Camera
Lytro Immerge
- Briefly about the model: potentially the most powerful camera for shooting a VR-video
- The sales start: 2016
- Competitors: Google Jump
- Price: unknown
The company Lytro, known for cameras with the function of focusing after shooting, is working on a device called Immerge. It will allow you to take panoramic video with infinite depth of field. The image result will be a 360-degree picture, inside which you can easily and quickly be changed in the point of view. As in the three-dimensional game with very realistic graphics.
Lytro Immerge
Lytro Immerge
Sounds like science fiction, but in the footage you can literally go, as in the real world. The virtual reality helmets already have this capability (refer, for example HTC Vive), but everything was made with the help of computer graphics.
Price and exact release date is not yet known, but we know that Lytro Immerge will be supplied with a powerful software package for processing the footage and viewing on all platforms virtual reality. Sales will be launched at the beginning of next year, but obviously it’s not a consumer device, so the cost will be appropriate.
Sony Alpha a68
- Briefly about the model: the only Sony camera with a-mount lenses this year
- The sales start: March 2016
- Competitors: Nikon D5500, Canon EOS 750D
- Price: € 600 (body) and 700 Euro (kit 18-55mm)
It seemed that Sony completely switched to the development of mirrorless E-mount cameras in 2015, and Alpha cameras with translucent mirror can be buried. However, it is not so: in November the company announced a new Alpha a68, which will compete with the budget Nikon and Canon DSLRs.
The camera uses an APS-C CMOS sensor resolution of 24 megapixels and boasts the most advanced AF system in the classroom. Hybrid phase-contrast technology is called 4D and includes 79 Focus points, 15 of them cross type. A translucent mirror allows the focusing system to operate in a tracking mode to keep focus even fast moving objects.
The sensitivity of the sensor is adjusted in the range from 100 to 25600 units. In addition, the camera is equipped with SteadyShot stabilizer that works with any lens, a 2.7-inch display oblique and electronic OLED viewfinder with one hundred percent coverage of the field frame. In General, this is a very interesting offer for your money. However, before the appearance of the a68 on sale are still several months, during this time competitors may take advantage of the opportunity and update their lineups similar models.
Leica M (Typ 262)
- Briefly about the model: the most affordable digital Leica M series
- The sales start: already on sale
- Competitors: there are no
- Price: 5195 $
Without fanfare, Leica has released a new budget – if that word is appropriate – the M-series. In fact this is a simplified version of the Leica M (Typ 240), but the novelty does not support video recording and shooting in LiveView, and offers a true analog methods. The main menu is spared from all the excess and fit just two pages, and in the viewfinder shows nothing extra.
The camera uses full-frame CMOS sensor resolution of 24 megapixels and a maximum sensitivity of 6400 units. Autofocus is only possible in manual mode with a sight on a rangefinder viewfinder. The design of the case is as close to a Leica M9, a flagship dalemark the company. However, it is 100 grams lighter due to the use of aluminum in construction.
The camera is already on sale, it is cheaper in the USA – 5195 dollars, and in Europe is available at a price of 5,500 euros. By the way, there is a high probability that this is not the last announcement of the Leica in the past year. In the Network published the rumors that the company is working to secure an underwater camera X-U (Typ 113), which will be adjusted for shooting at depths of up to 15 meters.
Software and accessories
Update firmware Sony Alpha A7 II
Sony has updated the firmware for the model A7 II, and this event could hardly have got our attention, if not one important detail: along with the new firmware the camera has the ability to shoot in 14-bit RAW without compression.
Sony A7 II
In addition, the update adds a feature phase when using autofocus lenses for mount And using an adapter. First focusing was carried out either in contrast or in manual mode (on some models lenses). To download new firmware from the support section of the official website of Sony.
MPL Macro for iPhone
Due to the use of wide-angle optics, built-in cameras in smartphones not too suitable for shooting close UPS and macro. Thomas Larsson, a young inventor from Washington, has successfully raised funds on Kickstarter for the most compact macro lens for iPhone.
MPL Macro with a 4x magnification and 8x
The accessory is available in two versions: with four – and eightfold increase. But the main thing – it requires no tricky fastenings. The lens rests on the protruding camera module iPhone 6/6s due to the forces of van der Waals forces (intermolecular forces; thanks to them, the geckos can climb on glass) . And here are some examples of what you can shoot using MPL.
The fundraising on Kickstarter ended successfully, and after satisfaction of initial demand, the author of the project promises to begin sales in classic mode. For pre-orders of lenses were available for the price of 12 dollars each (or $21 per set of two pieces).
Aurora HDR
HDR is available in auto mode on many cameras and even smartphones, but for serious work with high dynamic range still require specialized software. Adobe Photoshop is too expensive for such a narrow task. In November he released a new tool called Aurora HDR. The app is available in the Mac App Store at a price of $39,99.
The Aurora interface HDR
Aurora HDR supports all popular RAW formats (including proprietary NEF, CR2, RAF, ARW, RW2, and so on), allows you to work in 8-in 12-bit mode and contains about 70 different settings for the render, sharpen, contrast.
You can even work with layers and different blending modes, as well as full compatibility with Retina displays, MacBook and iMac. Windows version is not yet available.
DJI drones will automatically avoid enclosed areas
As the popularity of Amateur drones and multicopter, new rules and prohibitions. The most pressing issue – the flights over sensitive facilities, government buildings and civilian airports. Under fire are often the manufacturers themselves. The company DJI has decided to take matters into their own hands and create the GEO (Geospatial Environment Online) that prevents entry of its drones into the forbidden zone.
DJI Phantom 3
The DJI app will “talk” with one base exclusion zones quickly and to warn users about the inadmissibility of flights. However, only one warning is not limited, in most cases, the drone simply will not fly beyond certain bounds. Peeping the neighbors and flights over private property has happened before, but to take decisive action DJI moved after the fall of the drone near the White house in Washington.
The reaction to this announcement was very mixed. The authorities silently nodded, while journalists and bloggers lamented the fact that GEO actually will put an end to investigative journalism and the detection of crimes by those in power. Restrictions will appear after a firmware upgrade drones and apps for smartphones that will be released before the end of December in Europe and USA. The launch of GEO in other regions and issue the appropriate updates to take place next year, then the database in restricted areas will be the same for all countries.