Project Tango on Lenovo Phab 2

Project Tango from Google is finally live on a Lenovo Smartphone. As we await anxiously for Apple's take on 3D camera technology, long rumored to be unveiled on the iPhone 7, the people at Google has taken a swipe at Apple by giving that technology to Lenovo. 

Now, Lenovo isn't a push over. They have been in the PC business long enough to know that buying up IBM's Thinkpad division was worth something. Problem is, they are not really in the mobile space until now. 

The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro is a beast like the other Phab 2 models in that it has a very large 6.4-inch display. It is so large that old people would be find no trouble poking at the onscreen buttons with aplomb.

The Pro's screen is quad HD and powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 652 processor (as opposed to the MediaTek chips in the Phab 2 and Phab 2 Plus). This monster has a 16-megapixel camera, 4GB of RAM, a fingerprint scanner, 4,000mAh battery, and all of the other features you'd expect on a modern Android smartphone. But what's more is the hidden asset, which consist of a 3D sensor that detects depth. 

This 3D sensor is what Project Tango from Google is all about. For you to take pictures in 3D, the sensor works concurrently with the device camera. This means that the future is indeed very bright for those who want to do some 3D scanning of a solid object and have that printed out on a 3D printer. 

Now the larger display isn't going to make this a easy to use mobile device. You can't put this in your pocket unless of course you are as large as Yao Meng, the towering Houston Rockets basketball player who has since retired. 

Lastly, why would you want to carry a device this large unless your work calls for it? So think of the possibilities that would require this overly large telephone to some serious work instead of posting pictures to Instagram, then maybe you would find the answer.

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Snapwire Now Open to Localized Photographer Request

The idea isn't new. It's been done before at professional levels but what makes it different this time is that Snapwire is essentially a mobile photographer's stock image agency, allowing you to submit photos shot entirely on  your iPhone.

The minimum request price is US$150, but half of that only goes to the photographer.

Previously, Snapwire only opened such request to qualified brands where they can offer a mission to mobile photographers and have them shoot on spec. These specs from companies such as Hertz and numerous booze brands help to create both awareness and in doing so also helps to bring down the cost of having to use a professional to shoot for them.

Imagine for a moment that you need a photo of three people posing next to a bottle of Gin, which happens to be your brand of Gin, and offer US$600 for the best picture....with model releases. You can pretty well get them at that rate. A pro photographer will charge for three models, shooting and staging time....and can run into US$8,000 for a set. The savings are enormous.

How Local Request Changes Everything

Often times when a brand turns to stock imagery, there is considerably work involved to select a good photo. Many of these images are generic stock images, and to pencil in a brand of Gin would take Photoshop skills that needs to be outsourced. And generic stock photos poses a danger to the brand if they are used so often from selling bras to condoms and you wouldn't want that same picture appearing in a rival brand's advert either.

These local request changes the dynamics by specifying a rate you want to pay for the picture and a model that is unique only to you. In other other words, it is just another way to erase the Pro Photographer from your call to list.

The Snapwire photographer will produce a set of results and it is up to you to pay for them or reject them. Previously, this same business model was used for professional photographers who can be hired on the spot by companies or brands to shoot on spec.

This shoot on spec request is now open to mobile photographes on Snapwire who have gained a large following on their portfolio as well as earned points to various levels of skills needed to fulfill the request.

Sometimes when you democratize the way you do business, you can only scratch the bottom of the pool but others will say it levels the playing field between professionals and amateurs.

Who am I to say who is right or wrong?

For those of you who have plonked down thousands for a DSLR, you better find another way to charge for your business as the revolution in technology will make what you do obsolete. If big brands turn to amateurs for all their photography needs, don't you think it is time to take up a second job?

 

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Pictar Mobile Camera Grip for iPhone

I am not sold on this contraption but it might prove useful for some of you out there. This project is currently on Kickstarter and is by Miggio, who is no stranger to crowdfunding projects.

This is a grip for you iPhone, and it works up to the 6p models. An app that comes with it allows you to use your camera settings on the grip, and it even has a tripod mount and a hotshoe for LED flash.

Beyond this, there isn't much that isn't already in the picture except that it will cost you 90 bucks.

The grip does not offer any battery charging, a most useful option to have for 90 bucks but the inventors didn't think it would matter.

Connection is via bluetooth, so be prepared to hug a wall when needed to charge up. Using your iPhone display to shoot pictures will cut your online time by more than half. Think in a matter of hours than a half day. Nonetheless you could do no worst in normal shooting conditions when you constantly refer to the display to crop and compose your photos.

I do find this useful if you are shooting video, the grip allows you to pan with one hand while the other can be used to hold an ice cream cone which you use to cool off during the summer heat.

I think you can find better things to spend on 90 bucks instead of this contraption.

