TechRadar: Photography & video capture news

Gary Marshall: New Flickr: has Yahoo lost its mind?

Gary Marshall — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

When Yahoo promised that it wouldn't screw up Tumblr, it forgot to add "but wait till you see what we've done to Flickr! Hoo boy!"

It's safe to say that the new Flickr design hasn't proved universally popular: users' response to the official announcement has been overwhelmingly negative.

Redesign-related uproars are nothing new, of course, but this one's different because it represents a sea change in what Flickr's all about.

Taking a Tumblr

Flickr's users are unhappy about two things: the design, and the new pricing structure. The new design looks awfully like a Tumblr archive, but the problem isn't just how it looks. #

Users are complaining about basic usability, unwanted infinite scrolling, slow loading, the removal of titles (they only appear on mouseover now), problems finding stuff, the ability for someone else's glamour shots to dominate your front page, the complete impossibility of clicking links in the front page footer... you get the idea.

Most of it sounds like the sort of teething problems you encounter when a free service undergoes a radical revamp - but for its most loyal users, Flickr isn't a free service. It's something they pay for, and have done for a long time.

And that brings us to the second issue, price. Did Yahoo make up the new tiers in the pub? Before the change, you had a basic, free account and a $24.95 (£16.46 GBP, $25.53 AUD) per year Pro account offering unlimited uploads and ad-free browsing. Now, free and paid accounts both offer 1TB of space.

The only difference between a free account and a paid one is that the latter doesn't run ads - but the price of ad-free browsing has doubled to $49.99 (£32.99 GBP, $51.15 AUD) per year. You can spend more if you like: doubling the storage space to 2TB takes the price to a hefty $499.99 per year "with all the benefits of a free account". We think that means adverts.

Will Pro accounts go?

If you currently have a Flickr Pro account you have a choice to make. Existing accounts will be renewable, although you need to meet certain criteria (a Pro account not just active in January but set to auto-renew) and there's no indication that the price won't rocket. Alternatively you can swap your Pro account for a free account. If you want to do that you need to do it before August because reasons.

So that leaves us with four account options: free with ads; sticking with Pro until the price goes up or Flickr kills Pro accounts, whichever happens first; $49.99 per year for ad-free; and $499.99 (£329.91 GBP, $511.58 AUD) per year, possibly with ads.

Meanwhile rivals such as 500px offer pro snappers unlimited uploading for $75 per year, you can go ad-free for free by installing an ad-blocker and anyone who spends $499 per year to double their space instead of just registering a second free account needs locked up.

In summary, then, either Yahoo have completely lost its mind or Flickr doesn't want the pros any more.

The smart money's on the latter. Pros may have made Flickr what it is - and kept it alive during Yahoo's long years of neglect - but they're not a great demographic for ads, and that's what Flickr is chasing now. Flickr used to beg photographers to go Pro. Now, it seems, it wants the pros to go. Read our first impressions of the new Flickr design.

Nokia EOS and Lumia 920 may have a few things in common

JR Bookwalter — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:56:00 GMT

Nokia's next flagship Windows Phone 8 handset was widely expected for this week's London event, but the rumored EOS instead wound up being spotted elsewhere by an eager fan.

WMPoweruser reported Friday that a reader claims to have spent some face time with a Nokia EOS prototype, and was able to provide a fairly detailed description of the device as he/she saw it.

While the EOS was expected to introduce a metallic, waterproof chassis and quad-core processor earlier this year, the latest report claims it may be much closer to the current Lumia 920.

Given a sneak peek at the device, the tipster claims EOS is made of the same polycarbonate, but is "much lighter" and "highly tapered at both ends, giving the impression of a much slimmer device."

Pro Camera app

The report adds that Nokia's EOS also matches the current Lumia 920 screen size and resolution, with an AMOLED display and familiar speaker grills on the bottom of the handset.

The two smartphones appear to deviate when it comes to camera optics, with an "automatic cover that opens when the camera app is started" and a Xenon flash with what appears to be a focus-assist LED. Megapixel count on the prototype was marked as "XX megapixels," written on the lens housing.

According to the tipster, the EOS will also debut a "Nokia Pro Camera" app with manual focus and an all-new user interface, which will coexist with the company's existing camera app.

A second unnamed source told the publication that Nokia will offer the EOS in only one color and without wireless charging, an option users may be able to add by purchasing an accessory cover instead, much the same as the newly-announced Lumia 925.

