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iPhone 8 Plus

Apollo app for iOS creates cool lighting effects better than Apple’s Portrait Lighting

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If the iPhone’s Portrait Lighting already impresses you, then you better check out Apollo. This $1.99 iOS app adds immersive lighting effects that are–dare I say–better than what Apple’s version offers.

The Apollo app uses depth map from dual cameras to create the effects so, it only currently works with the iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus and X. Nevertheless, it does a great job at applying different lighting effects at any angle. In fact, you can even put a light source behind a subject to act as a rim light. You can add up to 20 light sources in one image and seamlessly adjust the color, intensity, and distance. Check out the short video clip below to see it in action:
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New ad shows: Portrait Lighting on the iPhone X is a studio in your pocket

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In the past few months, Apple has released a slew of ads boasting the iPhone X’s Portrait Lighting, but this latest commercial is definitely among the best we’ve seen. Titled ‘Studio in your pocket,’ it shows a young woman taking a selfie at a busy train station, and all sorts of studio lights and umbrellas start to appear out of nowhere. I have to say it’s certainly an eye-catching way to promote the iPhone X’s  (so far) unmatched camera capabilities.

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Corephotonics adds the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X to its lawsuit against Apple

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Six months ago, Israeli start-up, Corephotonics filed suit against Apple over alleged patent infringement. Essentially they claimed that the iPhone 7 Plus used dual camera technology by infringing on their patents (one, two, three, four). Now Apple faces a second claim from Corephotonics claiming that the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X also infringe on their technology.

Corephotonics says that the company actually met with Apple to discuss their technology. They allege that Apple refused to enter into an agreement. That Apple simply used the technology described during their meeting anyway without any sort of licensing arrangement. They even claim that Apple’s negotiator boasted they could infringe without fear of reprisal.

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Israeli start-up sues Apple over alleged dual camera patent infringement

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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.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s camera ties iPhone 8 Plus, DxO Mark says

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The iPhone 8 Plus camera recently took the first place on DxO Mark’s list. But, now they’ve tested Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and confirmed that iPhone has a serious competitor when it comes to smartphone cameras.

The Note 8 is Samsung’s dual camera phone, and as DxO writes, it offers the best zoom capabilities of any mobile device they’ve tested so far. It has won an overall score of 94, which ties it to the iPhone 8 Plus in terms of the camera performance. However, the only reason the results are tied is that the iPhone performs better for the video. As for photography, Samsung’s new smartphone has scored the maximum 100.

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iPhone 8 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: hands-on camera comparison

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According to the DxO tests, the camera of the iPhone 8 Plus is the best they’ve tested so far. It scored the impressive result of 94, but could Samsung Galaxy Note 8beat it? DxO hasn’t tested this phone’s camera yet, but SuperSafTV’s Safwan Ahmedmia has.

In this video, you can see a side-by-side comparison of iPhone 8 Plus and Galaxy Note 8. He tests the quality of the video, audio and photos, in terms of sharpness, low-light performance, dynamic range, background blur and so on. It’s a pretty detailed test and gives you a really good insight into the performance of both cameras. And if you’re thinking of getting the latest iPhone, this comparison might make you think twice.

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The iPhone 8 Plus camera gets the highest DxO score ever

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Another record has been broken on DxO when it comes to smartphone cameras, and the new title-holder is the iPhone 8 Plus. The camera of Apple’s new smartphone scored 94 on DxO test, thus beating Google Pixel and HTC U11.

It’s worth noting that DxO has expanded the criteria, so they now test zoom, bokeh, low-light ability and camera in motion, among other things. And with these expanded test protocols included, iPhone 8 Plus got the highest mark so far.

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Upgrading to iOS11? Use this website to convert your HEIC photos to JPG

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Other than the dual stabilised cameras, one of the biggest bits of photo news surrounding the new iPhones and iOS11 is HEIC. HEIC is a High Efficiency Image File Format. Essentially this means it can hold a lot of data in a relatively small amount of space. For mobile users with limited storage, it’s fantastic. But, right now, there aren’t really any desktop apps that fully support it – at least on Windows.

Desktop support will probably be coming at some point in the future. For now, though, this handy web based converter is stepping in to fill the need. Heictojpg is an online converter into which you feed your iOS11 HEIC files, and you get nice, friendly, and compatible JPG files in return.

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Why the iPhone shoots 4K 60fps but your camera doesn’t

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For video lovers, the biggest point about the new iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X is the ability to shoot 4K UHD video at 60fps. They also all shoot 1080p at up to 240fps. 4K UHD at 60 frames per second is starting to become more common, though. the YI 4K action camera has been able to do it for over a year now. So why can’t our regular cameras?

In this video, video tech YouTuber, Max Yuryev explains the answer to that question. There are a number of contributing factors, but the main cause of them is that the processors inside most DSLRs and mirrorless cameras just aren’t good enough.

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The iPhone 8, 8 Plus & X let you relight your subject in post and shoots 4K 60fps video

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There was a lot of speculation what the new iPhone. The strangest being what it would be called. Would it be the iPhone 8? The next logical number after the iPhone 7. Or would it be the iPhone X? To celebrate 10 years of the iPhone’s existence. Well, Apple responded by announcing THREE new phones. The iPhone 8, iPhone 8Plus and iPhone X. And boy do they look rather nice.

I’m not going to cover every single detail of these phones, but I am going to talk about the bits that are important to us. That’s primarily the display and the front & rear camera capabilities for both stills and video.

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