Lenses

Following on from the release of its first mirrorless camera, the NX10, earlier this year, Samsung has announced the launch of the NX100. Like the NX10, the mirrorless NX100 features a 14.6-megapixel APS-C size sensor and a 3-inch VGA AMOLED screen. Setting it apart, however, is the world’s first i-Function Lens, which communicates with the camera body and allows users to control camera settings using the lens.  Read More

Tilting LCD screens that let users keep an eye on the action when holding a camcorder up high or down low are pretty much standard nowadays, but they don’t help reduce the arm and wrist fatigue that results when holding the device in such positions. The new HMX-T10 camcorder unveiled by Samsung at IFA 2010 does, however, by featuring a Slanted lens that tilts 20 degrees to allow users to keep their desired subject in frame, while holding the camera in a more comfortable position.  Read More

Some burning questions have just got to be answered, no matter the substantial costs involved. One such question demanding attention is: can a laser pointer be used to examine the microscopic contents of a drop of water? Happily, the answer is yes, and without the aforementioned prohibitive expense. In this home experiment, a laser pointer was shone through a drop of water collected from the base of a potted plant and the magnified image projected on an opposing wall. Read on to see a video showing a bemused-looking cat watching the resulting light show.  Read More

Camera phones have come a long way in terms of resolution, but the pocket-sized form factor doesn't leave all that much room for improvement when it comes to lenses. These add-on Fisheye and Macro/Wide Angle lenses inject a little versatility into the equation by transforming your standard flat phone photos into wide and up-close images.  Read More

The Lens-in-a-Cap stereo lens system from Loreo mounts to the front of a digital SLR body to allow users to take side-by-side 3D photographic images. Mounts are available for a host of popular digital SLR cameras and the system will automatically adjust image pitch to suit subject distance. Subsequent images can then be printed out or viewed on a computer screen via a cheap cardboard parallel format viewer.  Read More

Ricoh has now announced the availability of a new lens kit for the modular GXR digital camera system. The 10 megapixel S10 wide-angle zoom lens unit features a high-sensitivity image sensor, technology to help prevent blurred images and the ability to fill the frame with an up close and personal subject from less than half an inch away.  Read More

The popularity of 3-D cinema is skyrocketing and 3-D-capable TV sets are heading for our living rooms, but almost every 3-D ready technology still requires that you don a set of special glasses. Microsoft has developed lens which could help change all that. With the ability to keep track of the position of viewers and send separate images directly to each eye, the new prototype display eliminates the need for 3-D glasses.  Read More

Sony recently released a couple of interchangeable lens cameras – theNEX-3 and NEX-5. Although these models are great for boosting the functionality and flexibility of a compact, being tied down to Sony lenses would probably end up being a bit frustrating. What if you're a keen photographer who has already invested in other lenses from the likes of Canon and Nikon? What if you wanted to be able to take the lighter-weight compact with you now and again and maybe pop one of your old lenses in your bag? Japanese manufacturer Rayqual has snapped up this opportunity, releasing an additional range of adapters available for shipping from July 2010.  Read More

Anyone who likes to get their gear off for a spot of naked sunbathing in the backyard may have to think twice in the future. Researchers have developed a new nanotechnology-based “microlens” that could lead to a new generation of ultra-powerful satellite cameras and night-vision devices. Thankfully, the new lens is used for infrared imaging, so the technology is more likely to be used for security and monitoring climate change and deforestation than spying on naturists boosting their vitamin D levels.  Read More