Of course, as the model is in prototype form, we could see different features whenever Nokia decides to put the EOS on the market, but these details give us a decent jumping off point.

HP debuts Android, Windows 8-powered x2 portables

JR Bookwalter — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:14:00 GMT

Whether your portable platform of choice is Android or Windows 8, a pair of new x2 personal computers from HP promise to deliver the goods in style this summer.

Hewlett-Packard today announced a pair of detachable PCs capable in the tradition of the HP Envy x2 which function as a full notebook but include a removable display capable of also being used as a tablet while on the go.

With a starting price of $799.99, the HP Split x2 combines a third-generation Intel Core processor with Microsoft Windows 8 for a two-in-one notebook whose 13.3-inch touchscreen display undocks to become a tablet.

The HP Split x2 features a soft-touch casing to repel fingerprints, dual batteries and comes equipped with a 2MP TrueVision Full HD webcam; while attached to the keyboard base, a trackpad allows for gestured-based navigation.

Android on board

For those who don't want or need Windows 8, HP also offers the less-expensive SlateBook x2 starting at $479.99.

Powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the HP SlateBook x2 brings Split x2's stylish looks to a smaller 10.1-inch, 1080p HD display form factor.

Featuring a complete Google experience out of the box, the SlateBook x2 also includes Kingsoft Office pre-installed for accessing, editing and sharing Microsoft Office-compatible documents.

The HP Split x2 and SlateBook x2 will be available in the United States this August with optional HP Care Pack extended warranty coverage available for both notebooks.

Google IO: Google Maps Photosphere adds tours via user-generated pictures

Matt Swider — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:47:00 GMT

The Photosphere app actually has a relevant use now that Google announced at the IO conference that its Maps service will use the 360 degree images for tours.

The new Google Maps enables impressive user-generated tours of landmarks via Photosphere, with pictures showing up at the bottom of the new Maps design.

A 3D model of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was shown off using "the Google Earth in the browser" with no plug-ins and no downloads necessary.

3D photo tour examples

The beauty of St. Peter's Basilica is on the inside, noted Jonah Jones, lead designer of Google Maps.

Jones transitioned to an indoor panoramic of the Vatican City church, giving the Google IO conference an interactive look at the inside that could one day be a 360-degree tour.

"This is a 3D photo tour that is automatically generated from user photos," said Jones. "So, it will only get better and better.

Like 'user-generated Street View'

A little closer to home, Jones brought the Google Maps Photosphere demo back to the Google IO conference in the Moscone Center.

First, he gave everyone the outside perspective from a certain skydivers, noting last year's keynote Google Glass opening.

Jones then revealed that he had taken a Photosphere image of the this year's audience and uploaded it to the Google Maps

"This is what you guys look like from up here," he said while showing off the recently captured Photosphere.

"It's like a user-generated Street View," Jones said to applause.

Google said that users won't want to wait for this, so it's rolling the Photosphere-filled Google Maps feature to users via invites starting tomorrow.

In Depth: A week with the incredible GoPro Hero3

Jeremy Laird — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:18:00 GMT

GoPro's puny but preposterously powerful Hero3 action and sports camera has been out since the end of last year. It's not news to home movie buffs or pro videographers.

They know all about the stupendous frame rates and resolutions, the new Wi-Fi and smartphone app functionality, including the ability to control as many as five GoPros with a single phone or tablet. Nice.

But for everyone else, understanding what the fuss is about this little camera, the incredible fun you can have with it and why it's popping up in cars, attached to helmets, on bikes and in boats – if you can think of it, there's probably a GoPro stuck to it – may not be obvious.

So we've decided to spend a week putting the Hero3 through its paces. We've reviewed the Hero3 already, of course. And a very handy guide to its objective features, capabilities and performance that is, too.

Before we get started, check out our footage from the week here:

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Quality time

Wth a device a bit special like the GoPro Hero3, racking up some quality man-and-machine time gives you a handle on the subjectives – how will the Hero3 fit into and perhaps even change your life?

The twist here is that your erstwhile correspondent isn't a regular camera reviewer. Cars and tech are my occupational bag and the latter half doesn't typically involve camera technology. Nor would I rate myself as a serious camera or video buff in an amateur capacity. I dabble for work and play, but that's about it.

