Lytro light field: A Revolutionary Device

Digital Camera’s has been an essential for people for the past 10 years. What about other camera’s like the Lytro light field camera? It doesn’t look so beautiful, but it is a revolutionary device in technology. It comes with a cubic frame. It doesn’t look as beautiful as other cameras. But it is capable to do what other cameras can’t.

Camera is meant for taking pictures; this will be changed to ‘beautiful’ when it is in the hands of photographers or families. But does the use end here? No, will be the answer by a journalist if we askers him/her this question. Here is the use of cameras like Lytro.

Lytro light field camera is now available in UK with 8GB and 16GB, priced £399 and £469 respectively. The light field technology used in the camera captures the direction of incoming light rays as well as their colour and intensity, allowing you to refocus images after they’ve been shot, on its touchscreen or online. Let’s now look at its specs and features.

Design

The solid, small, beautiful, the aluminium-clad Lytro device is a craze to hold. But this this will not happen if you use. The 24g weighting device is very comfortable to hold in hands. A very responsive shutter, an invisible touch-sensitive zoom slider, and a rubber grip suggest one-handed operation, but this requires trumpet-playing levels of manual dexterity.

Here is a view of how it looks when we look through the device.

The Lytro is available in three metallic colours-grey, blue and red. A design that is similar to Apple device is adopted here. As said above the Lytro is available in two versions, one of 8GB and another of 16GB.You will also get a USB cable for both charging and data.

Features

A sad thing in the new light field camera has stripped photo features which has been traditional to minimum. The device has a creative mode which allows you to a full zoom- 8x or a 3.5 which is limited. Don’t expect more on such a camera, because it worries if you expect something more. We don’t have any control over colour or sensitivity, and lightning. The resolution is only 128 x 128, which we can understand in the first look itself. Taking lining up shots in the device can be tricky as it washes out in bright light.

Uploading  

The Lytro also has setup for uploading images. Lytro shows its Apple love once again as it will not work with Windows, we can hope a Windows version soon as the company announced a windows version in this week itself. If you need to take and upload a picture it took around 10 seconds each. This is very fast when you compare to Facebook apps or mobiles.  When you have more it will be uploaded very quickly. The Mac software used in it is very user-friendly but it’s basic.

At present the Lytro light field camera is having options only to share via Lytro’s website, Facebook and twitter. The device also has a great option, which allow your friends to refocus a picture clicking anywhere in the picture. Another offer from the company is a free upgrade to create eerie parallax 3D images from existing Lytro files.

Image quality

A the device captures intensity as well as the direction of each light ray, its 11MP sensor outputs only a JPEG image of just 1.2MP. This look very lovely in the device but when you transfer the picture to any other device it’s hard to make good prints.

The images taken in the device is soft and prone to blowing out highlights. An important think you need to remember is that the device has no video mode or flash. One plus point is that refocusing is very outstanding. Especially, if your picture is having distinct backgrounds and foregrounds.  

AfterWords

Lytro is just an amazing gadget; we need to love it like how Real Madrid fans like Ronaldinho.  It looks fantabulous and awesome. The cute lovely look of the device makes everybody say ‘I like it’. The light field technology will be a remark for Lytro forever, and it is about to change what we think about photography soon.

Although there are many features like refocusing a taken image, it also lacks some important features for a camera like the power, flexibility and resolution, as it has a small screen. As the Lytro will arrive soon in the market, it will be good if you wait for the 2.0 version to arrive. The device is now available in US and it costs $400.

Watch this video to know more about the device >>>

Hasselblad Lunar : A legend from another legend

The Swedish legendry camera makers-Hasselblad launched their new legend Hasselblad Lunar. It’s Hasselblad’s first consumer snapper that comes as a compact system camera.

Hasselblad is known for its cameras that were used by NASA for their space programmes. 

