First Mirrorless, Now Lensless?

As I said above, Bell labs has created a new camera that does not use a lens. The camera that Bell Labs has created is a single pixel camera that only uses a series of transparent openings to capture light – no glass needed. This camera is based off of technology called compressive sensing which is still a developing technology.

The basic premise is that instead of capturing a full image and then compressing that image down when it’s done this camera starts from nothing and captures only what it needs to get the desired image. A nice side effect of this way to capture images is that it is much faster than traditional image sensor technology.

Sadly the technology is not yet ready to be utilized in full blown cameras, but the basis of the concept is being played out in this new camera designed by Bell Labs. The sample above is described as being created utilizing only %25 or so of the cameras imaging capabilities. So while it looks like crap, it is because this shot was not taken at full capacity. (Ive tried to finds a full capacity shot, but to no avail).

What do you think? Do you feel like this technology has a place in the future of photography or is this just a gimmick that will never make it into a full blown camera?

[via The Verge]

The post Bell Labs creates new Lensless Camera; is this the future of photography? appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.

Free live streaming by Ustream

In a world of either 100% natural light wedding & portrait photographers, or increasingly expensive lighting setups that are intimidating to master, Scott Robert Lim championed the use of small, simple, affordable strobe flashes for creating incredibly stunning portraits in dramatic locations.  Scott has taught workshops all around the world in beautiful places such as Paris France, Venice Italy, and Seville Spain.  The philosophy behind his style of photography has always been: the more you understand and master about lighting in general, the more you can accomplish with less equipment in less time.

Scott Robert works to make even the most advanced lighting setups appear to be simple and straightforward to even a beginner who has little or no experience with wireless flash.

For anyone who has ever attended a Scott Robert workshop, you will also know Scott’s motto and reason behind mastering and using such advanced lighting in creating a portrait:  With the ever-increasing number of aspiring professional photographers out there, our images need to stand out from the crowd.  If we use the same tools and techniques (natural light) that everybody else out there is using, it will become increasingly difficult for our work to stand out.  However if we use tools that very few others understand, we have a great advantage compared to them.  Of course there is nothing wrong with natural light as a style or tool, however you should never let yourself be held back by a lack or fear of technical knowledge, especially as natural light fades away after dark!  ;-)

(Seville, Spain 2008 – photo by Matthew Saville, taken at a Scott Robert international workshop)

Scott’s live broadcast will be continuing between 9 AM and 4 PM each day from today to Wednesday, May 15th.  To view Creative Live’s upcoming calendar, click here: www.creativelive.com/calendar

The post Scott Robert Lim Now on Creative Live – May 13-15th appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.

Click HERE to read DXOMark’s introduction to the full set of articles.

The results are pretty interesting, and as usual for DXOMark, not always in keeping with the general consensus of other reviews on the internet.

For example in the 50mm section of the standard range lens article, we already knew that the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX HSM was just as sharp or sharper than any other 50mm lens available on Nikon’s F-mount.  DXOMark ranks it as an equal match to the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AFS-G. (Side note:  The $196 Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AFS-G ranks within one point of the topmost lenses, including a Zeiss!)

However in the ultra-wide prime section of the wide angle article, nobody expected the $630 Sigma 20mm f/1.8 to rank so highly, in fact it ranks above the legendary (and $1840!) Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon!  This is definitely an eyebrow-raising statement for DXOMark to make, and I’m not sure what to make of it…

Another important note is in the ultra-wide zoom section of the same wide angle article.  While I have personally tested and will agree that the Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 is one of the sharpest ultra-wide lenses I have ever used, it is unfortunate that DXOMark simply has not reviewed the (once again, legendary and more than 2X the price!) Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 AFS-G yet.  In my opinion, this renders the whole article just slightly incomplete.  Wouldn’t YOU like to know how a $2,000 lens compares with a $750 lens, if their sharpness could be anything from nearly identical to night-and-day opposite?