So the experiences I've had and the footage I captured is real-world stuff from my day-to-day life, albeit much of it from the slightly unreal world of journalism and product launches. Odds are you'll be able to do the same – and run up against the same little niggles, not all of them down the GoPro Hero3.

While we're at it, let's put the latest Hero3 model into its historical and technological context. The background to both camera and company, not to mention the immense leaps in technology it's made over generations, is intriguing little story in itself.

Start-up story

GoPro's is a classic start up story driven by a passion to do something better. For GoPro's founder Nick Woodman, that something was capturing surfing photos. A few years and lots of late nights later the first GoPro was born.

It was a 28mm film-based camera worn on a wrist strap. Woodman's next lightbulb moment was using the camera on mounts in racing cars. Thus began a cottage industry of mounts and harnesses that has exploded into a plethora of contraptions enabling you to stick a GoPro to anything that moves.

By 2010, GoPro had rolled out its first HD video camera. Today, less than 10 years after the launch of that first celluoid-toting stills effort, the top Hero3 Black Edition is capable full motion video at resolutions up 1,920 by 1,440 pixels and full-HD video at HFR rates of 60 frames per second.

Even by the standards of the tech industry, that's explosive development. The result is a camera that's smaller and lighter than ever and not only capable of staggering image quality but also remarkably idiot proof to use. This thing just works. Well, nearly all the time.

First-time user

If you're a first time user, you'll find the camera itself an unfamiliar but pretty unremarkable little thing, about the size and shape of a box of matches. Only the a lens redolent of Hal 9000's all-seeing eye gives the game away.

It's once you pop it into the clear plastic casing that it becomes recognisable as the device you increasingly see strapped to everything. Various options are available, some are water proof, others allow for better sound recording. Some even enable two Hero3's to run side by side for the creation of 3D video.

Older GoPro's were a bit fiddly and hit and miss to use. The need to keep things simple on the camera itself meant you only had a couple of buttons to control everything and that was a recipe for cycling through endless menus.

There was also no view finder as standard, so getting the right shot required experience or the addition of an optional extra. With the Hero3, the combination of Wi-Fi connectivity and a smartphone app means you can use your phone as a viewfinder and also changes settings in a jiffy.

Not that you really need to know what you're doing. It's most a case of choosing what resolution and frame rate you want and maybe what orientation the camera is located (ie up or down). And that's about it.

Fiddle-free focus

There's no focus to fiddle with or exposure settings to worry about (well, there is the spot exposure option, but it's hardly complicated). Just hit record and you're good to go.

But for my videos I didn't fiddle with anything apart from resolution and frame rate settings and was rewarded with very consistent results. It's incredibly easy to use.

Probably the most impressive aspect is the way it handles exposures in different lighting scenarios. I joined GoPro for the Winter X Games in Tignes and got lucky with a day on the slopes in stunning sunshine.

As you can see from my video, the Hero3 has no problem with the sun shining directly into the lens. And the sun doesn't get much brighter than when it's shining through thin mountain air.

Visiting the Winter X Games also gave us a chance to hook up with some pro snowboarders including Tom Wallish, Bobby Brown, Eric Willett and Sage Kotsenburg. Plastered in GoPros, they hurled themselves down the hill to snag some course previews for the host broadcaster, which gives you an idea of the quality the output. It's good enough for broadcast with little to no polishing.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I went skiing, drove cars, sauntered across runways, played tennis, the works. For a week I took the Hero3 pretty much everywhere. The Hero3 captured it all in immaculate HD. And I really didn't know what I was doing.

Now for the niggles

If you're wondering whether there must be at least some downsides, the first problem is the direct flip side of the Hero3's mega spec. This thing pumps out immense quantities of ridiculously high bit-rate video.

Just dumping the content on a PC is a phaff when you're cranking out a gigabyte or more of video every five minutes.

That high bit rate makes editing an issue, too. As a tech journalist, I'm lucky enough to have access to some serious encoding kit. I used an eight-core, 16-thread Xeon.

But it still felt like I was spending most of my time sitting around waiting for encodes to finish so that I could check my handy work. And I was only knocking out a three-minute short. Putting out a longer video and doing it on a normal PC must be simply hideous.

Editing options

And the thing is, you'll want to use the highest settings and capture the best video possible. It's what the camera can do and it's a real shame to crush the quality just to make the editing process go a bit quicker.

