News / Connect

Sony has released the API for developing mobile apps to control a number of their Wi-Fi equipped digital cameras. Developers will now have access to camera control, and could create things like Photo Uploaders and Time Lapse Control, according to Sony. Currently supported cameras include the NEX-5R/T, NEX-6, and the recently announced QX twins. Learn more at connect.dpreview.com.

We're at the IFA trade show in Berlin this week, checking out new tech aimed at photography enthusiasts. One stand-out is the latest flagship smartphone from Sony, the Xperia Z1 (which had the codename of 'Honami'). Sony's certainly put the focus on imaging here with an F2.0, 27mm equivalent lens and a 20.7 megapixel, 1/2.3" BSI-CMOS sensor, as well as a new physical shutter button. Read about our first impressions of the device on connect.dpreview.com.

Microsoft is moving forward with a deal to purchase Nokia's Devices and Services business for $7.2bn (€5.44bn EUR). The Finnish hardware maker's mobile phone division has been struggling since the dawn of the smartphone era, recently reporting a $150 million revenue loss even after surging sales of its Lumia line of Windows Phone 8 smartphones. For Microsoft, the acquisition is an opportunity to unify its mobile brand. Click through for more details on connect.dpreview.com.

The 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 melds technology first debuted on the Pureview 808 with a relevant operating system and the optical image stabilization introduced in Nokia’s Lumia 920 that allows significantly better image quality in low light. But do these great ideas translate into a great photographic experience? Our sister site, connect.dpreview.com has put the Lumia 1020 through its picture-making paces to find out how well its impressive imaging technology works in the real world.  

National Geographic sent photographer Stephen Alvarez to the beautiful American Southwest equipped with Nokia's flagship Lumia 1020 smartphone. The results from the 1020's 41 megapixel camera are pretty impressive - at least by mobile phone standards. You can evaluate the photos with your own eyes on our mobile photography site, connect.dpreview.com.

As part of its effort to 'make Flickr awesome again', parent company Yahoo has released a hefty update to its Flickr app for iOS. Improved capture tools include the ability to lock separate focus and exposure points on the capture screen with a two finger tap. In addition, users can view the filters 'live'. When you are ready to edit, you can customize the exposure using the new Levels adjustment, correct color balance, sharpen, brighten, crop, straighten, or even add vignetting to your image. Click through for more details at connect.dpreview.com.

Facebook has started rolling out shared photo albums to select users of their social networking website. Currently, photo albums are limited to the user that created it. Shared albums will allow users to create a gallery that can be used by as many as 50 friends, each of whom can upload up to 200 photos. You can learn more about shared photo albums and when you can try it for yourself on our sister site, Connect.

As camera manufacturers attempt to counter the onslaught of a smartphone-in-every-pocket mobile photography movement taking the place of point-and-shoot cameras, some solutions seek to combine the two devices. Our sister site, connect.dpreview.com has pulled together a handful of these ideas - now in production or still in development - for your interest (and, possibly, amusement). Are these technological wonders that you'll spend your hard-earned cash for, or are they destined for the recycle bin?

Being a photojournalist is inherently competitive. Sometimes, you are competing against other professionals in your area, sometimes you are competing against the kid with an iPhone who happened to get to the crime scene 30 minutes before you. For photographers Eric Thayer and Joshua Lott, the competition is personal and public. What started as classic one-up-manship has escalated into an official Instagram face-off. Head over to our sister site connect.dpreview.com to read more about the friendly rivalry. 

Sometimes, the best thing that you can do creatively is to give yourself limitations. For filmmaker Jason van Genderen, that meant putting down his camera and picking up his smartphone. Van Genderen prides himself on being a 'pocket filmmaker.' Living in Terrigal, Austrailia, van Genderen spends his days running a creative agency and whenever he gets a chance, he uses smartphones to create films. We spoke to van Genderen about his experience using the Lumia 920 for filmmaking. Click through to read the full interview on connect.dpreview.com.

What would you do for a new smartphone? At recent promotional event in Seoul, South Korea, twenty people were injured, seven seriously, while trying to collect free phone vouchers for LG's new G2 handset. According to authorities, the stunt went badly wrong when crowds showed up carrying BB guns and 'knives on sticks' to retrieve the vouchers, which were suspended from helium balloons. This simply confirms our long-standing suspicion that the human race truly is doomed. Click through to read more at connect.dpreview.com.

Swiss company Hyetis has created a new wristwatch which features a built-in 41MP camera (because anything less would have been soooo 2012...) which is expected to cost around $1200 when it goes on sale. Details are sketchy, but according to the manufacturer, the watch's built-in camera features an 'optical zoom lens', with an integrated ring flash, as well as communication features including a microphone. Click through for more details on our sister site, connect.dpreview.com.

Is the snapshot dead? Seattle-based photo collector Robert E. Jackson believes so. In an interview with National Public Radio, Jackson argues that today's snapshots, stored digitally rather than printed out, are about self-promotion: 'creating an identity about who I am and that's what you want to transfer to Facebook'. You can read extracts from the interview, and watch it in its entirety over at our sister site, connect.dpreview.com.

Rumors continue to fly about a Sony lens/sensor combo in the works for Android and iOS devices. Now, more images have emerged of the rumored accessories, apparently designed to attach magnetically to your existing smartphone. It's speculated that one of these models bears the same 1-inch sensor as the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II, and both models reportedly boast NFC and WiFi connectivity. Click through for the most recent images and details at connect.dpreview.com.

A woman who had her phone stolen has been keeping an eye on the thief, using Dropbox. Apparently unaware that the phone was set to automatically sync its camera roll, the phone's new 'owner' has been merrily posting pictures of himself and his surroundings, which now form the basis of an amusing Tumblr account, 'Life of a Stranger who Stole my Phone'. Click through for some pictures and a link over at connect.dpreview.com.

The recently-launched Leonardo is a full-featured image-editing app for iOS that offers tools you won't find on too many other comparable apps. Containing options familiar from high-end PC applications like Photoshop, Leonardo allows you to make selections using lasso and 'magic wand' tools, and create layer masks, gradients and much more. For more details head over to our sister site connect.dpreview.com. 

As the official White House photographer, Pete Souza gets more access to the President than any other professional photographer. Souza is no stranger to photographic social media, either. His images are regularly posted on the White House's Flickr stream, where the Obama administration has been giving insight into the daily lives of the first family since the inauguration in 2009, and he recently joined Instagram. Time recently interviewed Souza about his work, and you can read more at our sister site, connect.dpreview.com.

GoPro has updated its iOS and Android apps with more robust control and sharing capabilities, allowing you to share pictures and videos directly to the usual social networks. In addition to viewing the content stored on your GoPro, users can now share clips and stills without leaving the app. Right now it supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, as well as email and text, but it's indicated that support for other apps is on its way as well. Click through for more details on connect.dpreview.com.

Back in 2008 the Impossible Project took on the task of reproducing Polaroid instant film. Since then, their product line has expanded to include the Impossible Instant Lab. Similar to the analogue Daylab that Polaroid (and Fuji instant film) fans use(d) to create instant prints from 35mm and 120 film, transparencies, snapshot prints and 3D objects, the Instant Lab operates in much the same way using onscreen images from your iPhone as the source. Click through for more details. 

After our hands-on look at the Nokia Lumia 1020 last week, we were excited to spend a few days really shooting with the device. We've now had time to test out the Lumia 1020 in a wide array of lighting conditions and on an assortment of different subjects, and been able to more thoroughly explore the many settings available through the new Nokia Pro Cam capture app. Click through for the full gallery on connect.dpreview.com.