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Huawei and Apple devices to feature Dual Cameras

Going forward there isn't much sense in the megapixel race. After Nokia topped it off with a 40 megapixel shooter, there wasn't much going forward until now.

Chinese manufacturer Huawei, has teamed up with Leica to offer the P9 Android based Smartphone that has a dual camera. But how it uses the camera is a little different.

Both are 12 megapixel cameras but only one shoots in color, the other in monochrome.

How so?

Well, the engineers at Leica sort of figured out that two merged photos are better than one since the monochrome camera sees better contrast, once paired with the color version the final picture will be one that would have better sense of depth and higher dynamic range.

Stock image portal, EyeEm partnered with Huawei to give its photographers some sample units to shoot with and the results are not too shabby.

That is until you examine the darker images shot in poor lighting and you'd see quite a fair amount of noise.

Such is the life of a small sensor. You can't capture enough light in low ISO.

Even though the P9 camera sensors are only 12 megapixel, it will never ever come close to that from a DSLR with the same number of megapixels.

But Huawei isn't the only one who will be doubling down on a dual camera device. Apparently rumors have it that Apple themselves will be releasing the iPhone 7 with dual cameras and though it remains to be seen how such a system is going to benefit image capture, one thing comes to light...you will have better bokeh.

Bokeh seems to be the goal of these dual camera systems. Both the iPhone and Huawei will have no problems achieving this since both these cameras will make it much easier to capture depth and rendering in a bokeh is practically idiot proof.

Previously, Google's own Camera app is able to do this with a single camera capture except that you needed the extra step to slide the camera to allow it to capture depth. This means that you cannot capture moving objects and have bokeh rendered in.

Now, with the option of having two cameras side by side, this extra step is made unnecessary.

For now, Huawei hasn't made a decision to enter the US market, so that means consumers in Asia and Europe will get a first taste of the P9 while the rest of America has to wait for Apple's iPhone 7 to sample this bokehlicious feature.

The Huawei P9 should sell within a ballpark cost close to that of an iPhone 7 without contract.

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ExoLens from Zeiss hopes to change the way you shoot with an iPhone

At CES 2016, Zeiss debut a two lens set for the iPhone6 and Galaxy S6  called the ExoLens. It has been a tried and tested way for many to get people to add lenses to their iPhones for many years only to end up disappointing. Can Zeiss change the game?

For me, without question is kinda simple. Show me the proof and I would ante up on one. Problem is, they didn't quite do that.

Besides running a series of promotional pictures, the site had very few real life examples. This led me to conclude the images may be subpar as with all other clip on or snap on lenses.

The most telling of the sample images was this one from the site. Note the top left and right corners and you'd see the vignetting. This is probably the one that confirms it for me. The wide angle lens isn't going to cut it.

The 3X zoom lens however, well, there was one clear sample but I haven't seen any other tested in more real life situations to warrant me to buy it.

Zoom lenses are a bit more easy to make, the only challenge is the optical quality needed to reproduce colors and the one photo on the site just didn't quite convince me.

Why Now?

It goes without question that the digital camera market has been savaged by the likes of mobile phone cameras. Previously, Zeiss provided their premium lenses to the likes of Nokia and though some are purely branding and had nothing to do with quality, Zeiss still had to find ways to make a living.

Sony licenses Zeiss glass to be used on their mirrorless and DSLR cameras. This is of course a sunset market as the rolling numbers aren't going to pay the bills in Germany.

So why not an iPhone lens?

The two set lens cost about US$130 bucks. That is a lot of money to pay if you are sure of the quality but after looking through the whole site for sample images instead of snaps by paid instagramers, I went away disappointed.

The holy grail of iPhone lenses do have some chinks in its armor. And that's that's not something I would pay over a hundred bucks for.

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Panasonic updates the CM1 to CM10

This is a mobile camera. Yup. The phone feature has just been hacked away by Panasonic and it is now rebranded as the CM10.

Why CM10?

I haven't the faintest idea but it has to do with the fact that Panasonic doesn't want the CM10 to be anything more than an iPad.

The technical features haven't changed at all but the ability to make calls have now been removed totally. It makes me snicker at the fact that maybe, just maybe, there would be a hack around the corner to restore this but when that happens, you have downgraded the device to a CM1.

Network access is via LTE, which requires a SIM card. So you can probably chat with Whatsapp or LINE and even make calls using pure DATA instead of a phone call.

The Death of the Phone?

I don't know about you but tell me honestly, how many of you actually use your mobile to make a call these days. Yea, I know...but let's say Skype, Line, Kakao Talk don't count as calls, then how many hours do you use it to actually make a call?

The number drops significantly because there is no real need to make such calls at all.

Data use has replaced most phone calls and video calls can be made too with Skype without having to pay for it by the minuted.

So in reality, this CM10 makes good sense for the tech savvy youngster who gets a data call every now and then from his or her mom.