More generally editing video is a bit of an issue. Apart from the performance issues, if you're not an experienced video editor you find a steep learning curve and some additional cost. You want to buy some decent video editing software.

That said, GoPro is addressing the latter problem by bringing out its own editing software that you'll get for free with a GoPro. As the GoPro Hero3 becomes a more mainstream device, that will be an extremely welcome addition to the overall package.

Of course, once you've made you video, you'll want to share it with all and sundry. And that typically means shunting it up to cloud, another time consuming process thanks to the quality and size of the video kicked out by the Hero3.

It's not GoPro's fault, of course. But in this era of instant gratification, the time it takes to get video off a Hero3, edit it and then upload it to the cloud, especially compared with the ease and speed of sharing still images, will be a shock for video novices.

Sound and battery blues

Another tricky issue is sound quality. It's the nature of the beast that wind noise will be an issue for a sport and action biased camera. But the sound quality the standard camera captures, for instance, inside a car is car is disappointing.

The bottom line is that if you want the sound to match the immense image quality, you'll need to add some specialised microphones to the shopping list. In some scenarios, notably when using it with cars, it's best to treat the GoPro Hero3 as a video-only device. If you want sound, you'll need additional kit.

Then there's the whole battery life thing. Like previous GoPro's the Hero3 has a swappable battery. You'll quickly realise that's crucial, because the Hero3 chews through its charge pretty fast, especially with Wi-Fi enabled.

It's certainly not a switch-on and forget device. Running out of battery at a key moment is a constant worry. Of course, storage space isn't infinite, so even if the battery life was all-day, when you're generating a gigabyte of data every five minutes, you can't just leave the thing running.

Those niggles aside, the main thing GoPro newbies will experience is a sudden desire to take it everywhere, strap it to anything and record everything in glorious, pin-sharp HD. It's definitely one of those life-changing devices. Once you've gone GoPro, you won't want to go back.

Fast portrait lens for Nikon 1 system announced

Angela Nicholson — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Nikon has announced the 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2, a fast lens that, when focal length magnification factor of the Nikon 1 system is taken into account, is equivalent to an 85mm on a full-frame camera.

This focal length is generally considered to produce flattering portraits, while the large aperture affords lots of control over depth of field to blur backgrounds.

Comprising nine elements in seven groups, Nikon claims the 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 offers superb image quality. The diaphragm has seven blades and is rounded to produce smooth, rounded bokeh for more attractive out-of-focus areas.

The 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 lens achieves three firsts for a 1 Nikkor lens:

It has Nikon's Nano Crystal Coating, which reduces ghosting and flare.
It features a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for smooth and quiet autofocusing.
There's a manual focus ring, for a more traditional feel.

Black or silver

Nikon has given the new lens a high-quality metallic exterior and it's available in high-gloss silver or semi-gloss black.

Despite its large aperture, the optic is also compact, fitting in well with the small size of the Nikon 1 system cameras such as the Nikon 1 J3 and Nikon 1 V2.

The lens is supplied with a front lens cap and a bayonet lens hood, which helps reduce stray light and minimise flare for better contrast and colour saturation.

The growing range of Nikkor lenses currently includes nine optics with focal lengths ranging from 6.7mm (1 Nikkor 6.7-13mm f/3.5-56) to 110mm (1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6), which in 35mm terms equates to a range of 18mm to 297mm.

The Nikkor 32mm f/f1.2 is set to retail for £799.99 (around AU$1,230), with a US price of US$900, and will go on sale on June 13.

Canon offers world's first commercial lens with built-in teleconverter

Angela Nicholson — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:50:00 GMT

We've seen a prototype of the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x a couple of times, but even as recently as March, Canon was unable to confirm whether it would come to market.

However, Canon has now announced that this optic, which incorporates a 1.4x teleconverter for the first time in a commercial lens, will go on sale from June with an RRP of £11,999.99 (AU$11,563, US$11,799).

When the teleconverter is in use the focal length range of the lens changes to 280-560mm.

Canon has also included its Image Stabilizer system which is claimed to extend the safe hand-holding shutter speed by up to 4EV. A new mode, IS Mode 3, has been added which only applies the stabilisation at the point of exposure to maximise the range of compensation available.

The lens has both fluorite and Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) lens elements, to help minimise chromatic aberration and colour blurring. Canon's Advanced anti-reflection SubWavelength Structure Coating (SWC) and Super Spectra Coating also reduce ghosting and flare.

