New deal suggests Facebook is looking to add sweet interactive tools for Live
Facebook now owns a company that specializes in creating interactive live video experiences with polls, viewer comments, and more. Vidpresso says the change will help it bring the interactive tools to more users. The move suggests that Facebook users could soon be seeing more tools for Live.
Instagram hackers are changing account info into Russian email addresses
Have you logged in to your Instagram lately? A hack circulating this month has Instagram users locked out of their accounts because a hacker changed all the profile data, according to a report. Instagram, however, says it hasn't seen an increase in the number of hack reports.
The Nixplay Iris might just make digital picture frames cool again
The digital picture frame's popularity has fizzled because of time-consuming updates and low quality -- but can a Wi-Fi connected, Alexa-enabled frame change that? The Nixplay Iris is an 8-inch digital picture frame that wireless adds photos (from you or friends) and includes a number of smart features.
Kids can now initiate a friend request on Messenger Kids by using a password
Facebook's messaging app for the under-13 crowd required parents, not kids, to initiate the process of adding a friend. Now kids can start the process by using a unique passphrase -- a feature that still requires parental approval on both sides. The feature began rolling out today.
Facebook’s less cluttered friend list feeds are no more
Facebook friend list feeds created a more curated news feed -- but not anymore. Facebook has discontinued the feature, saying it wasn't widely used. The move will help the network focus on improving the News Feed, the company says. The separate feeds join the ticker in a list of Facebook's dead features.
For Monaris, it’s a photography career launched on an iPhone and Instagram
On Instagram, she's known just as Monaris. But street photographer Paola Franqui has built a following largely with an iPhone and a smile before growing into a mirrorless camera system. We sat down with Monaris to talk photography, style, Instagram and editing -- and where the name Monaris came from.
Facebook wants to help you find a mentor with its latest Groups feature
Facebook is designed for connecting to other people -- so why not mentors? Today, Facebook launched a program inside Groups that allows for two users to go through a mentorship program together. Facebook says it has built-in safety and privacy features.
How to take travel photos with just your smartphone
If there's one time when the size of your camera matters, it's during travel. But is a smartphone camera enough to capture travel adventures, from start to finish? Here are the smartphone travel photography tips we've learned after a cay in the Caribbean with just a smartphone.
Photo FOMO: Leica Elpro turns plain lenses into macro, Fujifilm Fest returns
In this week's photo industry news, Leica launches a way to turn plain lenses into macro lenses while Fujifilm shares the second annual Fujifilm Festival. Artificial Intelligence keeps growing with new uses with Getty Images and the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 camera.
Moment is the first to outfit the Galaxy Note 9 with photography lenses
Well, that was quick. Moment lenses already support the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9, thanks to new cases that launched almost immediately after the device did. The slim cases allow the dual-lens smartphone to use any current Moment lens. The Moment Pro app will also be available for the Note 9.
PaintShop Pro 2019 is more well-rounded with 360 compatibility, speed boost
Photoshop alternative PaintShop Pro 2019 can now eliminate tripods from 360 photos and turn photos into stylized paintings. The new 360 camera compatibility and A.I.-powered painting tool join a long list of performance improvements and interface enhancements for the photo editor and graphics tool.
New Epson scanner converts photos from old shoe boxes to the cloud in seconds
Epson's batch photo scanner just got faster -- the new Epson FastFoto FF-680W scans a photo a second and can also automatically upload the scans to Google Drive and Dropbox. The scanner also includes software with text recognition for scanning and searching documents.
This new Tamron 17-35mm is the lightest bright wide-angle zoom yet
Zoom lenses offer more versatility, but the trade-off is size. Tamron says that its latest lens, the Tamron 17-35mm F/2.8-4 Di OSD, is the lightest wide-angle lens compared to others with similar specifications. The lens sits at right around a pound and the company says they've also improved the autofocus.
Colby Brown isn’t afraid to fail (or fall) in pursuit of the perfect travel shot
Colby Brown has photographed Iceland more than two dozen times, captured (on camera) Jaguars in Brazil, lead National Geographic expeditions in South America. But what advice is does the travel photographer have for the photographers just starting out? We sat down with Colby Brown to talk photos, travel, style, and editing.
Canon finally makes 4K mainstream with the $400 40x zoom PowerShot SX740
The Canon PowerShot SX740 isn't just the company's latest compact zoom camera -- it's the first PowerShot camera to include 4K. That's a welcome change from the company's tendency to reserve 4K for the pricey DSLRs, while the $400 camera has one big upgrade that gives the specs a boost.
Photo FOMO: Wearable monopod, phone viewfinder are odd, but maybe useful
How's this for odd camera accessories? One father-son team has designed a monopod you can wear. But a giant smartphone viewfinder that looks like a pair of virtual reality goggles may just take the cake for odd accessories. The new concepts and more in this week's Photo FOMO.
Newly redesigned Moment Pro app has manual controls — and Pixel Visual Core
The new Moment Pro Camera App brings manual exposure and focus adjustments to iOS and Android. The app has a clean and elegant interface, yet puts direct access to controls at the forefront. On iOS the app has DSLR-like dual stage shutter, while it is adding Pixel Visual Core support on Pixel devices.
