fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

Smartphones will overtake DSLRs within 3-5 years says Qualcomm VP

by 1 Comment

Echoing the words of Sony president and CEO, Terushi Shimizu, Qualcomm’s vice president of product management and cameras, Judd Heape, believes that AI-powered smartphones are going to overtake DSLRs in terms of image quality in the next few years. His estimate is a little longer than the 2024 date mentioned by Sony, offering 3-5 years as a timeframe, but he believes the sensors area already there and that now AI capabilities will push it over the edge.

It’s a bold claim, from both individuals, but are they right? Well, I think context matters. For 99 percent of people who just want to quickly whip out a camera and take a half-decent photo on a walkabout, yes, they probably are. But can they really usurp DSLRs and mirrorless cameras for all situations? No, I don’t think so.

[Read More…]

NiSi scales down their filter system for their new Smartphone Filter Kit for iPhone

by 3 Comments

If we take away all the egotistical hyperbole, one of the big things that stops a lot of people from shooting more (and more serious) photos with their smartphones is the lack of available filters. Sure, there are some polarisers and NDs out there, but when have you ever seen a square filter system comparable to that which you’d use on a DSLR or mirrorless camera?

Well, NiSi’s solving that today, at least for iPhone users, with the release of their new Smartphone Filter Kit for iPhone. Technically, there are three kits. There’s the Landscape Kit, the Filmmaker Kit and the Cinema Kit, each tailored to a different type of user. And the filters themselves appear to be exactly the same (only smaller) as those which NiSi makes for regular cameras, too.

[Read More…]

How to take this epic moon photo with a cheap telescope and a smartphone

My 2020 had very few moments of pure happiness, and one of them was when I saw the moon through a telescope for the first time. Sadly, to this day, I never managed to photograph it, neither with my phone nor my camera.

But it’s far from impossible. In fact, you can take magnificent moon shots even if you only use your phone. An 18-year-old photographer Vijay Suddala proves it with his magnificent photo that I immediately wanted to learn more about. He kindly granted my wish and shared some details of his image so both you and I can start shooting the moon with our phones.

[Read More…]

Sony President and CEO says smartphone image quality will exceed that of (Sony) DSLRs by 2024

by Leave a Comment

Well, this is a bit of a surprise statement from Terushi Shimizu, President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions during a recent briefing. According to an article on Nikkei Japan, he made the statement that smartphone image quality will exceed that of DSLRs “within the next few years”, although an image accompanying the presentation suggested a more specific timeframe with a 2024 date.

If anybody would know about the image quality of sensors inside DSLRs and smartphones, it’s Sony. After all, they’ve arguably made most of them. But it’s not all about the sensor. He believes that along with new sensor technologies, computational photography will be the defining factor that brings the image quality up to par with DSLRs.

[Read More…]

The OnePlus 10 Pro with its 2nd generation Hasselblad camera has now been released globally

by Leave a Comment

The OnePlus 10 Pro, launched in China back in January today sees its official global release. It boasts the second-generation Hasselblad Camera for Mobile, with the first having previously come in the OnePlus 9 Pro – part of Hasselblad’s 3-year deal with OnePlus that was announced in March of last year. It also features a 120Hz display with Dual Color Calibration (a first in smartphones) and “super-fast” charging.

The camera module retains essentially the same specifications (sensor size, resolution, etc) as its OnePlus 9 Pro predecessor, although it is a redesigned module able to shoot in full 10-bit colour, 125% sRGB coverage capture, and you can shoot 12-bit raw on all three rear cameras. The OnePlus 10 Pro also debuts a new “Movie Mode” allowing for full manual control over your videos along with LOG format.

[Read More…]

Glass wants to make all smartphone lenses anamorphic – but probably not the way you think

by Leave a Comment

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.

[Read More…]

These magical, surreal photos win 2022 Mobile Photography Awards

by 1 Comment

We could argue forever whether gear matters or not. In some cases, it does, but if you know light, composition, and have an eye for beauty around you, a smartphone will do just fine. In fact, even more than fine!

Mobile Photography Awards (MPA) is a perfect example of what photographers mean when they say that gear doesn’t matter. The 2022 contest winners have just been announced, and they are truly marvelous examples of photography – of course, all taken with smartphones.

[Read More…]

Try this simple smartphone double exposure pano on your next photo walk

Once upon a time, I used to spend hours in the darkroom, making elaborate double exposures with negatives. Then, in the digital era, I started making them in Photoshop, which took so little time, and could be done in minutes.

Now, anyone can do easily do it in seconds, with any smartphone. And it’s a whole lot of fun. Have you tried it?

[Read More…]

OnePlus 10 Pro has redesigned Hasselblad camera module with the same specs as its predecessor

In March, it was announced that OnePlus was teaming up with Hasselblad for a three-year partnership and introducing the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. Now, the next iteration of OnePlus flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 10 Pro is almost here with a new Hasselblad triple camera system, although the resolutions don’t really seem to have changed much and also carries the dual-colour LED for “flash” or video fill.

The resolutions of the three rear cameras are a 48-megapixel 1/1.43″ wide-angle camera, an 8-megapixel telephoto camera and a 50-megapixel 1/1.56″ ultra-wide-angle camera. On-paper, that’s identical to the OnePlus 9 Pro, right down to the max aperture, as well as colour features and the video resolutions and frame rates. The selfie camera’s seen a resolution bump, though.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts