lenses

Snapzoom accessory gives smartphones a telephoto boost

If you've always wanted a pair of HD digital binoculars, you could very well get some without shelling out the big bucks.

A new smartphone accessory called Snapzoom allows you to mate your smartphone camera with the optical scope of a pair of binoculars, dramatically increasing the reach of your handset. The iPhone 5, for instance, would get its normal 33mm focal length boosted to 330mm on a 10x spotting scope.

Compatible with most smartphones (with or without a case), the Snapzoom can be mounted on all single- and dual-eyepiece scopes, which include the usual binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, and even microscopes. … Read more

Pocket Filmmaker: Lenses that turn your phone into a pocket camera

Welcome to CNET Australia's guide to pocket filmmaking. The Pocket Filmmaker will show you how to turn the smartphone in your pocket into a camera capable of shooting video projects that are worthy of sharing with family and friends, online, and even with the judges of some of Australia's biggest short-film festivals.

Your host on this creative journey is Jason Van Genderen, winner of several short filmmaking awards, including at Tropfest NY, Tropfest Sydney, Aspen Shortsfest, and even an IF Award. Jason's projects have been shot on the Nokia N95, Nokia N8, and Apple's iPhone. He … Read more

Crave Ep. 113: Hot! A homemade solar death ray

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Backyard tinkerer Grant Thompson teaches us how to build a solar-powered death ray. A man gets a Netflix tattoo for life and only gets a measly one-year subscription for it. Plus, we meet Mr. Stubbs the alligator, the first reptile (that we know of, at least) to receive a prosthetic tail. Donation came from the Phoenix Herpetological Society and the Core Institute. … Read more

Fry an egg with a solar-powered backyard death ray

The idea of focusing the sun's rays into a concentrated beam of heat using a magnifying glass is so well known that all you have to do is say "ants under a magnifying glass" to conjure the image of a torturing bully.

Backyard tinkerer Grant Thompson isn't a bully, but he does have a giant magnifying glass. More specifically, he has a Fresnel lens -- that is, a giant lens made of corrugated concentric circles adapted from an old rear-projection TV. … Read more

Nikon delivers wide-angle complement for D600

Nikon hasn't lacked for full-frame wide-angle zoom lenses -- the 14-24mm f.8 is a yumburger -- but with the shipping of the D600 new Nikon adopters faced a rather limited choice of lenses that didn't cost as much as the camera. Nikon rectifies that with a new AF-S 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 FX lens which is better-priced to go with that camera at $749.95.

The lens is ostensibly designed to be compact and lightweight (about 13.6 ounces) to match the lighter D600 body as well. Other specs include a minimum focus distance of about 11 … Read more

Sony slowly fattens E-mount lens line

Sony adds to its E-mount lens line for the Alpha NEX series of cameras with a 20mm f2.8 pancake (30mm equivalent) that will ship in April for $349.99. Sony currently only offers one other pancake lens, a 16mm f2.8 (24mm equivalent). From a size standpoint, the pancakes are a nice complement to the skinny NEX bodies, but you'll usually get better image quality --and faster apertures -- out of their not-so-slim counterparts.

Sony also took the opportunity to announce standalone pricing and availability for the 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 power zoom E-mount lens that it unveiled … Read more

Nikon fleshes out interchangeable-lens camera line

LAS VEGAS--Nikon shipped the Nikon 1 J2 interchangeable-lens camera only five months ago and already it's obsolete. Given the lukewarm reception for such a meh update, especially given the flurry of competing products this past fall, it's neither surprising nor distressing that it's being superseded. Here at CES 2013, the company announced two new models in the Nikon 1 series: the Nikon 1 J3 and the cheaper entry-level model, the S1.

The J3 essentially has the same internals as the V2 in the body of the J2; the one physical difference is the mode dial has been … Read more

Make the resolution: Try a new lens for your camera

The most popular reason nonprofessionals buy dSLRs or other types of interchangeable-lens cameras is because they want better photos or faster performance than a point-and-shoot can deliver; the power of manual controls and interchangeable lenses seem to be a secondary concern. Nevertheless, I'm still routinely surprised when someone hands me his dSLR and it's set to auto and equipped with a standard kit lens.

The best (and cheapest) way to advance your photography is to switch out of auto; here's a map for venturing into that new territory. But the next best -- and not-so-cheap -- way … Read more

Olympus' new street-shooter-friendly prime lens

Olympus continues its trend of releasing fast, Micro Four Thirds-mount (MFT) prime lenses with the 17mm f1.8 (34mm equivalent). Incorporating the same design as the 12mm f2 -- metallic finish and a pull-down ring for distance-based focusing -- the lens sounds like a solid addition for street-shooting MFT photographers.

Mount Micro Four Thirds Focal range 17mm Aperture range f1.8 - f22 Aperture blades 7 Minimum focus distance 9.8 Angle of view 65 degrees Elements 9: 3 aspherical, 1 high-refractive index Filter diameter 46mm Minimum length 1.4 inches Maximum length 1.4 inches Weight 4.2 (est) … Read more

Repurpose paintbrushes to clean camera gear

Lens cleaning equipment such as blower brushes and compressed air can take up quite a bit of space in your bag. The folks at Digital Camera World have come up with a novel DIY way of keeping things compact by transforming paintbrushes into portable tools for cleaning off minute particles when shooting in dusty environments.

All you need is an inexpensive paintbrush that's readily available at any craft shop.… Read more