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Moment has announced their newest generation of smartphone lenses. The new lenses are called T-Series, and they’re the company’s third-generation mobile photography lens series. They’re not just limited to iPhones now, either.
The new lenses also bring the company back to Android devices. The new lenses sport new optics and a new bayonet design that allows them to work with the larger camera sensors and wider apertures of Android devices.
Remember that cool app from years ago that was, like, the hippest thing on your iPhone 3Gs? Yes, that’s right! It was Hipstamatic, and I, among many, spent hours playing around with different looks. back then, it was a rival to apps like Snapseed and even Instagram. But then, it sort of just went away.
But now it’s back, stronger than ever, and is relaunching this week as a social media network. And not just any social network clone either, this is the one that possibly all of us photographers have been waiting for since the demise of Instagram.
One of the great channels on YouTube is the BBC Archive. And while it covers a wide range of topics, particularly retro tech, it also looks back at old news broadcasts. This one’s particularly relevant here, as it details the introduction of cameras into cell phones (or “mobile phones”, as we call them here ) to the UK back in 2001.
It’s an interesting look back at what people thought back then. Some labelled it as a “gimmick”. Others talked about the cost of sending images over that of sending a regular text message. Remember, phones weren’t really on the Internet back then, so images went over the regular phone network. The feature also had a high barrier to entry, with camera-capable phones costing significantly more than those without.
Smartphone photography is on the rise, there’s no question, and we’ve had our eye on the ShiftCam ecosystem since their Kickstarter announcements. The ShiftCam ProGrip has gone beyond the Kickstarter phase and is now out there for purchase, along with other items in their line-up. There are other systems available to hold our smartphone and make it look and feel more like a camera, but ShiftCam seems to be up there as one of the better systems. Here’s why:
As a travel photographer and educator, I am constantly shooting, and when I don’t have my ‘proper’ camera with me, I turn to my iPhone. It’s often said that the best camera is the one you have with you, and with the advances being made in phone camera tech, I find myself using the images I make with my phone more and more often. To that end, I want to be able to treat my phone more like a ‘proper’ camera, and part of that experience involves the look and feel. Rather than feeling like I’m holding a phone, I often want to feel like I’m holding a camera. And beyond that, I want to be able to attach my phone to my tripod.
Glass, a new startup working on AI-enhanced imaging, wants to change how our smartphone cameras work to overcome the limitations of current smartphone cameras. They want to do it using larger, wider sensors and the same technology found anamorphic lenses in order to be able to do it. The problem, essentially, is that size matters. And smartphone cameras are running out of space to expand.
You can’t make the sensors larger without making the lenses larger (longer) and phones just aren’t that thick anymore. AI is great and has brought us a lot of advances in smartphone imaging technology over the last few years but that, too, only goes so far. Glass’ solution is to use the 100-year-old cinema technology to overcome some of those size limitations.
Users of OnePlus 8 Pro recently started to notice that the phone’s “color filter camera” can see through plastic and some fabrics. It caused some concerns because, in some instances, it can basically see through clothes. Because of that, OnePlus has now announced that they are temporarily disabling the feature.
OnePlus-s latest flagship phone, OnePlus 8 Pro, was announced only a month ago, promising pretty stunning camera performance. But it seems to be even cooler than we thought. While there weren’t too many details about the phone’s “color filter camera,” it turns out that it has a sort of X-ray vision. It can see through some plastic objects, and even through clothes!
The sky above us hides so much beauty we can’t see with the naked eye. But even a consumer telescope reveals a whole new perspective. Josh Rabener recently got one, and he managed to capture Saturn and its recognizable rings. What’s particularly interesting is that he did it with his smartphone.
Last month, a promising Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund LIT Flash, a powerful xenon wireless flash for smartphone photography. It seemed like a good idea and the project quickly exceeded funds. However, after reevaluating the project – it was canceled and the campaign is now closed.
If you’ve shot with a smartphone, you’ll know how terrible the built-in flash is. LIT has introduced a new xenon flash which brings the power of an external flash to your smartphone photos. It will be available for both Android and iPhone and it aims to make your photos “lit.”
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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