CoolPhotoIdeas

Information about Photography: Ideas, gifts, prints and novelties!

Moleskine introduces classy photobooks

Moleskine, the brand behind the famous black notebooks, has joined the photo-book business by launching Print on Demand photo books and photo album.

Featuring the classic Moleskine cover, rounded corners, ivory colored acid-free FSC paper, elastic closure, and expandable pocket the books are a collaboration with MILK Photo Books.

The Moleskine photo range is available in three formats – Photo Books, Photo Books plus (a premium photo book range) and Photo Albums (with linen fabric presentation box) – in four sizes and multiple page extents from 20 to 200 pages.

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Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB Class 10 Wireless Memory Card

We've been fans of Eye-Fi wireless memory cards for quite a while now, but recently (thanks to a shooting with a D800) we've found them somewhat restrictive.

Luckily for us Eye-Fi has announced a new Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB, Class 10 card that increases both storage and speed capabilities while retaining the wireless features we love.

The new 16GB card provides twice the storage capacity of the prior Pro X2 card, while the Class 10 performance delivers ultra-fast read and write speeds. And best of all, the price has stayed the same.

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Hasselblad Lunar APS-C camera announced

Hasselblad is known for its medium format camera, but it has now announced plans to release a APS-C camera system, the Hasselblad Lunar.

The Lunar will be the first camera produced as part of a partnership between Hasselblad and Sony, and as such will feature a lot of the tech we've previously seen in the NEX series.

A APS-C 24.3 MP sensor will be used with 25AF points focusing, and matched to an Ultra fast Processor. On the rear there will be a 3" high definition display and revolutionary OLED viewfinder.

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Autographer is an automated camera which decides when and what to shoot

A hands-free camera which is worn around the neck and uses a host of sensors to automatically decide what photos to take is set to go on sale.

Autographer uses five on-board sensors and GPS capability to identify the perfect time to take a photo, based on changes in light and colour, motion, direction and temperature, and then snaps away using a wide-angle lens.

For instance, Autographer might capture an image when the wearer speeds up as they run for the bus, moves from a warm pub to a snowy street or turns around to greet a friend.

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Adobe announces Photoshop Elements 11

For photography fans on a budget, Photoshop Elements is often the image-editing software of choice (it costs a fraction of Photoshop CS) and Adobe has just released version 11 introducing a redesigned UI.

Costing £79, Photoshop Elements 11 is designed to be a complete solution for editing, organizing and sharing photo creations.

The user-friendly interface includes Quick, Guided and Expert editing modes; one-click options and big, bold icons to help users get the most from their shots.

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Lensbaby launches affordable selective focus with the Spark

Lensbaby has been offering selective focus lenses for a few years now, but now they hope to take it to the masses with the launch of the more affordable Lensbaby Spark.

Geared more towards young photo enthusiasts the Spark is available for Canon and Nikon DSLRs and lets users create images which a sweet spot of focus surrounded by blur.

The $80 manual focus lens is activated by photographers squeezing to focus and then tilting to move the "sweet spot" around the image.

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Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 packs a full-frame sensor in compact camera

Sensor size is one of the biggest factors in determining image quality in a camera and Sony have somehow managed to pack a full-frame sensor in their latest compact the DSC-RX1.

Aimed at professional photographers who what to travel light, the DSC-RX1 features 24.3 megapixels, a BIONZ image processor and an ISO range of 100-25600.

A brand new Carl Zeiss Sonnar T F2-22 lens is fixed to the body and features a manual aperture control, on-lens macro mode switching and a focus control ring.

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Google acquires Nik Software

Google has announced that it has acquired Nik Software, makers of standalone and plug-in image editing tools, in a bid to take on the Facebook acquisition of Instagram.

It's thought that the move was driven by a desire to own Snapseed, a photo editing and sharing app, and that the technology could be incorporated into Google services including Picassa and Google+.

A spokesperson for Nik said: "We are pleased to announce that Google has acquired Nik Software. For nearly 17 years, we’ve been guided by our motto, “photography first”, as we worked to build world class digital image editing tools.

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Apple reveals iPhone 5 … which means new "most popular" camera

When Apple release their new iPhone, it's a big deal for photography, because the iPhone is the most popular camera in the world … so let's take a look at the iPhone 5.

The 8-megapixel camera features the tap to focus autofocus we've seen before along with face detection and an LED flash but the camera now boasts 40 per cent faster photo capture.

There's also better low-light performance and improved noise reduction, with a spokesperson for Apple saying: "You can snap more shots with more detail and clarity than ever before."

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Nokia faked footage in Lumia 920 promo video

Nokia recently revealed their upcoming Lumia 920 phone which features a PureView camera and Optical Image Stabilization. In fact they were so proud of the cameras ability they also released a video showing off the OIS.

The problem was the clip - which shows how steady the OIS could make moving video - was faked and wasn't created using the technology Nokia was so proud of.

Shortly after the release of the marketing video, it was noticed that reflections revealed the footage had been shot with a DSLR sized camera rather than one of the new phones. Oops!

