News / Connect

Google has announced that its 'Glass' interactive head-mounted camera is now available for beta testing. Users who want to get their hands on an early version of the augmented eyewear can apply on social media channels, Google+ or Twitter. The company released a video today to promote the technology, showing what the world looks like through its camera. Read more about the Google Glass and instructions to sign up for beta testing on connect.dpreview.com

Much ado has been made about the sensor technology rumored to debut along with HTC's newest handset launched today, the HTC One. While rumors of stacked sensors were predictably wide of the mark, HTC is taking a clever approach to improving camera phone quality by betting on fewer but larger pixels captured by a 4.0MP 1/3" sensor, which are similar in size to those found in enthusiast compact cameras, and which HTC is calling 'ultrapixels'. Combined with a fast F2.0 lens and optical image stabilization, the HTC One's specs hold promise for better low-light photography - an area where mobile phones have fallen notoriously short. Click though for our detailed preview on Connect.

Photographer Misho Baranovic used a smartphone to document his recent project in India for NGO World Vision Australia. He found his smartphone the perfect tool for both recording the journey and sharing it with a worldwide audience in real time. In this article, Baranovic discusses the pros and cons of documentary photography with a camera phone, and offers tips for shooting with a mobile device when travelling abroad. Click through for the full article on connect.dpreview.com.

The team at iFixit.com have just got their hands on the Pro version of the Microsoft Surface tablet. Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, the Surface Pro provides the power and performance of a fully-fledged Windows computer in the tablet form factor. The team had a tough time breaking into Microsoft's first tablet and had to use a heat gun and guitar picks to combat the teardown. For all the gory details, images and a link to the full tear-down, click through to our article on connect.dpreview.com.

While wearable, mountable cameras such as the GoPro have been the choice for capturing action-oriented stills and video, some camera phone cases enable users to achieve similar results safely from their smartphone - at a fraction of the cost. With the high-megapixel cameras and HD video recording capabilities of today's advanced mobile devices, such accessories are becoming very viable options for extreme sports and action mobile photography. We look at three such products today on connect.dpreview.com.

Flickr users may be alarmed to learn some of their private images could have been temporarily publicly viewable. Yahoo's photo sharing site alerted affected users with an email message last week, detailing the error and explaining what steps to take. According to Flickr, a software bug resulted in some private images, uploaded between April and December 2012 becoming public between January 18th and February 7th this year. Click through for more details and analysis on connect.dpreview.com.

We've just posted our review of the Samsung Galaxy Camera on Connect. The Galaxy Camera takes components from Samsung's WB850F long-zoom compact camera and its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, and combines them in one device. The result of this fusion of technologies is a compact superzoom camera with a 23mm wideangle, 21x zoom lens and pop-up flash that offers the ability to edit images on the go. You can also share images via Wi-Fi or 3G/4G data connectivity and install a plethora of apps from the Google Play Store. Click through to go to the full review.

Professional photographer Kevin Kuster, who lives in Chicago, was recently approached by the charity Watts of Love  to help with an interesting photography project that seemed a perfect opportunity to make use of his newfound love of mobile photography. He will now travel to the Philippines and shoot 50 weddings in one day  - with his iPhone 4s.

Early tech blog reports suggest HTC's much-anticipated 'M7' smartphone could have a Foveon-like layered sensor. All the information appears to stem from a Pocket-lint report about the phone, expected to be revealed at press events to be held in New York City and London on February 19. The suggestion is that the M7 could have a multi-layer sensor, rather than a conventional 13MP chip with a Bayer filter pattern. Foveon itself once tried to develop a sensor for smartphones and other companies are working on similar concepts. However, we wonder if the story comes from a translation error of Sony's 'Stacked CMOS' technology - which is used in a 13MP Exmor RS sensor.

Photojournalist Ben Lowy made headlines in 2011 when he used his iPhone to shoot an assignment for the New York Times in Afghanistan. Since then he's used his smartphone to document many more events including the Libyan revolution, and the impact of Hurricane Sandy. Today, photo sharing network EyeEm published an interesting interview with Lowy, in which he offers some insight into journalism's changing landscape, and why he chooses to shoot with an iPhone. Click through for more details and a link to the interview on connect.dpreview.com.

Developer Dave Pawlowski and his wife Melissa have announced the CamRanger that lets users wirelessly control Canon and Nikon DSLRs to Apple's iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. The standalone device connects the cameras with a USB cable and creates an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network for the Apple devices. It allows live live view control and playback of images and videos. Head over to connect.dpreview.com for more details.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield is tweeting some impressive photos from his five-month journey aboard the International Space Station. Images are stripped of their data, so it is unclear what camera Hadfield is using. Popular Photography magazine speculates that it might be a Nikon due to the company’s history of cooperation with NASA. Click through to check the photos on connect.dpreview.com.

Stock photography website iStockphoto recently began accepting smartphone images from photographers who sell images through the service. Now they're offering tips to photographers who want to improve their mobile photography skills, which includes both basic photography advice about composition and framing, as well as specific advice for mobilographers. Check out the post on connect.dpreview.com.

Mobile Photography Awards (MPA) have announced the winners, runners up and honorable mentions of their 2013 competition. A record number of entries were received in this year's competition from participants around the globe, demonstrating increasing interest in mobile photography as an art form. We've picked some of our favorites from the 19 categories.

The Apple iPhone kickstarted the smartphone era, and in the process, introduced a huge number of people to photography for the first time, through photo sharing and image manipulation apps. However, the advent of so-called 'smart cameras', which run mobile operating systems but feature much larger sensors and zoom lenses, could threaten Apple’s dominance in the field of mobile photography. As the line blurs further between phones and connected cameras, how will Apple respond? Click through for our take on the possibilities at connect.dpreview.com.

After many leaks, former smartphone leader Research in Motion has officially launched a new photo-feature-heavy operating system and two new devices, the Z10 and Q10. RIM, which will now use the name BlackBerry, has been losing market share to iOS and Android for several years, and these new releases are regarded by many as the Canadian company's last chance to make BlackBerry relevant again. The sleek flagship Z10 features a 4.2-inch 720p touchscreen, an 8MP camera and is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. Click through for more information on connect.dpreview.com.

The latest Apple tablet rumors rang true this morning with the official announcement of a 128GB version of the fourth generation iPad, twice the capacity of the previous maximum capacity model. The new tablet will go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 5 for US$799 with wi-fi and US$929 with cellular and wi-fi. We look at the advantages of a large-capacity tablet for photographers on connect.dpreview.com.

Greek artist Panos Papanagiotou takes a reflective approach to his photography, using his iPhone and apps that create a mirrored effect. Everyday items are transformed into symmetrical studies that challenge the viewer to look at otherwise mundane details in a fresh way. Click through for more information and images from Papanagiotou's Mirrors series in our article on connect.dpreview.com.

San Francisco-based startup Always Innovating has announced that it is working a tiny flying camera designed to follow you around and capture your every move on video which can be streamed directly to an Android smartphone. You'll be able to control the MeCam via voice commands and share the video via social media. The MeCam is still in development, but the company claims that it is 'available for licensing' and is expected to retail for $49. Click through to learn more on connect.dpreview.com.

Rescinding its previous blanket ban against all mobile photography, international stock photo agency Alamy has announced that it will now allow images taken on mobile devices in its Live News service. To be accepted into Live News, Alamy has stated that smartphone images must have news, sports or entertainment value. And in case you were wondering, 'Instagram-style filters' are not allowed. Click through for the full story on connect.dpreview.com.