Snapchat now uses speech recognition to animate your face
Get your tongue back in your mouth -- Snapchat's latest Lenses react instead to a specific keyword. The new Lenses animate after hearing a specific keyword, which Snapchat displays on the screen. The new Lenses join AR filters that react to the volume of any audio in the room and animations triggered by facial recognition.
Facebook dismantles fake accounts that had thousands interested in a rally
A group of coordinated fake Facebook accounts created a rally that had thousands of users interested in attending, the network shared on Tuesday. Facebook has removed the Pages and accounts, shared data with law enforcement and is now notifying users that followed the event.
YouTube videos are now even bigger on desktop — so why are users complaining?
Goodbye, black bars. A YouTube update eliminates the black bars on the desktop video pages. The change makes the video larger and removes the often irking black bars. The update isn't sitting well with everyone, however, with users taking to the forums asking for the old design back.
IGTV is sweet — but you probably don’t need the dedicated app. Here’s why
IGTV is a platform designed for video viewing on a smartphone, which means an experience with full-screen videos and gesture-based controls. But do you really need to download the app? Only if you want access to the handful of features that are inside the stand-alone app but not inside Instagram itself.
The Sionyx Aurora is the best GoPro alternative you’ve never heard of
The action doesn't stop when the sun goes down -- the Sionyx Aurora is a night vision action camera that allows adventurers to continues shooting even after sunset. The camera comes equipped with waterproofing and add-ons like a GPS, but the secret is in the design of the sensor.
Adobe’s next big software secret? An augmented reality tool called Project Aero
Itching to create an augmented reality object? Adobe will soon have software to help. Adobe recently teased Project Aero, an upcoming software that helps design AR objects, including support for Apple's ARKit. The teaser comes with an art exhibit focused on immersive content in San Francisco.
Photo FOMO: Adobe’s slick Hollywood editing suite, IGTV’s test for teasers
Designed for Hollywood video editors, Adobe's newest office creates a state-of-the-art editing suite while inviting feedback for upcoming software. Inside this week's photo industry news, Cotton Carrier blats a Kickstarter goal for a new camera harness, Instagram launches a new IGTV test and more.
This odd accessory helps photographers shoot through glass with less glare
Ever try shooting through glass without getting any reflection? A new flexible lens hood could make the task much easier. Ultimate Lens Hood is a flexible lens hood designed for eliminating glare when shooting through glass. It also helps cut flare during typical shooting.
As Twitter cleans up spam, monthly users drop, but daily engagement increases
Twitter is engaged in an overdue war against abuse and spam -- but moving resources to clean up the platform has left the network with a loss in the monthly user count. Daily engagement has increased, however, and Twitter says the focus on network health will drive long-term growth.
Pentax K-1 Mark II uses AI to help you get the perfect shot
The new Pentax K-1 Mark II builds on the company's first full-frame DSLR with improved low-light performance, AI-powered autoexposure, and handheld Pixel Shift Resolution mode.
Growth slows during Facebook’s ‘critical year,’ still reaches 2.5 billion
Facing new privacy laws and news feed changes, Facebook's latest user count isn't as sky-high as previous patterns. Despite a slow down and a loss of users in Europe, the company now has 2.5 billion people across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The company is predicting more slowdowns, however.
Grab the popcorn: Facebook’s Watch Party lets you share videos in Groups
Facebook Watch Party is designed to bring groups together with some of the same interaction tools as Live videos because everyone is watching at the same time. The previously tested feature is now available worldwide for Groups, with the platform now testing the feature for Pages and friends.
Highest resolution smartphone camera yet is designed not to suck at low light
Cameras can either shoot high-resolution images or excellent low-light images -- but with Sony's latest smartphone sensor, you can have your resolution and your low-light performance too. The new sensor shoots like a 48-megapixel sensor in the day, and like a 12-megapixel low-light expert at night.
Photo FOMO: Photography ‘could be a sign of terrorism,’ film-inspired presets
Is Homeland Security's warning to look out for overly interested photographers a good warning or bad advice? The odd tweet and more inside this week's Photo FOMO, alongside new Kodak inspired presets, Skylum Luminar updates and a new all-in-one flash from Godox.
2017 Sony World Photography Awards winners
The Sony World Photography Awards recently announced the ten category winners, selected from a record-breaking number of entries.
2018 Sony World Photo Awards winners
The Sony World Photography Awards has announced the Photographer of the Year, as well as category winners and student and youth prizes. The contest was one of the most diverse yet, with the most submissions yet. See just what the judges are talking about with just a handful of the shortlisted photos.
The best science photos of 2017
Who says science isn't sometimes also art? The winning photos from the Wellcome contest offer both scientific insight and incredible art.
18 Lightroom keyboard shortcuts you can actually remember
Keyboard shortcuts make quick work of sorting and editing photos, but they're often tough to remember. Still, these 18 are worth remembering.
The best underwater photos of 2017
The annual Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has released the list of winners for 2017 -- and the shots are incredible.