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Photoshop Touch Is Now Retina-Friendly on the iPad

Photoshop Touch is one of our favourite photo-related iPad apps, and it's only going to get better after Adobe announced it was releasing a Retina-friendly update.

In addition to letting you see your images "like never before", Version 1.3 also allows users to work on high-resolution images (up to 12 megapixels) and add two new Effects: Shred and Colorize.

There's also smoother animation and scrolling in the organizer, tutorial browser, and file picker and a three-finger tap toggles between 100% view and fit screen

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SmugMug puts prices up … annoys many photographers

Many professional photographers use SmugMug to store, display and sell their images. Unfortunately many subscribers have just seen their annual feed hiked.

Users were notified by email that the package structure had changed from Basic, Power and Pro to Basic, Power, Portfolio and Business -- and that along with this, prices had changed too.

What had been the Pro ($150) account has been split into Portfolio ($150) and Business ($300), with users able to set prices and make profits with only the Business account, (they had previously been able to do this with the Pro account).

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Samsung reveal Android-powered GALAXY Camera

Android cameras aren't just the ones you get in mobile phones anymore. The GALAXY Camera from Samsung is an Android-powered compact camera which can also be used to share images online and run apps.

The 16.3-megapixel camera looks like a traditional compact camera on one side (with a 23 mm, 21x optical zoom lens) and a mobile phone on the other, complete with Android home-screen and all the apps you would see on a phone.

Samsung says the GALAXY Camera - which boasts 3G and WiFi - gives you "the magic of professional digital photography with the powerful intelligence of the Android Jelly Bean OS."

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Instacube: An Instagram digital photo frame

There's no denying that Instagram is having a huge impact of photography. The filter-based photo service has become one of the most popular ways to share photographs.

The problem is that this sharing has so far been limited to mobile phones and links on social networks … enter the Instacube, a digital photo frame for Instagram.

Currently looking for funding on KickStarter, the Instacube is a retro-inspired Android photo frame which connects to your wireless network and accesses your Instagram feed.

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Pimp your cam turns your black camera bright

While some cameras come in a variety of colours, others are only available in black. But the guys at PimpYourCam.com think you should have more choice.

That's why Jens Brüggemann and Torsten Rachu teamed up and are now offering to create bespoke pant jobs which turn your camera from a photographic tool to a work of art.

They have already worked their colourful airbrush magic on cameras including a Nikon D4, a Nikon1 J1 and a Canon 70-200mm lens.

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Nikon introduces the Nikon 1 J2

Nikon have rolled out the latest update to their mirrorless Nikon 1 range, the Nikon 1 J2.

A modest update the J1, the new camera sticks with the same 10mp sensor and EXPEED 3 engine, it now boasts a higher resolution 3.0-inch, 921,000 dot LCD and is available in a range of six colours.

The Nikon 1 J2 is being also launched alongside the new 1 NIKKOR 11-27.5mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and the WP-N1, a waterproof case capable of going 40m below surface.

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Compare the sensor size with CameraImageSensor.com

One of the biggest factors in determining the image quality a camera is able to produce is the size of the sensor. But despite this, it's sometimes hard to know how big a sensor is in any specific camera.

Well it used to be, but the newly-launched website CameraImageSensor.com hopes to solve that by letting users visually compare sensor size of any camera in its database.

Users simply tag a selection of cameras and are then presented with a diagram showing how big the image sensors are, along with technical specifications.

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BJP launches redesigned iPhone Edition

The British Journal of Photography has launched a redesigned version of its publication specially designed for the iPhone.

The 158-year-old publication decided to completely recreate its pages for the smaller screen of the iPhone and split the 100 page monthly magazine into smaller, more frequent editions.

A spokesperson for BJP said: "Uploading print pages into an app is easy for publishers, but the result is a page that you have to keep pinching and zooming to read.

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Photography bag doubles as beer cooler bag

We've seen some interesting camera bags in the past, but this has to be the most bizarre. The Camera Cooler is a DSLR camera bag which also doubles as a cooler bag for your beers.

While the US$50 bag features a padded insert that can hold a DSLR, a lens and other small accessories, when you've finished your shoot this can be removed to leave you with a cooler bag plenty big enough for a six-pick of beer.

A spokesperson for online retailer PolarStuff.com said: "When you feel like partying, take the padded insert out and it's a perfect soft sided cooler sized to hold a six pack or your lunch along with some blue icy packs you can get at any grocery store."

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Engineers create 50 gigapixel camera … yes 50 gigapixels

Even the 36-megapixel Nikon D800 has got nothing on this. Engineers from Duke University have created a prototype camera that can capture up to 50 gigapixels of data -- that's 50,000 megapixels.

The camera’s resolution is five times better than 20/20 human vision over a 120 degree horizontal field and is actually created by synchronizing 98 tiny cameras in a single device.

"Each one of the microcameras captures information from a specific area of the field of view," said researcher David Brady.

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