Panasonic has made one of best mobile cameras on the market and they want you to know that. By removing this one feature, they are doing what Apple has done for decades....like removing the CD drive from Macbooks and Macs.

In short, Panasonic wants you to know that the device is more than just a phone and has camera specific capabilities. 

The CM10 is only available in Japan for now, so it will be a long time coming if you want it on your shore.

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Mobile Photography: Dumping your DSLRs for Smartphones

As a casual photographer, collecting moments and memories, the last thing you'd want to carry with you is a bag with your DSLR camera, lenses and accessories. I have seen people travel with an extra backpack, loaded with a computer along with all their camera equipment and I wonder why they do it. Mobile phone camera photography is here to stay.

So if you're one of those who want to dump that extra baggage, here's what you need to ante up on.

1. Selfie Stick that doubles as a Tripod
2. Battery  Pack for your Smartphone
3. USB OTG Cable & Flash Drive
4. Binoculars Attachment
5. Water resistant housing

Mobile Shooting Workflow

Shooting with a mobile camera is slower than using a DSLR, so get use to it. The super fast AF you get on a DSLR or mirrorless camera these days have no equal in the smartphone gadget store. It's a bit like shooting with a film ranger finder of old if you asked me. You need to anticipate a picture rather than spot and shoot it.

For the most part, the smarpthone's rear camera lens is as wide as it gets. It's normally in the ballpark of 28mm to 32mm in full frame speak. The lens on higher end smartphones has built in macro mode so taking close ups shouldn't be a problem.

To get great photos, you need to get close to the subject. During Robert Capa's days, he was using a 50mm lens. Should you have a phobia of being close to strangers, then get yourself a higher megapixel smartphone camera such as the 20 megapixel CM1 from Panasonic. By pinching and zooming the screen, you have digital zoom. With an iPhone 6S with a 12 megapixel camera, you can still do this but the end result is a much smaller picture. Any closer? Get a binoculars, and use the binoculars attachment. It makes more sense than those clip on lenses which have pretty poor corner sharpness. 

Bokeh effects, is easily obtainable in macro shots but not for everything you shoot with a mobile phone camera. For example, if you wish to have bokeh effects for a medium distance subject, you can only use Google's Camera App that runs on Android Kitkat or Lollipop. It has a lens blur feature where you need to capture a shot and move it upwards to create a depth map. Once you have this depth map, you can select the amount of Bokeh you want in your image. This app from Google is not available on iOS.

The Bokeh effect you see here can only be done for non moving subjects. This means as long as the person holds the pose or stands still long enough for you to take two shots, you'd be able to get a picture. It's not for action shots or any moving subjects.

Panorama features are standard too on the Google camera app, and sometimes it does a better job at it than a DSLR. For a DSLR to work the panorama magic, you need to preset the focal length to about 40mm to 50mm before it renders a smooth pano. Having a wide angle lens like a 28mm will wrap the image pretty badly. Mobile cameras? They do all the heavy lifting when stitching all the images together.

There is no problems with iPhone iOS as well. Panorama shots are supported in device.

Post Production on Mobile

Snapseed is free and the best. The only caveat is that all edited photos are saved to your device storage, you can back up the whole folder to Google Photos account, which is limited to a 16MB file size per photo...all for free but do it only if you have WIFI access or an unlimited mobile data plan.

Why Snapseed works so well is because they were the pioneers. Creators of Snapseed, Nik Software, was way ahead of the curve when they got bought out by Google. And yea, Nik Software was dancing rings around Photoshop Express at the time. Adobe's own Photoshop suite for mobile has undergone many changes, most of it were epic failures.

Ok imported this and edit in Snapseed

Enhanced image using Snapseed, now listed as a royalty free stock image!

When using DSLRs, you had to have a damn computer for you to download your photos for post production. And pay for Adobe Lightroom. Sure, it made you feel important to carry the extra load but trust me, digital photos are worth jack these days as proven by those one dollar royalty free photos.

As a casual shooter, the rationale for owning a DSLR just to get a superior image is superfluous. I mean, what are you going to do with that image? Are you uploading this to Facebook or use it as a print out wallpaper for your home? Would you be much happier if people told you that you took better images with an expensive DSLR? Or would you be elated if they found out that your spiffy image was shot with an iPhone?

Upload or Save to Flash Drive

So you have a 128GB iPhone? Cool. Then you got plenty of space. If you haven't then you should back up your pictures with one of these iPhone Flash Disk. The SanDisk iXpand can give you up to 64GB of back up just for your photos. So that should be enough at least for a few days shoot. If you need more space, consider a WIFI backup to cloud storage when you have access to it. Google Photos offers free 16MB file support with no limit. So even with a 12 megapixel camera, you won't be hitting that file size limit.

