February 2013 news and reviews

Accessory maker Satechi has announced the BT Smart Trigger, an iOS-controlled Bluetooth 4.0 shutter release for Canon DSLRs. It features multiple shooting modes including timelapse and long exposures, via the free Smart Trigger app. The trigger has a claimed battery life of up to 10 years and range of 50 feet. It is currently available for an introductory price of $44.99. An Android-compatible version will be available from March 2013.

US technology company Rambus has unveiled 'Binary Pixel' sensor technology, promising greatly expanded dynamic range for the small sensors used in devices such as smartphones. Current image sensors are unable to record light above a specific saturation point, which results in clipped highlights. Binary Pixel technology gets around this by recording when a pixel has received a certain amount of light, then resetting it and in effect restarting the exposure. The result is significantly expanded dynamic range from a single exposure. 

The latest release candidates of Adobe Camera Raw (7.4) and Lightroom (4.4) include improved demosaicing logic for Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor cameras, including the flagship X-Pro1. We found previous ACR versions struggled with fine detail and color accuracy, so were anxious to re-process our X-Pro1 files in ACR 7.4 RC. Is this the update X-Pro1 owners have been waiting for? Have a look at our results.

Phase One has announced Capture One Express 7, the latest version of its enthusiast Raw image processing tool. A stripped-down version of Capture One Pro, Capture One Express 7 gains features including HDR processing, lens correction and digital asset management tools. Express doesn't support tethered shooting, but images can be viewed remotely and wirelessly using either the Capture Pilot iOS app or a web browser on other devices. Capture One Express 7 will cost $99/€69 with discounted upgrades. Click through for the press release and more details.

Just Posted: Sony NEX-3N hands-on preview with real world samples. We've had a chance to use and shoot with a NEX-3N and, now that Sony US has announced the camera, we can publish our look at the latest model. The 3N is the fourth entry-level NEX camera and the smallest so far. Despite this, it includes most of the features of its predecessors. We look at what has been added and what it lacks, compared to last year's NEX-F3.

Nikon has signed a licensing deal with Microsoft to cover the use of patented technologies in its Android-based cameras. The deal is the latest instance of Microsoft pursuing makers of Android devices, claiming patent infringement. Despite free access being one of the founding ideas of Google's Android operating system, Microsoft has been increasingly successful in convincing manufacturers of Android devices that they need to strike licensing deals for some of its technologies.

We've updated our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 review with an additional page of lens data, brought to you in collaboration with DxOMark. The RX1's headline feature may well be its 24MP full frame image sensor, but the fixed Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm F2 lens is an equally crucial part of its imaging chain. We've added a full set of technical lens measurements to our review to illustrate how it performs, presented in our unique data widget. You can also see how it measures up against the best 35mm lenses available for SLRs.   

A 320-gigapixel image taken from top of London's BT Tower has set the world record of the largest panoramic photo. It breaks the previous record set by a 281-gigapixel electron micrograph of a zebrafish embryo taken in 2012. The London image was shot by panorama specialists 360 Cities and is made up of 48,640 individual frames. To get an idea of just how large this photograph is, BT says if it was printed at 'normal resolution' the photo would measure measure 98 x 24 metres.Click through for pictures and more information on the hardware used to make the image. 

Sigma has released version 5.5 of its Photo Pro raw processing software, which adds a monochrome processing mode for cameras with the 15x3MP Foveon sensor - i.e. the SD1, SD1 Merrill, DP1 Merrill, DP2 Merrill and DP3 Merrill. It's also now compatible with Windows 8. The software is available now from Sigma's website - click through for more details and download links. 

Alongside the D7100, Nikon announced the WR-1 Transceiver, a unique radio-frequency wireless remote control. Able to remotely control multiple cameras capturing stills and videos, and even time-lapse sequences, the Nikon WR-1 Transceiver mounts on the camera's hot shoe, but communicates via a cable attached to the master camera. Expected to retail for £649.99 in the UK, the WR-1 will ship in March 2013 (US pricing has yet to be announced).

UK camera bag manufacturer Billingham is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and its new 2013 catalogue highlights the development of its products released from 1973 to the present. Billingham was founded in 1973 in the West Midlands, in England. As well as an interesting overview of the company's history, Billingham's 2013 brochure also includes information about and specifications of all current models of bags and optional accessories along with details about the materials and construction methods used in the creation of its premium products. Click through for a link to the catalogue. 

Dozens of two-dimentional aerial photo calibration targets are scattered all across the United States, according to a report by the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Constructed mostly during the 1950s and 1960s, these large outdoor charts were used as 'a platform to test, calibrate, and focus aerial cameras traveling at different speeds and altitudes.' The report points out that although some of these 'charts' are still used for some optical camera testing and calibration, they are primarily relics of the past. Click through for more information, and images.

Swedish photographer Paul Hansen has won the World Press Photo 2013 award for his picture of a Palestinian family carrying two children who were killed in an Israeli missile strike to their funeral. The contest also awarded prizes in eight other categories ranging from Sports to Portraits. Some of these images may be familiar from news coverage throughout the year, but they make a compelling and inspiring reminder of the exceptional level of photojournalism across the world. Click through to check out some of the winning photographs.

Dell has announced its 27" U2713H and 24" U2413 LED monitors designed for color critical applications like photo editing. These latest flagship models promise 99% coverage of the AdobeRGB color space, feature a 12-bit internal processor and 14-bit LUT (lookup table) for software calibration. The U2713H and U2413 are currently available at prices starting at US $999/£802/€829  and US $599/£490/€519 respectively.