One of the Hasselblad cameras were used in the Apollo 11 lunar mission, but there is one thing that they occupy a space still on the lunar surface. Hasselblad also has a very good history among professional photographers and is a brand that everyone trusts.
 
Hasselblad's CSC sports a 24.3MP APS-C format CMOS sensor and is bundled with a standard 18-55mm zoom lens.

The camera was first introduced in the Photokina tech show in 2012. The new camera which is based on the Sony NEX-7 hardware uses the same range of lenses as Sony’s NEX range of compound cameras. Although the Sony’s techniques are used the price shows the Hasselblad’s real trademark and it costs around 5,000 Euros.

Size and Build

With a dimension of 142 mm × 82 mm × 70 mm, the lunar cannot be said a compact, when compared to other compound system cameras. This gives the Lunar a professional SLR looks like the Nikon 1 V2.

The Lunar looks so cute and it also have a look that of old style cameras. The camera is available in Brown Tuscan Leather edition and black leather, which have a carbon fire mahogany wooden finish. The Brown Tuscan Leather edition refers to the handgrip and matching strap.

The retro styling top quality snapper makes the Lunar very handsome. The power switch and the video recording buttons are made beautiful by embedding pink-red jewels. And there is no surety about the jewels on the original model.

Controls

The Hasselblad Lunar have controls that’s similar to Sony NEX-7. One of the special uses of some new controls of the Lunar is; they are unmarked and can be used for adjusting various settings depending on the shooting mode. Some of the unmarked dials and buttons make the device more beautiful.

Along with two dials and an unmarked button (plus the power switch and shutter release button) on the top of the camera body, you'll also find a pop-up flash and a hot-shoe adaptor.

A click wheel plus control for playback and flash are fitted on the back panel. A video recording button is also placed on the back panel. On the left edge there is the mini USB and mini HDMI ports.

Screen

The Hasselblad Lunar comes with a 3-inch LCD screen packed with a 920k-dot resolution which can be titled. The screen can be pulled up to 90 degrees upwards and 45 degree downward from the chassis and it makes make a fell like a camcorder.

Not only the opening screen is the amaze, you can also find an electronic viewfinder on the left corner. This is much better and faster than others on rivals. It fires up automatically to a motion sensor.

After Words

Only the sample model of the Hasselblad Lunar is taken for review, but we are not sure that all the features in the sample may not be it the standard ones. We can say that the model is very similar to one of the most excellent compact system camera Sony NEX-7.

The price 5000 Euros may be very high for some but if you need the best compact system camera and if you are ready to spend money for that Hasselblad Lunar will not be a mistake and it promises value for money you have spend.  

Watch this video to know more about the camera>>>

   

Panasonic Lumix GF6 : The entry of NFC in an entry level camera

Panasonic Lumix GF6; the latest entry level camera from the world’s favourite firm joined the market in May 2013. As I said it’s an entry-level range Compact Camera.

By introducing such an entry-level camera Panasonic aims to fine-tune the main features of each level of its Lumix G Series CSCs to suit their target users more clearly, with the GF6 being aimed at smartphone users who want to share their images instantly.

One of the special features of the camera is it comes with WiFi and NFC on the new camera, for the question why NFC is featured in this camera the company argues that NFC is very common now and many smartphones uses it, with camera.

There are other two cameras from the same maker Panasonic which has NFC and WiFi specification. The two others are the Panasonic TZ40 compact camera and Panasonic GF5.

Let's take a look at the GF6's specs and features

Size and Build

The device looks slightly chunky in the first look, its new fold-out screen make this. But if we look the Lumix GF6 closer we can see the effort made by the company to manage the improved screen without making too much bulk to the camera chassis.

The Panasonic Lumix GF6 is available in both white and black colours.

Features

A new 16 Megapixel Live MOS sensor is sported in the camera; this is high when compared to its older brother Lumix GF5, which’s sensor is 12.1MP.The sensor also has an ISO range that can be extended up to 25600.

