Demos at graphics conferences are often interesting to watch because they offer a sneak peek at technologies that may soon become available to the general public. The video above is a demo for “PatchMatch“, an algorithm developed by researchers at Princeton and Adobe. Although you might be unfamiliar with PatchMatch, you’ve probably heard of its most famous feature: Content Aware Fill. Only a small piece of this amazing technology was introduced in Photoshop CS5, so the amazing image manipulations seen in this demo are likely a sneak peek into what we’ll be seeing in Photoshop CS6.
If you’re a Flickr loyalist that hasn’t jumped ship for competing services, Flickr is rewarding you with a couple new tools for sharing your photos. Today the company announced an official app for Android and a new photo-sharing feature called Photo Sessions. Read the rest of this entry »
The Sharpen Tool in Photoshop has always been useful in that it allows you to quickly sharpen specific areas in a photograph, but a major problem was that it had the tendency to introduce nasty artifacts into the image. Alternative methods that avoid this issue (e.g. using a new sharpened layer) became popular, leaving the Sharpen Tool to gather dust on many users’ tool pallets.
Well, if you’ve recently upgraded to Photoshop CS5, you might want to take another look at the tool. They’ve quietly introduced a new feature (on by default) called “Protect Detail”, which allows for brush-based pressure-sensitive sharpening without the annoying artifact problem.
For photo enthusiasts, Google’s new Google+ social network is something like Flickr mixed with Facebook. It has the social sharing power of Facebook while providing features and tools Flickr users would appreciate thanks to the fact that Google runs a full-fledged photo-sharing service in Picasa (soon to be brought into the Google+ fold and renamed Google Photos). One such feature is the EXIF data section, easily accessed for each photo by Action->Photo Details. Most Facebook users would likely be confused by having a histogram pop up for their images, but for loyal Picasa users using Google+ for sharing and viewing photos, it’s quite a nifty option.
The Canon EOS-0 is what you get at the Apocalypse when all the major camera, software, and operating system companies get together to unleash unspeakable evil into the world. It’s a camera with a little bit of everything: support for every major lens mount, a drive for various kinds of discs, Windows Vista as the operating system (shudder), Photoshop available on the giant widescreen LCD, etc… Pretty much the only thing you won’t find on this camera is a toaster. Read the rest of this entry »
You won’t really learn anything about how to use cameras from this short film, but it’s pretty amusing and can be a nice photography-related 2-minute diversion from your work.
In the present day world of photography, “mainstream” digital cameras aren’t nearly as modular as desktop computers since components can’t easily be swapped in and out of the camera body. The future might look quite different, and Nikon is taking a step in that direction with a recent patent filing for interchangeable sensors on EVIL cameras. In addition to choosing a particular lens depending on the desired photo, photographers would be able to choose different sensors as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Polaroid has been getting some viral attention today, partially from its addition of Lady Gaga to its staff, but also because it’s new nostalgic line of instant cameras. That’s right, folks, Polaroid’s back in the instant business — it couldn’t let such a good cash cow run away, after all. Several models of the PIC-1000 were displayed today at CES in Las Vegas, including this nifty wooden body camera:
Pricing and availability are still a mystery, but these cameras are compatible with Polaroid 1000 instant film. Features include a flash, self-timer and red-eye reduction.
Canon reveals three new Wireless File Transmitters for the EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D that can link up to 10 cameras, wireless, Wi-Fi protected setup, FTP transfer mode, and more. Read the press release here.
Camera makers are releasing new point-and-shoot cameras left and right. The Imaging Resource has a pretty comprehensive list of the announcements.
Casio releases a new digital picture frame that adds art effects to your photos. Read more on CNET.
Check up on us tomorrow for more news and product announcements from CES 2010.
Polaroid has been getting some viral attention today, partially from its addition of Lady Gaga to its staff, but also because it’s new nostalgic line of instant cameras. That’s right, folks, Polaroid’s back in the instant business — it couldn’t let such a good cash cow run away, after all. Several models of the PIC-1000 were displayed today at CES in Las Vegas, including this nifty wooden body camera:
Pricing and availability are still a mystery, but these cameras are compatible with Polaroid 1000 instant film. Features include a flash, self-timer and red-eye reduction.
Canon reveals three new Wireless File Transmitters for the EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D that can link up to 10 cameras, wireless, Wi-Fi protected setup, FTP transfer mode, and more. Read the press release 
