camera

How many times have you taken a picture that would've been great if only it weren't out of focus? Well, Lytro's first-of-its-kind light-field camera solves that problem by letting you shoot first and focus later. The camera and software lets users create living pictures that can be focused again and again and again. And again.

Unfortunately, when it was initially released in March, the Lytro came across as unfinished with lots of promises for what was possible and what was to come, which included support for Windows.

To its credit, Lytro has made good on those promises … Read more

Instagram rolled out new apps today with promises of a better camera, scaling and cropping functions, control over the blurring of photos and -- of course -- another filter.

The company touted its upgrades in a blog post highlighting the camera's new features for iOS. This includes an Instagram-themed shutter and shutter release button, a preview of the most recent photo on the camera roll, a grid guide for the scale and crop screen, and for those using the iPhone 5, an improved camera roll image selector.

Another improved feature, tilt-shift, allows for more precise blurring and a "… Read more

Shining Morning's Magic Camera is shareware that adds a variety of effects and overlays to your Webcam feed, screen capture window, or saved videos and pictures. It's free to try, but the free version places a watermark and includes a nag screen. It's easy to use, but the effects it adds are run of the mill, and many are poorly rendered. Recent updates include Windows 8 compatibility. We tried Magic Camera in Windows 7.

Magic Camera's user interface is colorful and simple enough, but it's not especially attractive or intuitive, and the optional skin (for … Read more

For digital cameras, the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show proved to be more interesting than past years'.

Instead of the usual humdrum point-and-shoots, we were greeted with three models targeted at enthusiasts and pros: the Fujifilm X-Pro1, the Nikon D4, and the Canon PowerShot G1 X.

Even a handful of the point-and-shoots announced were worth paying attention to, like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7, the Canon PowerShot Elph 520 HS, and at least three of the 18 cameras announced by Fujifilm.

Then there was the first Android-based smart camera, the Polaroid SC1630, which never materialized. (We eventually got the Nikon Coolpix S800c … Read more

The phrase "immersive experience" gets bandied about quite a bit when talking about technology. I wouldn't use those words to describe the online video experience... until now. The Making View 360-degree ViewCam video system brings you into the action much more than a regular clip.

Remember those panoramic house tours that were popular for a while on real estate sites? The ViewCam videos created with Red Bull are like that on steroids -- with a shot of adrenaline on the side. … Read more

A chief complaint of the Samsung Galaxy Camera is that it's only available for AT&T. That should change, however -- a Verizon model has been spied in the virtual halls of the FCC.

The details for an "EKGC120" Galaxy Camera cropped up this week for showing a version of the digital camera with support for Verizon's 700MHz LTE bands. Since the testing was conduced in early November, I suspect that the 4G variant of this connected camera won't be far off.

I'm curious to see if Verizon asks for $500 for the … Read more

One unadvertised feature in Apple's just-released iTunes 11 lets users tap into their built-in video camera to redeem gift cards and other promotional codes.

The feature, which Apple did not demonstrate at the software's unveiling in September or in subsequent marketing materials, can pull out the alphanumeric codes and submit them. This means you can redeem a code without having to type it in, though that option remains if the software is unable to pick it up.

In order to use the feature, the promotional code must be from gift cards that place the code within a square … Read more

There are a lot of good reasons to choose a camera over a consumer camcorder for shooting video, including larger sensors, which tend to deliver better tonal range and enhanced depth-of-field flexibility, and better photo quality. And an interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) -- a dSLR, fixed mirror (Sony's SLT series), or mirrorless model -- imparts huge creative and logistical benefits over a typical point-and-shoot design.

Most consumer camcorders have pretty ugly polygonal bokeh until you hit the $1,000 or so price point. With an ILC, even the cheap lenses deliver better handling of out-of-focus areas. … Read more

When it comes to dressing well at public appearances, music star Will.i.am has a pretty good track record. Just don't let him get anywhere near your iPhone.

The singer's i.am+ company is dedicated to creating consumer electronics and apps. The foto.sosho is its first iPhone accessory. It clips onto the iPhone, turning it into a much fancier camera. One model, due out next year, is supposed to have its own sensor for taking 14-megapixel images.

The camera-enhancing add-on sports interchangeable lenses. Some models include a slide-out keyboard. It will come with an app for manipulating and sharing the images. A version for iPhone 4 will be out first, with iPhone 5 options coming later.… Read more