73507329
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
4K videos and movies are still far from common and now 8K seems to start making its appearance online. A few days ago, what might be the first 8K video entitled "Ghost Towns" was published on Youtube and you can now watch it for yourself in its full 7680 × 4320 pixel glory — that is if you happen to have access to a 8K display (or projector).
The video was created by cinematographer Luke Neumann who used a 6K EPIC DRAGON camera using some advanced and complex techniques such as shooting in portrait orientation and then stitched the video together in Adobe After Effects. Some shots simply scaled up by 125% from 6.1K to meet the 7.6K standard and handheld stuff was 6K scaled up by 125% and sharpened up.
Youtube is now offering an 8K option and according to Google: "8K video has been supported since 2010, but that labeling for 8K video (the 4320p/8K quality setting like pictured above) was added “earlier this year — but presumably there was noting to view — until now...
73212821
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
In order to create the largest panoramic picture ever taken (using commercially available gear), a team of international photographers led by Italian photographer Filippo Blengini had to climb to an altitude of 3500 metres wait for two weeks in a temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius and look for a sunny bright day and than spend 35 hours shooting. During this time they shot over 70,000 images which were combined in to the giant 365 Gigapxiel panorama using a special robotic head with a long 400mm telephoto lens (and a 2x Extender).
But the work didn't end up in the snowy Alps — when the team got back they had with them no less than 46TB of images which they needed to process in order to create one giant interactive image 365 Gigapixels in size (1 Gigapixel is equal to 1000 MegaPixels). This processing required some very powerful hardware and took over two months to complete, but the result is a look at the Mont Blanc (the tallest mountain in the Alps and the highest peak in Europe outside of the Caucasus range raising 4,810 meters or 15,781 feet above sea level) — like it has never been seen before.
70023735
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
2013 was the worst year for the photography industry in decades — but what happened in 2014 and will the upcoming blitz of cameras (including the super resolution Canon 5D S with 50MP sensor to be announced tomorrow) change everything in 2015?
The official numbers published by CIPA (the Camera & Imaging Products Association) are out and they tell a story of a struggling photography industry trying to stay afloat in a sea of smartphones. Will it survive? This is the big question all of the photography manufacturers are facing over the past two years, and eventually what does it all mean for us as consumers?
67299889
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Until 20 years ago even the best telescopes in the world could not detect a planet outside our solar system. Now, with the aid of a basic DSLR, low cost lens and some DIY magic, you just might be able to "see" ET's home planet for yourself.
Your DSLR can do much more than just take a few nice portraits or the occasional vacation photos – if you have some DIY experience (O.K. a bit more than just "some"), you might be able to repeat what David Schneider was recently been able to do — that is, building his own planet finder using only inexpensive photo gear, low cost electronics, the right kind of software and a lot of patience.
Although Schneider was "only" able to rediscover an already known exsoplanet (some 63 light-years away from us), what he did — and more importantly how he did it — might allow planet hunting to become closer to SETI@home than NASA's 550,000 million dollar Kepler space telescope project.
63396849
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
A group of students from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley developed a free software which uses regular 2D images and combines them with free 3D models of objects to create unbelievable video results.
The group of 4 students created a free downloadable software (currently for mac OS-X only) that allows users to perform 3D manipulations, such as rotations, translations, scaling, deformation, and 3D copy-paste, to objects in photographs. However unlike many 3D object manipulation software, the team’s approach seamlessly reveals hidden parts of objects in photographs, and produces plausible shadows and shading. This is done by using 3D models (which can be obtained freely online from many repositories).
62242141
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Israeli scientists from the Tel Aviv University perfected a method for using cell phone service towers microwave emitters to measure rain, snow and even (for the first time ) detect fog with great accuracy over vast areas in real time.
The research team members have analyzed endless amounts of raw cellular data and developed more accurate ways to measure meteorological information and added more parameters that they can now measure using their growing database. When combined with existing meteorological monitoring technologies such as radars and local ground based weather stations, the results show unprecedented level of accuracy that can give better and further weather forecast as well as special warnings about upcoming floods, fog and hail which can affect both people and crop production.
61682861
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Connected devices are becoming ubiquitous — a number of new companies are now offering WIFI and BT enabled devices that can let you control almost all aspects of your garden from your smartphone or tablet, save you money on water and allow you to monitor your plants health from a distance.
In the past few months we are seeing an expulsion of new companies and products belonging to the "Internet Of Things" (IOT) and this trend isn't skipping the garden. For years irrigation controllers were amongst the most hated non intuitive devices around but a new generation of small start-up companies such as Rachio, GreenIQ and GreenBox are looking to change that and create a completely new was of interaction with our garden which will be more wireless and more connected (with lots of smart sensors that will tell us what is going on with our plants before its too late).
60419953
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Forget about 4K displays, are Ultra Widescreen “cinematic” displays the real deal? earlier this year LG announced its new 34UM95 – a 34 inch Ultra Widescreen monitor with a “cinematic” 21:9 aspect ratio and a generous 3440 x1440 resolution — a recent hands on review suggest that this monitor might be the new productivity king, for those who simply can't stand that annoying bezel between their multiple monitors.
linus sebastian had a chance to play with the new LG 34UM95, and although he seem to start as a skeptic (after all how really useful can a 21:9 display be right?) he ended up his review fully converted with no going back. We still think that pro graphic users will not rush to switch over their EIZOs and NECs for this baby, but video editors, gamers, programers and basically anybody who loves multitasking, might be very tempted — what do you think?
59668371
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Photographer and videographer Alec Weinstein was in the market for a new smartphone. He realized that the new Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Note 3 both have 4K video recording capabilities and decided to compare those to his 1080p 5D MKIII pro DSLR camera – the results are extremely interesting — Can you tell the difference between a the of Canon 5D MKIII shooting 1080p video and a the Samsung Galaxy Note III smartphone shooting 4K video?
59177893
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Earlier today Lytro introduced a new light-field camera called Illum. This is the second camera with this innovative technology from the California based company founded in 2006. The new camera is a more advanced version of the first camera introduced in 2012. It has a much larger sensor with 4 times the resolution (Lytro still uses the term megarays instead of megapixels), a much larger and longer zoom lens with an impressive f/2 constant aperture and of course the ability to refocus after you take a picture (the new Illum can refocus on many more points in the image compared to the older version). You will also have more control of the camera, larger screen, and the ability to create regular JPEG images or videos made from the refocused images you capture.
51490927
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
If you love to go on camping trips and want to charge your mobile phone, tablet or even camera there is a new solution on the way which can do that anywhere day or night and all you need to do is light a little fire and have a few drops of water. The FlameStower efficiently captures excess heat from a gas burner or campfire to charge almost any USB-powered device: cell phones, GPS units and even cameras by using the thermal deferential between the fire and water and the whole thing is already collecting money on Kickstarter (and if you are really handy you can even make a DIY version yourself).
47447795
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Videographer Tom Antos developed an advanced DIY camera stabilizer which can hold almost any DSLR or mirrorless camera steady for video photography. Although this surly isn’t as sophisticated (and super expensive) as the professional MVI M10 handheld 3-axis digital stabilized camera gimbal, its still quite impressive especially when you consider it only cost a few hundred dollars rather then tens of thousands — that is if you feel like building it yourself.
46950721
submission
Iddo Genuth writes:
Think of a world where you could simply download the blueprints of your future home for free just like you download any open source software today. A team of British architects developed just that and they are hoping their project called WikiHouse will radically change the way we think about building homes.