For Android devices running KitKat and Lollipop, you only need an OTG cable and any flash drive you have lying around. The OTG cable is a life saver for back ups to portable Hard Drives. Cloud back up is also possible but if you are shooting DNG files which come out larger than 16MB per file, Google Photos won't back them up for you.

One of the reason why back up is so important is simple, you do not want to store all your photos at one place. Should disaster strikes, you'd have a back up, just like the time you had to carry a whole Notebook to back up that DSLR SD card. Having a Notebook these days is totally unnecessary unless you're shooting as a Pro and doing it for a living. Everyone else can carry so much less when your Smartphone is the main camera.

Night and Low Light Photography

For Night or low light photography, well you need that handy tripod cum selfie stick planted on the ground. There are modes on both Android and iOS devices which have HDR and it won't work if you want to hand hold the shot. Some camera modes have their own Fireworks mode where you can shoot night time fireworks, which might help in certain situations. But if all else fails, then your best bet is still the HDR mode.

HDR or high dynamic range is just another computational term where up to three bracketed exposures are shot and analyzed for exposure detail. Most DSLR and mirrorless cameras have a faux HDR mode but that's fibbing it a bit.

You can also get a super flexible Gorrilapod with a Smartphone holder. This changes the dynamics a bit as you can flex its legs and curl the pod to a lamp post, which can't be done with a selfie stick.

Faux HDR is also available as a dramatic tone effect filter on Snapseed. It is the best tool to use even during cloudy days. The reason I say this is that weather and season can never offer you the perfect lighting so processing your photos this way really helps.

Weather Permitting

There is no such thing as having the perfect weather when you go about shooting and this is why a water proof housing would be an added bonus. Water is your worst enemy and trust me, disasters do happen. Having a water proof housing for you smartphone will save you lots of trouble later. First, most smartphones are not made for everyday disasters. Even having it in your pocket when you get drenched in rain will not save your cameraphone. Water and moisture will seep in and it's not a a nice feeling to have your device destroyed in such a manner.

DSLR photographers often carry two cameras, one as a main, the other as a back up. This is basically the plan to deal with eventualities. Having just one main camera, which hasn't got a water resistant guarantee, you'd be running for cover protecting your gear at the first touch of rain. You can ruin not just your camera but your camera lenses as well and end up with a water damage bill running into thousands of dollars. This is every photographer's nightmare. We spend a small fortune on camera bags too, making sure they will survive rainfall.The iPhone 6S is suppose to be water resistant so you won't need anything else unless you want a housing to take that underwater.

Mobile photographers have no such worries when you have a water proof housing for your smartphone. Just one device would do. Nothing else. Nothing more.

When is right time to Dump the DSLR?

I must say that it really depends on your sentimental feelings for the DSLR. I mean, look, you spent a small fortune on that machine and now you are using it less and less, pretty soon, you'd find yourself stuck with a camera that has little or no value as the megapixel race hots up and your 24 megapixel DSLR pales in comparison to the 100 megapixel version out in the market. Selling your DSLR as a used item would be the best first move.

It's like an ex-girlfriend who lingers in your memory. You had plenty of great times with her but it's time to move on.

Years ago, when I got my first digital camera, a 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5700, it was the best there was for an all round prosumer model. Today, your iPhone has even more pixels than this same device which I paid a small fortune for in its day. I gave mine away as a gift to someone who showed interest in photography before it became an antique.

Today, the megapixel race may have slowed, but the prices of digital cameras hasn't gotten any cheaper.

Consider your shooting requirements first and foremost.

If you love shooting low light and night photos, the DSLR is hard to beat. Cranking up the ISO to 6400 is impossible on an iPhone or Android device. You are normally stuck with a choice of up to ISO800 anything higher would give you pretty poor images in low light. In my lifetime, there were very few occasions that I would have had the pleasure of using high ISO for low light capture. That's because even in the photography philosophies of old, the best time to capture night scenes is not at night, but at dusk. Once you miss that, you have to contend with high contrast images, which might or might not work to your shooting advantage. Using high ISO in daylight is not necessary since some native mobile apps already give you action capture mode.

Once you start making your smartphone camera as the weapon of choice, your view on photography will change.

There will be no more moments where you'd think you'd be better off with a three thousand dollar DSLR when all you do is indulge in a hobby that gives you joy.

Shooting with a mobile device has a different set of challenges, it does not have the same controls as a DSLR nor does it attract the same sort of attention. This I find is one of the problems with photographers who wish to live the lifestyle. They want to be seen with a large camera with a phallic length lens to show off their street cred. These people do exist...and I know of them even in the analogue film age.

Shooting with a mobile device camera is far less obtrusive. Scotland Yard won't be pulling you over the kerb if you happen to snap a picture of the MI5 building while you're strolling along the Thames it. It won't be the same if you had a mighty DSLR with a spiffy lens drapped round your neck. Prison time? Probably.

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