Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
I am not going to bore you with the how and why I was able to get my hands on a $5,000 iMac Pro for a few weeks. Let’s just say I’m glad that I’ve already had my firstborn, otherwise I think I’d be delivering him to someone else.
Let’s start with the packaging – yes I know, the packaging. I really, really wanted to not be a fanboy about this and I really don’t appreciate other reviews that talk about the packaging of a product because who cares, right?
Long before we started discussing whether iPhone can replace compact or DSLR/mirrorless cameras, Apple released QuickTake 100. It was launched in 1994 and was one of the first successful consumer digital cameras. Lazy Game Reviews travels back in time and brings you an unpacking video and a review of this retro treasure. So, what was the experience of taking photos with an Apple product back in 1994?
There are some things which you think would be obvious. Like walking out into a busy road full of cars, putting your hand in an alligator’s open mouth, or flying your brand new drone over Apple’s shiny new campus – officially dubbed “Apple Park”. But for some people, apparently, it’s not so obvious. When Assaf Kaufman bought his son a new drone for his bar-mitzvah, they decided to take it out for a spot of flying. So, why not take it for a spin in Apple’s direction? What could go wrong?
While DxOMark isn’t infallible, it does offer some great insight into overall trends as technology evolves. DxOMark have just posted a great report on how far phone camera technology has come in the last six years since DxOMark started testing them. It’s not surprising that their numbers seem to marry up with real world experience, but it’s interesting to see just how quickly it’s all happened.
There’ve been one or two comments about the new iMac Pro since we finally got specs and prices a little while ago, so I thought I’d get my two cents in (although the beast itself is a bit more than that!).
I’ve read a lot of positive comments and I’ve also seen a lot of negative comments. Most of the negative comments seem to focus on the price and non-upgradability of the iMac Pro. So let’s talk first about the upgradability.
The only thing that can kind of be upgraded in the iMac Pro is the RAM. I say “kind of” because you can’t do it yourself. The iMac Pro is pretty much a sealed box and only authorised Apple service centre can access it, so less than ideal. In fact let’s just say, you can’t upgrade it. The thing that annoys most people the most about this is that it forces you to decide what specs you want when you order it and if you don’t get what you need, tough.
So you can’t sort of dip your toe into the iMac Pro with a lower spec machine when you order it and then buy higher spec parts for it later as your needs increase. But this is how Macs have been going for almost a decade now. If you’ve been using Macs a while – and odds are you aren’t looking at an iMac Pro if this is going to be your first Mac – you know this is how Apple has been designing their computers for some time.
After infuriating the users all over the world by slowing down their iPhones, Apple is now trying to make up for their mistake. They have issued a letter of apology, saying that there’s been a lot of misunderstanding about the issue. As compensation, they are offering a discount on iPhone battery replacement during the entire 2018.
Earlier this month, a Reddit post sparked a big discussion about Apple slowing down old iPhone models. The post blew up quickly, and Apple has recently admitted: they are deliberately slowing down the processor on the older phones. However, their claims are different from the widespread opinion. Instead of forcing you to buy a new iPhone, Apple says this is happening to protect the phones with older Li-ion batteries.
Reportedly, a simple battery change should make the processor speed up again. And while it seems to work for some users, it didn’t solve the problem for others. According to some sources, the class-action lawsuits against Apple begin to mount.
This isn’t so much a photography related post, but a PSA for photographers, video professionals, or anybody else who uses a Mac. If you’ve updated to the latest version of High Sierra – 10.13.1 (17B48) – prepare yourself for a shock. This is a big one.
It turns out there’s a big gaping security hole that allows anybody with physical access to your computer to get root access to your entire system. And it doesn’t take any kind of “hacking” skill at all. While Apple will no doubt fix it quite quickly there is something you can do to resolve the issue yourself in the meantime.
High Efficiency Image File Format (or “HEIF”, for short) is Apple’s new format for storing stills on your phone. With the goal of replacing JPG as the new image standard, it claims to save up to 50% of storage space for your photos. Until now, though, the only way you’ve been able to view them or really do anything with them is using an iOS 11 device or a mac.
That’s starting to change, though, with the release of Zoner Photo Studio X, which brings HEIF compatibility to Windows. It’s still labelled as “experimental”, and there are some specific software requirements, so it’s not available to everybody. But, it’s a start.
It seems like Apple’s always in the news for some alleged patent infringement. Or taking somebody else to court for it. Although, primarily that patent war has been going on between Apple and Samsung. Now, though, The Marker reports that Israel-based Corephotonics has entered the fray. They’ve filed a patent infringement case against Apple in US federal court.
The suit alleges that Apple have infringed their patent which covers dual camera technology. That this technology has already been incorporated into devices like the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus without their authorisation.
You can find out more about John on his website or follow him on Facebook and YouTube.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page
