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Cameras and Photography

Digital cameras changed photography, and now smartphones are changing digital cameras. There’s never been more interesting ways to take a picture or record a video, and there’s also never been more ways to view those images. We’re focused on finding the most interesting innovations happening in all parts of photography.

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The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a photography nerd’s dream

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s formidable phone camera is made even better with an upgraded grip and photo accessory kit.

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“The most capable and versatile smartphone camera around” is only available in China.

Verge alum Sam Byford did a deep dive on Oppo’s new Find X7 Ultra for his Multicore newsletter. It’s a great read for photography nerds like me.

This is the first phone to ship with two periscope cameras. It’s stacked with today’s best sensors. And there’s a neat Master mode that makes the Find X7 Ultra’s images feel less computational and more genuine.

If only a gadget like this could be easily obtained in the US...


So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

Last week Fujifilm released a limited edition of its popular X100VI camera. But Fujirumors.com cites scalpers who say they snagged 92 percent of the cameras, which only included 300 in the US.

But not all hope is lost! Fujifilm announced on Instagram that it intercepted "a large number of suspicious orders" and canceled them, so Fuji fans will get one more chance to get their hands on the LE X100VI via a raffle. More details to come soon.


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“Photography itself is not really real.”

That’s according to portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, who offered her hot take in the “what is a photo” debate on Wednesday while discussing how generative AI may impact the industry.

“That doesn’t worry me at all,” she told AFP, likening AI image generation to Photoshop. “With each technological progress, there are hesitations and concerns. You just have to take the plunge and learn how to use it.”


Logitech’s new Mevo Core camera is designed to make on-location live streaming way simpler.

I feel like the whole ethos of Logitech hardware boils down to “here is an reliable and easy option.” The company’s new Mevo Core 4K live streaming video camera is yet another example.

Designed for wireless on-location streaming wherever your content creation ambitions take you, it’s got a Micro Four Thirds sensor inside, supports interchangeable lenses, and you can control several Mevos with your phone for a multi-angle production. The price? $999 for the camera body only.

Logitech acquired Mevo back in 2021.


An image of Logitech’s Mevo Core camera in the foreground with a rock band playing in the background.
Image: Logitech
Good luck getting one of Fujifilm’s limited-edition X100VI units.

From March 21st to March 23rd, 100 cameras will be sold daily on a first come, first served basis for $1,999. ($400 more than the regular X100VI).

It’s already plenty hard to buy the “regular” X100VI — it’ll be even harder when there’s only 300 of them.


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You’ve heard of “what is a photo?” Now it’s time for “what is a selfie?”

The question is being raised by a new exhibition called “Art of the Selfie” at the National Museum Cardiff. It will display, among other works, Vincent van Gogh’s famous “Portrait of the Artist” as a way of asking the question “is a self-portrait the original selfie?” Maybe it’s time for a new t-shirt.


The Xiaomi 14 Ultra photography kit is a beaut.

I’m busy testing the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s camera but please take a minute to appreciate this gorgeous photography accessory kit. It updates last year’s version with a beefier battery that can power the phone. Just feast your eyes on that gorgeous two-stage shutter button!

One thing I’m noticing so far? It’s heavier than the previous version. That’s not so hot.


Xiaomi 14 Ultra with photography kit.

1/5

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
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Who among us can’t relate to being in “cloud storage hell”?

Charlie Warzel has written a piece at The Atlantic that will likely resonate with many of you. He’s got years worth of photos and videos spread between Apple’s iCloud Photo Library and Google Photos and now feels indefinitely beholden to these services as a result.

In my case, you can add Lightroom to the mix. What’s the endgame in these situations? Do we just keep paying a handful of companies forever? I don’t have a great answer.


Leica’s $6,995 camera is doing the most.

Becca Farsace explains how 8K video, impressive heft, and an HDMI port are just a few of the notable features of the new SL3.


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Did today’s update improve your Samsung Galaxy S24’s camera?

Inquiring minds would like to know. Officially, there’s a new “vividness” option, and “image quality and sharpness optimization code has been applied” as well.

Unofficially, SamMobile says it “improves text clarity while using high zoom ranges,” improves “the exposure of dark parts of a scene while capturing images indoors,” helps with backlit photos, improves colors and exposure in various photo modes, and more.


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People have very strong opinions about Fujfilm’s latest camera.

The Fujifilm X100VI is here, and as our own comment section and any number of Reddit threads can demonstrate, there are a lot of takes on this camera. Is it overhyped or a worthy upgrade? Are those film simulations good enough to choose Fujifilm over competing cameras from Sony or Nikon?

