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You can now shoot true RAW video with your smartphone thanks to open source app MotionCam

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Well, this is pretty exciting. At least, it’s exciting if you have an Android phone – sorry iPhone users!. The newest version of the open-source camera app, MotionCam, now lets you shoot 10-Bit CinemaDNG RAW video files straight from your Android device. It should be noted that the feature is still experimental and definitely needs a few features tweaking and refining, but it works… with caveats.

The MotionCam software, as mentioned, is open source. It’s available in the Google Play store, but you can also always download and install the latest version from GitHub – and at the moment, you will need to go to GitHub to get the newest version with raw video capability. Here’s a sample recording using the new CinemaDNG raw video feature of the app.

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I shot an entire Photowalk episode with iPhone 13’s “Cinematic Mode,” and I’m impressed

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The reaction I’ve gotten from people watching my latest #shotonaniPhone Photowalks video episode has been across the board.

“What camera did you use to shoot this? It looks amazing.” That was the first comment. My sentiment too.

This is related to the one key new feature of the latest iPhone, which is “Cinematic Mode.” It allows the photographer to blur the background as we do in Portrait Mode for iPhone stills, or by shooting with a small F stop on our cameras.

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Apple wants to help you pick the right iPhone camera with this video

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There’s been a lot of hype about the camera in the latest crop of iPhones from Apple. And it seems that it’s been somewhat justified. At least, certainly more justified than past iPhone releases, that have turned out to not be quite as good as most of their Android contemporaries. The new iPhones look to have seen some decent camera upgrades.

With the iPhone 13, there are four different models, offering a couple of different camera arrays and Apple’s put together this seven-and-a-half-minute video to help you figure out which model is right for you. While the video does talk about other factors like battery performance and construction, the overwhelming majority of the video is focused on its photography and video abilities.

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OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro pay tribute to Hassleblad Xpan, add Xpan camera mode

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OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro were announced earlier this year, and now they’re getting a major update. Their camera was co-engineered with Hasselblad, and now both phones are getting a dedicated Hasselblad Xpan shooting mode. Paying a tribute to the unique film camera, the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro can now simulate the look of the Xpan.

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The ShiftCam ProGrip gives your smartphone a grip and a shutter button like a… “real” camera

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While smartphones haven’t quite taken over from DSLRs and mirrorless cameras in the professional world, their popularity as cameras is in no doubt. In an attempt to make your smartphone feel more like an actual camera, though, ShiftCam has launched the ProGrip, an ergonomic multifunction grip for your smartphone.

It gives you more of that feel you get when you hold a “real” camera with an actual grip designed for your hand and a shutter button placed you’d find it on just about any DSLR or mirrorless camera. It also acts as a wireless power bank and will let you switch between landscape and portrait mode without having to contort your wrists.

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Report: iPhone 13 will have portrait video mode and 4K video

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iPhone 7 Plus was the first phone to incorporate “Portrait mode” that adds artificial background blur to your portraits. According to recent reports, Apple is about to apply the same feature to videos very soon, too. The upcoming iPhone 13 will reportedly allow you to shoot videos with artificial background blur. But there are even more video improvements to come, so let’s see what we can expect.

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Are Moment lenses still worth it over today’s built-in stock smartphone lenses?

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There was a time when third-party smartphone lenses were the go-to for smartphone filmmakers who wanted to take their footage to the next level. And when it comes to third-party smartphone lenses, the biggest name amongst them is undoubtedly Moment, which offers a range of lenses to use with smartphones offering more capabilities than your standard built-in camera modules. Or do they?

That’s the question Brandon Lee attempts to answer in this video from Linus Tech Tips and the short answer is… “It’s complicated”. For the longer answer, you’ll have to watch the video, but it seems they aren’t always as beneficial as they once were – unless, perhaps, you’re shooting video.

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Xiaomi teases new Mi MIX – the world’s first smartphone with a liquid lens

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Xiaomi has teased their upcoming Mi MIX smartphone with a camera that contains a world’s first. It’s going to have a liquid lens that adjusts its focal length and focus distance through the use of an electrical charge. This isn’t the first liquid lens to exist, and they’re common for some industrial uses, but it’s the first time one will be getting put into a production smartphone.

Other than the lens, there aren’t really many details about the new device yet or even just its camera – although no paternership deals with Zeiss, Leica or Hasselblad have been announced. Oh wait, they did get into bed with Light a couple of years ago. And Xiaomi did put out a survey last year to see if they should team up with a big name camera manufacturer (and which one). So… maybe?

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OnePlus 9 Pro officially announced with Hasselblad camera capable of 8K video and 4K 120fps

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OnePlus has now officially announced their new OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro smartphones containing cameras co-engineered with Hasselblad. OnePlus says that the new OnePlus 9 series represents a “major leap forward” in their ability to deliver premium flagship cameras in smartphones.

They say that they’ve been working with Hasselblad through a close R&D collaboration to deliver “vastly improved camera systems” on the OnePlus 9 series and future OnePlus smartphones.

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