camera

Camera 360 1.0.1 Review

If your smartphone has become your point-and-shoot camera, you're probably missing some of your go-to shooting modes. Camera 360 will help bring them back and add some cool effects, too. It's a big shift from what you're used to in Android's default camera, but it's a switch worth making.

This app does away with the translucent viewfinder tools you'll find in most camera apps. That means there's not as much room for you to actually frame your shot, sadly. It's even worse when you factor in the ad that the app floods … Read more

Vintage Camera 1.04 Review

There are thousands of camera applications available in the Play store that offer legitimate alternatives to the stock camera application. Vintage Camera, however, is not one of them. It proved easy to use, but produces low-quality images and has limited features. Most users may find this application amusing at first but this isn't really an app with staying power.

The installation runs easily and the overall operation of the application is intuitive. While the user interface is simple, it lacks many features. The main screen consists of a viewfinder and a scrolling menu for the various effects. Eight different … Read more

High-speed cam catches cool 3D shots of snowflakes

Now that winter has passed, those of us who live in cold climes can once again appreciate the beauty of snowflakes without feeling the urge to curse them for making us dig out the shovel. And if ever snowflakes looked lovely, it's in these images shot by a high-speed camera system developed specifically to photograph them in 3D as they fell.

"Until our device, there was no good instrument for automatically photographing the shapes and sizes of snowflakes in free fall," says Tim Garrett, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah and one of the developers of the cam known as MASC, or Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera. "We are photographing these snowflakes completely untouched by any device, as they exist naturally in the air."

MASC -- under development for three years -- takes 9- to 37-micron-resolution stereographic photographs of snowflakes from three angles while simultaneously measuring the speed of their fall, a highly influential factor in the location and lifetime of a storm. … Read more

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Turn off the screens at our concerts

Go to any live concert these days and you'll see many audience members watching the performance through a small screen instead of their own eyes.

In response to this epidemic of diverted attention, indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently put the proverbial foot down on concertgoers with a sign that instructs those with a smartphone, tablet, and/or camera to "Put that s*** away."… Read more

Hands on: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6

Editors' note: The GF6 has not yet been announced in the U.S. This hands-on preview is courtesy of our sister site CNET Asia. The camera was subsequently announced in the US at a price of $599.99 for the 14-42mm standard zoom kit, and is expected to ship in June.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6 comes as an update to the DMC-GF5. The new camera features a chunkier build and a sleek metallic design. With this iteration, Panasonic has added a few notable improvements such as wireless connectivity, a 180-degree tilting screen and a mode dial. This 16-megapixel interchangeable lens … Read more

Use either volume button as a shutter release on BlackBerry 10

One of the smaller features I have appreciated in the iPhone's camera app has been the volume up key acting as a shutter release. Instead of tapping on a digital button, pressing the volume up key will snap a pic.

When I first launched the Camera app on the BlackBerry Z10, I instinctively pressed the volume up button and to my surprise it snapped a pic. The normal method for taking a picture on BlackBerry 10 requires you to tap anywhere on the screen. But with either volume key acting as a shutter release, you can avoid tapping on … Read more

The weird things you find in a Japanese electronics shop

TOKYO--Yodobashi Camera is a massive electronics complex in Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku district. You walk through the neon-lined entrance into a maze of computer, smartphone, TV, and other displays. It's designed to overwhelm.

The plastic shines under the glare of fluorescent lights. Add to that fumes from the bus depot outside, yelling salesmen, and a looped company jingle on the PA system based on "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

It's a sensory assault. … Read more

Rhino Battery Holster keeps your batteries close

You know what they say... keep your friends close, and your batteries closer.

A Washington-based accessory maker has just created a Kickstarter project for its latest product, the Rhino Battery Holster. As the name suggests, the contraption allows you to holster your camera battery like a gunslinger in an old Western.

Capable of holding two Canon 2 LP-E6 juice packs, the battery holster has an integrated belt clip that lets you attach the holster to your belt, camera strap, or camera carrier. Alternately, there are brass inserts at the rear of the belt clip that let you secure the holster to anything using a carabiner. … Read more

Pocket Filmmaker: Lenses that turn your phone into a pocket camera

Welcome to CNET Australia's guide to pocket filmmaking. The Pocket Filmmaker will show you how to turn the smartphone in your pocket into a camera capable of shooting video projects that are worthy of sharing with family and friends, online, and even with the judges of some of Australia's biggest short-film festivals.

Your host on this creative journey is Jason Van Genderen, winner of several short filmmaking awards, including at Tropfest NY, Tropfest Sydney, Aspen Shortsfest, and even an IF Award. Jason's projects have been shot on the Nokia N95, Nokia N8, and Apple's iPhone. He … Read more