Speaking of lenses that aren’t reviewed by DXOMark yet, in the telephoto category (Click HERE to skip to that article) …you’ll notice that while I won’t dispute that the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 VR is probably the sharpest 70-200mm lens ever made for Nikon, (and possibly the sharpest 70-200mm, EVER) …there is unfortunately no ranking for the nearly $1,000 more expensive Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR mk2.  So the question remains-  how much different might these lenses be, and is the f/4 lens a better choice for anyone who doesn’t absolutely need f/2.8?

By the way, we have a review forthcoming for the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 here at SLR Lounge, and it is definitely a killer lens!

So there you have it, folks.  Lots of information, and grains of salt required.  Personally, I’m a huge camera nerd so I love to read testing data such as this. However I also constantly remind myself to stay rooted in reality.  Having the sharpest lens could NEVER automatically mean that I have the best pictures.  In fact to be honest, sharpness and all these rankings and stuff is just a fun, geeky thing for me to study in my spare time.  When it comes down to it and I’m on-location, I use whatever lens I happen to have, and I really don’t care what the corners look like.  I just focus on my vision, and get the job done.

An aspiring photographer would do well to keep these things in mind.  Treat this pursuit of “the ultimate lenses” as some sort of geeky side-project, and always let your primary focus remain on the actual content of your images themselves.  The light, the composition, the pose, …all of these things matter infinitely more than megapixels or MTF charts.

;-)

Nikon D7100, Sigma 8-16mm
1.0 sec. @ f/4.5 & ISO 100
(Click HERE to read our field test of the Nikon D7100!)

Take care,
=Matthew Saville=

The post DXOMark Collects The Best Lenses For The Nikon D800 appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.

I understand that Night photography is ‘better’ on full frame bodies, but I still would have liked to see a few crop sensor bodies thrown up on here for perspectives sake. I mean sure I have seen how well these full frame bodies perform, but I would love to actually see that compared to my D7000 for example. It’s one thing to know a full frame body performs better, it’s another thing to see it in action and know for sure how much better of a final image you are getting.

The D600 is probably going to be my next upgrade, assuming I can ever save enough money before a replacement is announced, so I was particularly interested in how it performed when compared to its bigger and more expensive brothers. I found the results to be quite pleasing, and really makes me happy with my decision to get the D600 as my next body.

[Checkout the latest prices, or get your own D600 from Amazon, Adorama, or B&H]

Don’t take my word for it though, head over the Borrow Lenses blog and checkout the testing and results for yourself.

The post Best Nikon Bodies for Night Photography appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.

Each of these cameras incorporate photography in small, playful, and easy-to-use packages. Not only are your tools going to be unique, but they will spark some creative, childlike wonder in your approach to photographic art. But remember these cameras are not all child’s play – some incorporate well thought out design and esthetics with stunning results.

Plastic, paper, and cardboard – oh my!

Oh, and Japan – thank you for the donut camera – my life will never be the same!

The Rubikon 2

The Rubikon 2 is a paper pinhole camera designed by Jaroslav Juřica and licensed through Creative Commons for personal use (free as long as you attribute).

The Craft Camera

The Craft Camera is a simplified DIY digital camera made of cardboard developed by Coralie Gourguechon. That’s right, cardboard. The electronic system is ran by Arduino, and considered Open Source. Take that planned obsolescence.

The Nanoblock Camera

Photography meets recess time with this play on lego-style awesomeness. Only 2 ½ inches, this little guy packs a lot of fun into a small package. The Nanoblock Camera may actually fit better in your pocket than your smartphone.

The Donut Camera

With the Instagram/iPhone style square images, the Donut Camera makes morning pastries that must sweeter. And honestly, you get to play with your food – how awesome is that?

Modified Wet-Plate Holga

Now this one is my personal favorite. In the video tutorial, Ian explains how he transformed a plastic Holga camera to expose a wet plate image. Gorgeous results with very little expense on the camera body. The best of our Toy/DIY world.

Thanks to our friends at DIY Photography, PetaPixel, Photojojo, and Ian Ruhter for all the inspiration. Playtime has taken on a new meaning.

Until Next Time . . .

Stay Inspired ~ Jules

The post Top 5 Playful DIY and Toy Cameras appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.