Here’s Becca’s quick rundown on what’s new with the X100VI, and stay tuned for our full review in the coming weeks.


Jay-Z, Instagram Dad.

Some things are universal.


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GoPro is working on a ‘tech-enabled’ helmet.

ICYMI, in January 2024, GoPro announced plans to acquire Forcite — an Australian company that makes tech-enabled motorcycle helmets. Those helmets include features like communications, digital imaging, navigation, and safety alerts.

GoPro is aiming to close the acquisition by the end of this quarter and is expected to launch its first smart helmet in 2025, said Christopher Clark, GoPro’s VP of corporate communications, during a Q4 earnings call.


GoPro will launch new cameras starting at $199 this year.

GoPro will launch multiple cameras this year, the company announced during its Q4 earning call. The new cameras will start at $199 and go all the way up to $599. It’s possible the $599 camera could be the new GoPro Max, which founder and CEO Nick Woodman confirmed the company was working on last year.


GoPro launches Premium Plus subscription and a desktop version of its mobile app.

After announcing it late last year, GoPro launched the $99.99 Premium Plus subscription ahead of its Q4 earnings call today. For twice as much as the original GoPro Subscription (now called GoPro Premium) it offers additional benefits like 500GB of cloud storage for any camera and built-in Hypersmooth Pro stabilization.

GoPro also launched a macOS version of its mobile app, Quik, that’s free to subscribers on all tiers. It’ll be available for Windows as well later this year.


Desktop version of Quik app
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The real photo was the friends we made along the way.

I joined my pals Chris Niccolls, Jordan Drake, and Jaron Schneider on this week’s PetaPixel Podcast to talk about some of our favorite subjects: computational photography, Sony camera menu systems, and whether or not photos are real. Check it out for a delightful chat with some of the very best photography nerds I know.


Halide sums up the stereoscopic photography of the Vision Pro.

Portrait mode images aren’t 3D — iPhones use depth mapping to determine where everything is in space, then they use machine learning to apply simulated bokeh (that is, the blur that optical lenses give you when focusing on a subject).

iPhone camera app maker Halide explains how the Vision Pro’s “spatial” photos, which use the Vision Pro’s “stereoscopic 3D camera system,” aren’t that.


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PSA: Wear fake fingers to make real photos look AI generated.

The following is a dramatic retelling:

Prosecutor: That’s you in this surveillance image, correct?

Ne’er-do-well: That’s a deepfake, count the digits.

Judge: Case dismissed.


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The 1,000-year photo.

The aptly named “Millennium Camera” is a functional art piece that intends to capture how the landscape in Tuscon, Arizona changes over the next 1,000 years via an extremely long-exposure image.

The experimental pinhole camera set up by University of Arizona research associate Jonathan Keats aims to encourage people to imagine what the future will hold.

Keats says:

“Most people have a pretty bleak outlook on what lies ahead. It’s easy to imagine that people in 1,000 years could see a version of Tucson that is far worse than what we see today, but the fact that we can imagine it is not a bad thing. It’s actually a good thing, because if we can imagine that, then we can also imagine what else might happen, and therefore it might motivate us to take action to shape our future.”


A photograph of the Millennium Camera, peering across the desert landscape toward the Star Pass neighborhood West of Tumamoc Hill in Tucson, Arizona.
A snapshot for the long-distant future — the Millennium Camera will capture an image of the Tuscon landscape for ten centuries.
Image: Chris Richards / University of Arizona College of Fine Arts.
This 1912 photo of a woman charging an electric car is top of Hacker News.

If I’m not mistaken, the car is a Columbia Electric Victoria Phaeton — where “Victoria Phaeton” refers to the entire body design. Originally it was used for horse-drawn carriages, before early electric car makers like Fritchle, Columbia, and Baker adopted it too.

According to a charming old Columbia brochure (pdf), it might have had a couple dozen battery cells powering it to a top speed of 15 miles per hour, atop 30-inch wheels fitted with 3-inch tires. The Drive took a 113-year-old model for a spin in 2021!


The photo was reportedly part of a marketing campaign by General Electric, which made the charging station in the photo.
The photo was reportedly part of a marketing campaign by General Electric, which made the charging station in the photo.
Photo: miSci - Museum of Innovation and Science
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Check out these stunning drone shots of Iceland's latest eruption.

The volcano in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupted on Monday following weeks of intense earthquakes, forming an almost 2.5-mile lava-spewing fissure.

Tourists have been asked to avoid the area — these videos taken on a DJI Mavic 3 Pro are a much safer way to enjoy the sights instead. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal hot spot (sorry) was closed last month and the local town of Grindavik has been evacuated.