Cameras

Phase One said today it's updating high-end medium-format camera line with three new Wi-Fi-equipped digital backs -- including one model that shoots only black-and-white images.

The $43,990 IQ280 keeps the same 80-megapixel sensor of its predecessor, the Phase One IQ180, but it's got a better 13-stop dynamic range -- a measurement of image's span from bright to dark. That's up from 12.5 stops on the IQ180.

Phase One announced the cameras today along with the IQ260, which has a new 60-megapixel sensor, and the IQ 260 Achromatic, a black-and-white variation. The three new digital … Read more

Editors' note, February 28, 2013: This is an expanded version of my First Take of February 25, 2013, based on a brief experience shooting with the camera.

As sad as it sounds, the most notable thing about Sony's new Alpha NEX-3N is the price: list of $500 for the kit with a power zoom lens. That's about $100 less than the list price of the camera it's replacing, the NEX-F3, and while it's not as low as I'd like for a model designed to appeal to potential point-and-shoot upgraders, it's certainly a step in … Read more

That was the response I got when I relayed my experience with the Will.i.am foto.sosho V.4 iPhone camera case at CES to a friend in the camera industry. Ridiculous name (and equally ridiculous price) aside, it is basically a showcase for how much you can do with a smartphone camera and how little a basic point-and-shoot offers.

With the V.4, you get a shutter release, built-in flash, and a lens mount for three interchangeable lenses. There's also a sliding QWERTY keyboard built in, so you can shoot and … Read more

Who says you need specialized microscopy equipment to capture extreme closeups of snowflakes?

Using a cheap setup consisting of a Canon PowerShot A650 IS compact camera and an old manual lens, Russian-based photographer Alexey Kljatov has managed to capture the intricate details of snowflakes right down to their crystalline forms. … Read more

As sad as it sounds, the most notable thing about Sony's new Alpha NEX-3N is the price: list of $500 for the kit with a power zoom lens. That's about $100 less than the list price of the camera it's replacing, the NEX-F3, and while it's not as low as I'd like for a model designed to appeal to potential point-and-shoot upgraders, it's certainly a step in the right direction in a generally overpriced field. And hopefully it means the street price will hit $399, which is the most a lot of snapshot-camera upgraders … Read more

If you like big specs and little bodies, Sony's got some cameras to sell you.

The Cyber-shot HX300 features a 50x f2.8-6.3 24-1200mm lens and a 1/2.3-inch 20-megapixel Exmor R backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. The zoom range is the same as those found on the Canon SX50 HS and Fujifilm SL1000, but its apertures are wider at both ends (though just marginally compared with the SL1000).

The new lens also features improved autofocus for better performance in telephoto (which should give it an advantage over Canon and Nikon megazooms) and enhanced optical image stabilization made possible … Read more

With the new Sony Alpha SLT-A58, Sony consolidates its entry-level dSLR models into one camera that sounds like a mixed bag for the money; debuting at the same list price as the higher-end A57, it actually seems to take a couple steps back from that model in what it delivers, even compared with the cheaper A37, which it also replaces.

On the upside, the A58 incorporates a new sensor and updated image processor with area-specific noise reduction, and which Sony says delivers better dynamic range, which in theory should deliver better image quality. It also introduces an expanded implementation of … Read more

How well do you know the landmarks of London? Get up close and personal with a stunning 320-gigapixel image of the city captured atop the BT Tower.

Snapped by panorama experts 360Cities, the epic photography endeavor required the use of four Canon 7D dSLR cameras outfitted with some heavy-duty equipment.

Each camera used an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, Extender EF 2x III teleconverter, and a Rodeon VR Head ST robotic panorama head. After shooting 48,640 individual pictures over the course of three days (shortly after the 2012 Olympics), 360Cities spent the next several months assembling and stitching together the final gargantuan image.… Read more

Researchers from the Institute of Computer Graphics at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, have developed a way to capture images on a flexible sheet of plastic. Unlike traditional image sensors that use circuits and other internal structures to develop an image, this new solution is fully transparent.

This is no ordinary sheet of plastic though. The sensor is a polymer film (luminescent concentrator) containing a multitude of fluorescent particles that absorb a specific wavelength of light. It then transmits this light at a longer wavelength to optical sensors at the side of the sheet, which captures it all, reconstructing … Read more