Fluorine coatings on the front and rear lens elements are designed to help keep the lens' surface clean, while a dust and water-resistant construction allows photographers to shoot in challenging weather conditions.

USM Focusing

The EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x features Canon's ring-type Ultrasonic Motor providing fast, quiet autofocusing. However, there's also full-time manual override to allow photographers to focus manually at any moment when using AF.

Canon's Power Focus (PF) mode increases versatility during movie shooting with the EOS-1D C or EOS-1D X, enabling photographers to create a pull-focus effect at one of two speeds, by twisting the focus recall ring and stopping at a pre-set distance.

EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x key features:

Built-in 1.4x extender
Four-stop Image Stabilizer
Fluorite lens elements
Fast AF with USM technology
Robust design for use in tough environments

In depth: 8 reasons why you should be excited about Ultra HD

James Rivington — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Like it or not, 2013 is the year of 4K and Ultra HD. The movies are already here, the TVs are coming and the disc format is on its way.

There's more reason to be excited about all this than most advances in display tech, too, even if you were unimpressed by the so-called 3D revolution.

This year, the sizes and the prices of 4K TVs are entering the realms of us mere mortals, and we reckon that Ultra HD will sooner or later persuade you to buy a new TV. Here's why...

1. It looks amazing

Believe us - 4K is not the new 3D. 3D didn't take off for many reasons: the glasses are uncomfortable, it's headache-tastic, the experience just isn't relaxing for the majority. It's also just an extra feature which you either do or (mostly) don't use depending on the content. But 4K is different - the step from HD to Ultra HD is just like the step was from SD to HD.

It's a permanent feature of the screen that gets used every time you watch it. Sharper images, more detail. Amazing eye candy, essentially, offering a more pleasant watching experience. Upscaling on some (but not all) of the Ultra HD TVs we've seen so far has been very impressive, with HD movies looking amazing on big 4K TVs from trusted brands. Native 4K movies are simply mesmerising.

2. You can sit closer to the screen

With a full HD picture, conventional wisdom says that you need to sit three screen heights (3H) away from the display in order to enjoy optimum picture quality: any closer and you'll be able to see the individual pixels, you'll get a headache, and your eyeballs will dissolve.

However, with a far sharper picture, 4K videos can be enjoyed optimally from just 1.5H. This makes large screen sizes far more sensible than they were in the past, you can sit a lot closer which doubles your field of view from just 30 degrees to 60 – giving you a far more cinematic, immersive experience.

3. It makes passive 3D more tolerable

In many ways, passive 3D offers a more comfortable way of watching a 3D picture compared to active 3D. But because the light is split, 3D Blu-rays effectively have their resolution halved. It's much worse when watching a boradcasted 720p sports match - the picture ends up not even being HD.

But with a 4K TV, the resolution is four times higher than full HD which means passive 3D still looks nice and sharp. It's not as sharp as native 4K pictures (just wait, 4K 3D is the next feature on the production line), but still far better than what we've become used to. Of course, you might still hate 3D. But for anyone who really wants to like it but has yet to be convinced, this might be a reason to get involved.

4. 4K OLED is coming

One exciting thing for consumers thinking about upgrading is that 4K and OLED tech is arriving at roughly the same time. LG predicts OLED prices will be at current high-end LED prices in the next two years. What's more, Panasonic and Sony are both completely ignoring HD OLED tech and going straight to 4K OLED.

So for many people, waiting for a 4K OLED 3D TV might be a good option - they're not far away. If you can't wait, of course, Sony's 55 and 65-inch 4K LED TVs are already around here somewhere (reviews coming soon!) and there'll be lots more from other brands launching at IFA in August/September.

5. There are already hundreds of movies out there

If you think there will only be a few 4K movies available to watch at home, you're mistaken. There isn't yet an agreed format or standard for 4K movies on disc, but it's not far off. And when the players start coming out, there will be literally hundreds of movies and TV shows available from the off. Many have been filmed natively in 4K (or above) over the last few years, but even films shot on 35mm film 50 years ago can be rescanned and remastered in 4K.

Sony Pictures alone has already remastered over 100 movies in this way. It's worthwhile, too - the 4K remaster of classics such as Laurence of Arabia will be the first versions of the movie to use and display all of the picture information captured on the original film. So in some respect, 4K remasters will be the definitive editions.

