Amazon has launched Virtual Try-On Shoes, a new feature that lets you try footwear remotely and see how it looks on you. Using augmented reality, you can virtually try on shoes without even leaving your home. You can also check out how T-shirts and glasses look on you, and all you need is your phone’s camera and Amazon’s shopping app.
The weird new Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L dual fisheye lens lets you shoot 3D 180° VR video
So Canon has announced a weird but fascinating new RF 5.2mm f/2.8 fisheye lens for the Canon EOS R mirrorless system. It’s weird (but fascinating) because it’s not your typical camera lens. It’s not even your typical fisheye lens. Oh no, this one’s a dual fisheye lens for shooting 3D 180° VR video and photos.
At $2,000, though, it’s not inexpensive, by any means, but I guess now we know why the EOS R5 shoots 8K!
This crazy lens lets you shoot full 360° photos and video with the need for stitching
Ok, this is pretty impressive and also extremely cool. Industrial and interaction designers, Rob Englert and Meyer Giordano have created a very unique lens for, in this case, Nikon F mount that lets you get a full 360° field of view and 180° vertically in a single shot with no stitching required.
The pair founded Sphere Optics (aka “(sphere)”). Their first lens is called the (sphere) Pro1, which they describe as “the world’s first and only single-lens 360° full-spherical capture solution”. It has a focal length of 1mm with a fixed f/8 aperture and it sure does look pretty crazy on the camera. Its design, though, is a thing of beauty and has a level of obviousness that it’s amazing nobody ever did it before.
You can now see Smithsonian Museum’s exhibitions through Instagram AR
Since we can’t really visit many places nowadays, there are solutions that let us experience them at least virtually. And now, you can even do it through Instagram. The platform has added exhibitions from the Smithsonian Museum and two other museums to its AR effects lineup, so you can “visit” exhibitions from your phone.
This insane smartphone app lets you copy and paste elements of the real world into Photoshop
This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen, and I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1st, but French artist, designer and programmer, Cyril Diagne has figured out how to use augmented reality to literally copy and paste the world around you straight into a Photoshop document. Yeah, for real. And he’s even released the source code on GitHub!
Diagne announced his creation to the world via Twitter this week, and it really looks like some kind of After Effects fakery. If he hadn’t released the source code, then you probably wouldn’t even believe it was real at all. But it shows him clearly snapping objects around him, which are then cut out from their backgrounds and then pasted right into the current Photoshop document.
Calling all wildlife photographers (and their kids) – Here’s how you can see wild animals in your home
This is an awfully frustrating time for wildlife photographers right now. And anybody who has kids. You’re stuck at home, can’t go anywhere, can’t do anything, can’t see anything interesting. Well, Google has the answer – augmented reality.
Google’s mobile search has a feature which allows you to search for an animal which can then be placed into your environment using your smartphone’s camera and augmented reality. It even appears to pick up on the ambient lighting and be able to apply it in realtime, too.
Augmented Reality Photo Studio app lets you photograph virtual models in real locations
We’ve met a camera that lets you take photos in virtual reality, but there’s now an app that took things a step further. Augmented Reality Photo Studio lets you go to real-life locations and shoot virtual portraits. It’s certainly an interesting concept and it can be great for location scouting and trying out lighting setups.
This 3D portal smartphone optical illusion requires no special glasses to see
This is a very cool piece of tech. Swedish developer Peder Norrby has done something pretty amazing with the iPhone X. He’s created a 3D optical illusion completely “in-camera”… well, in-phone, really, although it does use the phone’s front camera to achieve the effect. It’s very cool and doesn’t require any special viewing glasses. It holds all kinds of potential for the future as 3D cameras and 3D scanning start to become more advanced.
This augmented reality app lets you plan your shot in real time from your phone
Augmented reality has mostly been a bit of a gimmick so far. To put dinosaurs on your desk, or help guide you around a city. It’s very cool, but still mostly just a gimmick. Now that the hype of augmented reality has started to die down a little, though, things are looking up. It has made some pretty great strides over the last couple of years. Particularly in fields such as healthcare.
Now, though, filmmakers are starting to see some benefit from augmented reality, too. A new app, Blocker allows you to block out your scenes based on what the camera sees, enhanced by 3D models. The app, in real time, tracks the models to the scene, allowing you to work out your angles and shots, while at a location, in advance of the shoot.
It’s not really a camera, yet this Canon invention will record video from any vantage point in a sports field
With sports in-stadium income on the decline, stadiums are trying to figure out new revenue streams. But this is a photography blog, so there is a photography angle (no pun intended) involved.
Canon is developing a new “camera system” that will enable viewers to “fly” in the stadium and view the game via any vantage point that they choose.
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