Panasonic UK has announced a 'Try Before You Buy' service for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Micro Four Thirds camera allowing customers to borrow it as a kit along with the 12-35mm for 48 hours. This offer is available across a number of UK retailers with no obligation to purchase. The company says the scheme lets customers 'road test' the camera before committing to such a big purchase. Click through for the list of 28 participating retailers.

A new BBC documentary uses tiny disguised cameras to take an intimate look at the lives of penguins. Wildlife producer John Downer and his team shot 'Penguins: Spy in the Huddle' with fifty 'spy cameras' disguised as rocks, eggs and even penguins themselves. The team shot footage of Emperor penguins in Antarctica, Rockhopper penguins on the Falkland Islands and Humboldt penguins in the Atacama Desert near the Peru-Chile border. Click through for photos, video and more information about the cameras.

DxO Labs has released version 8.1.3 of its DxO Optics Pro software. The Elite edition extends support to the Leica M-E, M9, and M9-P rangefinders. Both the Elite and Standard versions gain Nikon D5200, Panasonic DMC-FZ200, and Canon SX50 HS support. The update also adds 260 lens and cameras combinations for Canon, Leica, Panasonic, Sigma, Sony, Tamron, Tokina, and Zeiss users. These modules join the existing list of over 10,000 combinations.

Epson has announced the VS320 and VS220 budget projectors offering SVGA and XGA resolutions respectively. Both the lightweight models deliver 2700 lumens of color and white brightness and include features such as USB Plug ‘n Play, 3 inch LCDs and HDMI connectivity. The projectors are available at retail prices of $429 and $359 respectively.

We've added the Nikon D5200 to our database of studio comparison images. We're in the process of running a production D5200 through our studio tests, so wanted to present the results of our standard test scene. These shots are also available from other reviews and the standalone tool (click 'Review Comparison Tool' link in the site's Reviews menu). We'll be adding a complete set of studio and real-world sample images in the coming days but, in the meantime, click through to see how the D5200 stacks against the competition. 

Just posted: Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 sample gallery. We've been shooting with the Olympus 17mm F1.8 lens for a while now and have put together a sample gallery showing what it can do. We've also prepared some notes on the experience of shooting with the 34mm equivalent fast prime for Micro Four Thirds and included some shots that match ones we included in our Sony RX1 gallery. Beyond that we've tried to show a the lens at a series of apertures to show how the lens behaves.

The World Photography Organisation has announced the shortlists for the professional, open and youth categories of the 2013 Sony World Photography awards. This year's competition saw the highest number of submissions to date with more than 122,000 entries from 170 countries. The shortlist offers an insight into an impressive gallery of images. Winners are scheduled to be announced in March and April. Click through for more information and a look at some of the photographs.

The makers of Raspberry Pi - the popular low-cost computer - have announced the development of a new camera module, expected to cost $25. Since the first version of Raspberry Pi was released early last year, more than half a million of the inexpensive boards have been sold to eager enthusiasts all over the world, and put to use doing everything from running games to powering a voice-activated coffee machine (yes, really). Details on the forthcoming camera module are vague, but it is expected to offer at least 5MP resolution and the ability to capture HD video. Click through for more details. 

CP+ 2013: The show was a bit short on high-end camera launches, but the Olympus Stylus XZ-10 - a small-sensor camera with a good degree of manual control - generated a lot of interest. We got a chance to get our hands on a pre-production unit and were talked-through its Photo Story feature, as well as having a good dig through the menus to see what it's capable of. Click here to read our first impressions.

Nikon has posted a firmware update for its 1 V1 enthusiast small sensor mirrorless camera. Firmware version 1.21 resolves a minor bug related to live view performance immediately after a lens is attached. The firmware is available immediately for download. Click through for more details and a link to the update.

CP+ 2013: Casio wants to make cameras that allow non-photographers to take better images, and that could mean large sensor compacts, says Jin Nakayama, Senior General Manager of the company's QV Digital Camera Division, but don't expect a mirrorless camera. The company, which makes some of Japan's best-selling compacts, has a development strategy Nakayama believes will distinguish it from smartphones while also staying a step ahead of its camera rivals, he says.

CP+ 2013: Panasonic is considering which cameras it needs to appeal to the different demands for Micro Four Thirds in different countries. We spoke to Michiharu Uematsu, Special Adviser, Imaging Business Group and Yoshiyuki Inoue, Senior Engineering Planner, Marketing Team, Imaging Business Group. They explain the challenges of making and marketing a high image quality compact and suggest the GH3 won't get focus peaking.

Panasonic has devised a method to increase the sensitivity of image sensors, by replacing the near-universal colour filter array with prism-like 'Micro Color Splitters' to generate colour information. The key advantage is that all of the incoming light is directed to the sensor, instead of half or more being absorbed by the colour filter dyes. This promises to deliver images with less noise in low light. The development is published in the journal Nature Photonics, and outlined in a press release on Panasonic's website.   

CP+ 2013: Nikon has several samples of its 18-35mm F3.5-4.5G ED consumer-level wide-angle full-frame zoom on show, while Sigma has re-designed and re-worked several of its most interesting lenses, which are being shown in prototype form at its stand. This includes a new version of its 30mm F1.4 for APS-C DSLRs. And, while none are available to shoot with yet, we got a chance to handle them, along with the portrait-friendly Sigma DP3 Merrill. 

CP+ 2013: There will be a Canon EOS 70D, but the future of semi-pro DSLRs is probably full-frame, says Masaya Maeda, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Image Communication Products Operations at Canon. However, while he says new concepts are needed to save the compact camera, he doesn't see larger sensors as being the answer for the mass market.