The camera has various ranges of filter effects, giving the total to 19. A great feature of the GF6 is some of the basic effects such as monochrome and sepia can be used while shooting in panoramic mode.

The new camera has a feature called food recognition mode, which make the dinner-photographers pleased. This feature targets people who like to take pictures of parties, dinners etc.

The camera also has an extra shooting mode which automatically applies the most suitable settings for the current snap.

An improved burst mode is another feature of the Panasonic GF6; it also had a new function lever for one-hand use. There is also full autofocus on the touch screen, which gives you the freedom to point out from any part of the screen.

Screen

Like camcorders the GF6 sports a screen that can be folded out up to 180 degrees from the camera body. This folding screen is very useful for handy Self portraits and helps shooting in right positions.

The resolution of the camera screen is 1040k-dot. A dedicated video button which records full HD video at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 in AVCHD is also in the camera.

After Words

There are many other features in the camera such as the features of the panoramic shoot. The build in WiFi and NFC are also great with such a camera. The phone is available in two versions with kit lens and twin lens pack. 

The device is available in markets from May 2013.The ‘with kit lens costs £499 and the twin lens pack costs £649. The device is a very nice one and the features of the device also make it great.

Watch this video to know more about the camera>>>>

Samsung Galaxy Camera a Closer Look

This time when smartphones rules the market with their high features that satisfies the user’s photography needs Samsung comes with their smart camera named Samsung galaxy camera. Smartphones are great because they enable you to capture, edit and upload your photos to social networking sites. Most of the smartphones have cameras 8mp or 16mp. But that doesn't count the most smartphones (excluding high cost) has very poor lens that make the images grainy and worst.

Here Samsung shows their skill by making a smartphone in camera rather than a camera in smartphone. The company which makes both smartphones and dedicated cameras has given rise to a new gadget, which is a combination of smartphone and a camera.

The device works with android, the smartphone OS. It has a compact camera-sized sensor and lens large enough to let a decent amount of light in. The camera has a smart control layout and a good design. The device allows you to download apps and use it as in a phone.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera is currently priced at £399 in the UK, AU$599 in Australia and US$499.99 in the US.

Samsung galaxy camera has a 16 megapixel ½.3-inch CMOS sensors, which the other compact cameras have, including the Panasonic TZ30.

This means that the device is capable for video recording with well controlled noise. Full HD (1920 x 1080) video can also be recorded at 30fps.

The sensor comes with a 4.1-86.1mm f/2.8-5.9 lens. That has a 21x optical zoom with the focal length equivalent of a 23-483mm lens in 35mm terms.

This means that the Samsung Galaxy camera is just better that Panasonic TZ30, which has a 2x zoom.

There is also an optical stabilisation which is built to reduce the impact shaking.

Cameras with wide zoom ranges are mostly found with travellers, because they encounter a huge range of subject.

You can share and upload your photos directly to social networks as the camera has Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The camera also gives the option to browse internet and receive emails.

In the UK a micro SIM package for the 3 network, along with 30 days of data usage and 50GB of Dropbox storage is available. In the US,   the Samsung Galaxy Camera is tied to AT&T, and in Australia it's available through Optus.

You can use Android apps that are downloaded via Wi-Fi or 3G connection as the device runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Samsung has introduced a new breed of camera with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, and it clearly doesn't want to limit its appeal.

There are many more option in the Samsung Galaxy Camera such as Macro, Panorama, Smart Night and Best Photo mode. The camera enables you to select the best images of each person from five consecutively captured photos.

The camera helps less experienced photographers with its automatic mode or one of the 15 scene modes the camera's settings for shooting in particular situations.

The one and only problem of the device is it saves images only in JPEG format.

By launching the Samsung Galaxy camera the company had introduced a new breed of camera and it clearly doesn’t want to limit its appeal. Many cameras with more specifications and features will be launched by many companies to overcome their rivals. We can watch a hard competition between companies to conquer market with their smart cameras.