The Verge - Photography & Video Posts

Lytro releases iOS app for desktop-free sharing of its light field photos

2013-06-19T19:00:05Z

Until now, sharing images taken with Lytro's unique light field camera has required syncing with the company's desktop app for Mac and PC. That changes today — at least for iPhone owners — with the release of Lytro Mobile for iOS. The new app lets Lytro users quickly upload and share any light field pictures they've taken on the go.

Just how does it accomplish this? Lytro is finally flipping the switch on a Wi-Fi chip discovered inside the camera during a teardown last year. Wireless networking has been inactive until now, but a new firmware update will let the Lytro act as its own Wi-Fi hotspot. From there, the camera will display credentials that can be entered on an iPhone to access its image data. You'll be able to preview your...

Sony RX100 'Mark II' leaks with tilting screen, Wi-Fi, and flash hotshoe

2013-06-14T08:08:31Z

A year after it first saw release, Sony's RX100 is still the most impressive pocket camera on the market — and it looks like a new version is in the works. Sony Alpha Rumors has obtained details and images from the so-called RX100 Mark II's manual, and the camera comes with a few significant tweaks: a tilting screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a flash hotshoe.

All three would be welcome additions; though we loved the original RX100, we noted the lack of expansion and tilting screen in our review, and Wi-Fi is a standard feature by now. The new model reportedly uses the same 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor of the RX100, though there's no indication of any change to the lens. The camera is said to be scheduled for unveiling at a June 27th...

Samsung's rumored Android-based Galaxy NX mirrorless camera shown in leaked shots

2013-06-13T18:37:53Z

Samsung may be prepping a proper mirrorless camera powered by Android if newly "leaked" photos are to be believed. Having already fiddled with an Android point-and-shoot cam — and after essentially converting the Galaxy S4 into a camera in its own right — the photos at Tinhte suggest Samsung is more serious than ever about building a competitive shooter running Google's OS. The camera in question, allegedly called the Galaxy NX, is significantly larger than Samsung's existing mirrorless options like the NX100. (Think of Panasonic's Lumix GH3 Micro Four Thirds camera and you won't be far off.)

In the leaked shots, we see a trio of compatible NX lenses, and the Galaxy NX itself is said to feature a 20.3-megapixel APS-C sensor running...

Nature reserves say birdsong apps could disrupt wildlife in a major way

2013-06-12T15:23:29Z

Birdsong apps may be better suited for the rural backyard — 42 UK nature reserves run by the Dorset Wildlife Trust have begun warning visitors against their use inside of conservation areas. In a post on its website, the Trust said that it fears that animal call apps could be disrupting delicate species in a major way. Reportedly, use of such apps has become common among photographers hoping to snap a picture of hard-to-find birds. But the Trust says that doing this can disturb the birds, drawing them away from feeding their young and breeding.

The Trust isn't banning birdsong apps outright, but it has been putting up signs discouraging their use at the reserves. A spokesperson from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said...

Leica's new X Vario compact APS-C camera can't compete

2013-06-12T10:58:16Z

Leica has announced a new fixed-lens camera, the X Vario. Featuring what Leica calls an "unusually large" sensor, an 18-46mm fixed lens, and a 3-inch display, the $2,850 camera is aimed at people that want high performance in a compact body. Unfortunately, putting Leica's PR aside, the X Vario's spec sheet tells a very different story. There's nothing unusual about its sensor — it's a 16.2 megapixel APS-C, the sort of which is featured in most entry-level DSLRs— and its fixed lens is disappointingly slow, with an aperture range of f/3.5-f/6.4. The X Vario, then, appears to be a Leica X2 with a slow, variable focal length lens.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 Zoom official: 16-megapixel cameraphone with 10x optical zoom

2013-06-12T08:05:32Z

Samsung is taking the wraps off its new Galaxy S4 Zoom variant today, the latest in a series of spinoffs for its flagship handset. The phone features a 10x optical zoom lens in front of its 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, with a Xenon flash for adding some extra light to your images.

Like we'd heard last week, the newest S4 has a 4.3-inch qHD (960x540) Super Amoled display and 1.5GHz dual-core processor, runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and supports LTE. Predictably, it's big and heavy, at 208 grams and 15.4 millimeters thick — nearly double the thickness of the original Galaxy S4. It is, however, measurably slimmer than last year's Galaxy Camera, Samsung's first crack at adding an Android interface to a consumer point-and-shoot....

iOS 7's new Photos app adds filters, automatic sorting, new sharing features

2013-06-10T18:46:20Z

As part of Apple's massive iOS 7 update, the buit-in Camera and Photos apps have received huge changes. When you're shooting, you can pick a square, Instagram-style aspect ratio and add filters. Once you're done shooting, the Photos app now includes "moments," an automatic organization structure that puts the photos in your camera roll into logical events — much like the Mac version of iPhoto. As for sharing, Airdrop is built right in, and iCloud photo sharing has been improved as well. You can share your photos into other photo streams, and other people can share into your photo streams. Of course, the entire interface has been redesigned, as well, to match iOS 7's radical new visual style.

Adobe releases Lightroom 5 for $149

2013-06-10T04:01:04Z

Adobe has just released Lightroom 5, the latest version of its professional photography software for OS X and Windows. If you’ve been taking part in the Lightroom 5 beta you already have a good idea of what to expect, but just to recap, lossy DNG Smart Previews let you work on your RAW images while shedding the big disk space footprint they require, and editing features like radial gradients, a new healing brush, and automatic straightening of distorted images (a feature called Upright) are the other big headline additions this time around.

Purported Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom pictured in leaked image (update)

2013-06-07T20:42:29Z

Samsung will be unveiling some new Galaxy devices on June 20th, and now we're getting a look at one product that might be in the offing. SamMobile has posted a leaked image of what purports to be the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. It essentially looks like a pocket camera with an Android phone on the back, and according to SamMobile it will feature a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch qHD display, and 8GB of internal storage to go along with its 16-megapixel camera and optical zoom. According to the report, the Zoom will run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

A similar device, known as the SM-C101, has been spotted in several different places over the last few weeks, first in a Bluetooth SIG listing and then again at the FCC. While the model in the...

How a 'Lady in Red' became the symbol of Turkey's unrest

2013-06-07T16:50:26Z

Last week, Ceyda Sungur was an academic in Istanbul. On May 28th, she became the "Lady in Red" — an unwitting symbol of Turkey’s anti-government protests, and the disproportionate force used to quell them.

Sungur, a research assistant at Istanbul Technical University’s school of urban planning, was among the hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Istanbul’s Gezi Park last week, where environmentalists and others had been staging a peaceful protest against government plans to convert the area into a shopping center.

By the time Sungur arrived at the park last Tuesday, the scene had devolved into violence, with police attempting to disperse protesters with tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons. The clashes at Gezi Park have...