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Nvidia’s new “computational zoom” tech lets you change composition in post

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This whole “computational photography” thing always felt a little bit weird. But it also intrigued me. The idea that a computer can realistically create things that weren’t actually shown in the original shot is pretty amazing. Maybe it was seeing this scene in Blade Runner as a kid that did it for me. It was pure fantasy back then, but we’re getting there.

A new “computational zoom” technology developed by researchers at Nvidia and UCSB brings us a step closer to Deckard’s reality. Essentially it allows the photographer to change the focal length and perspective of an image in post, but this description barely does it justice. It actually allows you to simulate multiple focal lengths simultaneously. Here, watch this video, and it’ll all make sense.

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How to turn off that annoying grid in Photoshop when you zoom in.

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Hey, guys!

I’ve been working on 4K for the last year, and as such, I have to zoom in quite considerably more than resolutions such as 1080 and 1440 to get to the same level of “zoomed in” view. This extreme zoom-in adds a grid to the view. As a photographer and a retoucher, it can make life very difficult if you’re not aware that you can turn this grid off.

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Here’s how Sony Mirrorless cameras allow you to double your lens’ focal length without losing quality

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Mirrorless market continues to expand, and many professional photographers switch from DSLR to mirrorless cameras. Both of the systems certainly have their advantages, but there’s one interesting feature you can find specifically in Sony mirrorless cameras. It’s called Clear Image Zoom, and it helps you turn a prime into a zoom lens (sort of) without losing quality. Manny Ortiz talks about it in this video giving you some tips and hints for using it.

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Zoom solves the issue of bad audio in your videos by building a camera into a microphone

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Bad audio is something that’s plagued action cameras since their inception. Some of them don’t do too terrible, and a few even let you plug in external mics. But action camera sound does generally tend to feel like an afterthought. Zoom have come up with a novel way of solving this issue. Instead of trying to cram better quality microphones into cameras, they’ve put the camera into the microphone.

That’s basically what the new Zoom Q2n is. A microphone with a camera & LCD shoved into it. It’s actually a pair of stereo microphones in an XY configuration recording at up to 96Khz 24Bit Far beyond anything available in other action cameras (or even DSLRs, for that matter). It shoots 1080p at 24 or 30fps.

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This 200x zoom camera lets you read the writing on airplanes

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Even without the assistance of the 4x digital zoom, the 50x optical zoom of the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS was pretty impressive when it was released. But what does a combined 200x zoom actually look like? Well, it means you can read the writing on planes flying overhead. Planes that you can’t even see when the lens is set to its widest focal length.

The 50x optical zoom alone is the focal length equivalent of 24-1,200mm on a full frame body. The 4x digital zoom brings that up to 4,800mm equivalent, but you’re still probably better off sticking with the optical and scaling in post if you need to. That being said, it’s still pretty impressive. That it can make out anything at all at that distance is pretty ridiculous.

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Instagram finally adds a half hearted “Pinch to Zoom” feature

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Instagram has finally added a pinch to zoom feature to their app. A feature so underwhelming that they didn’t even mention it on their blog (although, they did post to Instagram, heh). Ok, so perhaps I’m being a little harsh. It’s a feature that has been asked for ever since Instagram first launched. At least, people asked for it until they just got bored of waiting for it. You can now do it, but it’s not really all that useful.

Instagram did upgrade the resolution of images the app supports slightly in 2015 to account for higher resolution displays, but it’s still not very high. With the resolution of today’s phones, Instagram’s 1080 pixel resolution barely covers modern screens. High compression further degrades the quality of the images.

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DJI’s new Osmo+ brings 7x zoom to handheld gimbal cameras

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DJI have updated their Osmo handheld gimbal camera to provide up to 7x zoom capabilities. Like the recently announced Zenmuse Z3 zoom camera for the Inspire 1, it’s actually a 3.5x optical zoom. On top of this is a 2x “digital lossless zoom”. Technically the “digital zoom” is really a crop mode, and is only available when shooting 1080p.

You get a field of view equivalent to a 22-77mm focal range on a full frame camera. It’s a comfortable range. It’s compatible with the DJI GO app, so you get full remote control and viewing from your cellphone or tablet.

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Unleash your inner stalker with the help of a $60k zoom lens

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There’s a little bit of creepy in all of us.  Don’t take my word for it, it’s practically scientific fact.  Stop it!  I’m not judging you…it’s perfectly normal.  But, if you have an extra $60k sitting around looking for a home, you can take your creepy to a whole, new level!

Don’t believe me?  YouTuber SirJonnyCargo shows how he took a Fujinon XA55 Digipower lens designed for video set work, made a few modifications, and attached it to a Panasonic Lumix GH4.  With the crop factor and a 2x teleconverter added, he took the effective focal range of the lens from a measly 9.5-525mm (::scoffs::) to a whopping 44-2,415mm full-frame equivalent!  That’s some serious reach, AT&T.

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Five Audio Options for Your Home or Office Studio

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Being photographers we are accustomed to pay attention to composition, lighting, depth of field, colors, focal length and many other factors that comprise the final frame.

Photographers entering the world of video have the advantage of already mastering all these aspects, but one of the most important aspects in video gets ignored way too often – audio.

Audio recording is not something that automatically comes to mind for a stills photographer, in many cases leading to sloppy sound that ruins the video, but luckily Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens is here to help.

Watch the video for five options for recording audio in your home studio. Jay explains the advantages, disadvantages and price of these solutions, ranging from free to $1,000.

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Sigma Gearing to Aim at Tamron With New Massive Telephoto Lens

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It’s that time of the year again, and with Photokina back in session comes the inevitable new gear announcements, as well as the rumors leading up to them. This time, the rumors are about a new and upcoming telephoto lens from Sigma. Made for their Sports line, the 150-600mm F/5.6-6.3 lens seems to be a direct competitor to Tamron’s own recently released 150-600mm model.

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