the camera's trade-in value.
Facebook is shutting down its Moments photo app because nobody knew it existed
Facebook Moments will soon join the list of Facebook's failed apps. The app, which was designed for a more private photo sharing using facial recognition, will be shutting down on February 25. Users have until May to download any photos they want to save from the platform before losing any privately uploaded files.
Dropbox adds time-stamped comments for video and audio file collaboration
Working with a team on a video or audio file? Dropbox will now allow you to add comments to a specific time in the video or audio file. The update also comes with improved options for working with video, like playback thumbnails. The new media options are rolling out today on iOS and the web, with Android to follow.
Pinterest makeup searches can soon be customized by skin tone
Browsing Pinterest for new makeup or hair ideas? You can soon customize the results based on skin tone. After testing the tool last year, Pinterest will soon roll out palettes to narrow search results related to hair and makeup only. Pinterest says the update is coming to iOS in the next few weeks.
Olympus shooters will soon have 1,000mm lenses and wireless flash capability
The Olympus family is about to gain longer lenses and a native wireless flash system. Olympus announced the development of the M.Zukio Digital ED 150-400mm F/4.5 TC1.25x IS Pro, as well as the new FL-700WR and wireless flash commander system. The announcement also comes with a special edition E-M1 Mark II.
Twitter shares sneak peek at simpler, less cluttered design with new features
Twitter shared a sneak peek of an upcoming redesign of its website, showing a less cluttered design with a handful of new features. The update brings keyboard and emoji shortcuts, improved search, and a two-column layout. The Twitter team is also working on an updated dark mode for the mobile app.
Here are the best selfie cameras on the market, according to DxOMark
DxOMark, the company known for testing cameras, is now extending its smartphone analysis to include the front-facing camera. The Selfie ranking will be kept separate from the overall mobile score. The company says the testing process involves more than 1,500 images and two hours of video.
Facebook just added a petition tool. What could possibly go wrong?
Facebook now has a petition tool called Community Action. Facebook Community Actions allow users to create or support a cause, as well as sharing or following that petition. But is the feature just asking for trouble on a network already plagued by fake news and fake accounts?
Photography news: Careful, self-driving cars can ruin your camera sensor
In this week's photography news, learn how self-driving cars destroyed a digital camera via lasers. Find out how many patents Canon filed for in 2018. Learn what Tamron lenses are available for the Nikon Z6, and how Facebook is sharing its compression algorithms with other developers.
Sony crams its best camera tech into the new $900 A6400
Love Sony's autofocus, but can't stomach the full-frame price? The Sony A6400 mirrorless camera uses some of the same autofocus technology and the processor of the A9 in a compact, more affordable crop-sensor camera. The camera boasts one of the fastest autofocus speeds yet, Sony says.
Nearly a million Facebook users followed these fake Russian accounts
Facebook purged two groups behind more than 500 fake accounts with Russian ties. The group says that the accounts were removed for coordinated inauthentic behavior. One group had ties to Russian news agency Sputnik, while the other had behavior similar to the Internet Research Agency's midterm actions.
Olympus teaser shares glimpse of OM-D camera that’s good for more than sports
Is Olympus about to release a new mirrorless camera geared toward sports photographers? The latest teaser offers a glimpse of an upcoming OM-D camera set to launch on January 24. The first teaser shows the camera in use at several different sporting events with telephoto optics.