6. TV shows are now shot in 4K by default

It's not just movies that are getting the 4K love, either. If you want to make a new TV show at Sony Pictures, 4K is now the default format. It's the same elsewhere. It's a little more expensive to make shows this way, but the increased value when it comes to syndication later down the line makes it a no brainer for many of the leading US studios. And of course, older shows shot on film can be remastered in 4K just like older movies. Below you can see Breaking Bad being remastered in 4K, one painstaking frame at a time.

7. 4K TV broadcasts aren't far away

A compressed 4K movie stored on a server at a cinema takes up around 200GB of storage space. Sony's market-leading F65 8K camera (Sony shoots in 8K and downsamples to 4K or 2K) can squeeze only around 1 hour of footage onto a 1TB Sony SR memory card. So you'd be forgiven for assuming that 4K TV broadcasts are a long way off, but that's not actually true thanks to advances in compression technology.

The newly ratified HEVC compression format for 4K can deliver a brilliant Ultra HD broadcast picture with a bitrate of just 20Mbit/s. When compared to the 12Mbit/s currently employed for HD, that's not such a huge leap. FIFA will be filming the World Cup in 4K in 2016, and as we found out recently, the BBC is planning to trial 4K broadcasting at Wimbledon this very year. As an aside, YouTube is already serving up 4K video, and Netflix says it's not far behind.

8. Glasses-free 3D is coming

The final reason to be enthusiastic about higher resolution TVs is that they are opening the door for the definitive form of 3D - glasses free - to become a reality. Current glasses-free tech, which is already impressive but not quite ready yet, uses a lenticular-style lens over the screen to separate the light from the panel into two channels - one for each eye. This division of the light effectively halves the resolution which is why glasses free 3D requires at least a 4K panel to be effective.

Updated: Mother's Day: 12 tech gifts for mom

Michael Rougeau — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:06:00 GMT

Mother's Day is the the time to show your mom how grateful you are that she's put up with all your crap for so long, but it's not easy to find a good Mother's Day gift.

Everyone's mom is different, and while some might be satisfied with a card and brunch, others will want more. After all, she carried you for nine whole months - the least you can do is spend a couple hundred bucks on a thoughtful gift.

And while some moms are tech-savvy, some may have no clue. But that doesn't mean you can't make her day with the right gadget. You've just got to discover the perfect Mother's Day tech for her.

No matter what tech your mom is already into, there's bound to be a technologically advanced Mother's Day gift here that she'll appreciate. And even if she doesn't, at least it's the thought that counts.

1. Fitbit Flex wristband and Aria smart scale

Get it at: Fitbit.com (scale $129.99)

Taglines: "Outsmart your weight with Aria" / "Never stop moving with Fitbit Flex"

If your mom doesn't already have a Nike FuelBand, you might want to clue her in to this fitness gift combo from Fitbit. The scale will track her weight, body fat, and BMI, all the while connecting to her computer via Wi-Fi and uploading her stats and progress.

Whether your mom's obsessed with fitness or she's been trying to get into it, the Aria smart scale could be a great Mother Day tech gift.

And the Flex wristband, much like the popular Nike FuelBand, is much more than a pedometer that will count your mom's footsteps. In addition to steps taken, it tracks calories burned, distance traveled, active minutes, and - get this - both hours slept and quality of sleep. It even acts as a silent alarm clock so she won't wake up your dad when she gets up early to go running. And naturally the two gadgets will work together.

Unfortunately, the Flex isn't out yet, though Fitbit is currently promising a Spring 2013 release date that should arrive any day.

2. BabyPing video baby monitor

Get it at: BabyPing ($199.99)

Tagline: "Whether home or away BabyPing keeps you connected to your baby"

New moms have always relied on baby monitors in this modern age, but the technology has come a long way. Static-filled walkie-talkies are a thing of the past, and now it's all about the video.

There are plenty of different choices when it comes to video baby monitors, but the BabyPing is one of the best - and more importantly, it's one of the easiest to set up, so even non-techy moms should be able to get into it.

It's full of features, too, including night vision, audio filtering to keep background hiss down, two-way audio, built-in nursery rhymes and Wi-Fi connectivity to PCs and iOS devices (no Android, unfortunately, though there are plenty of alternative baby monitors for non-iOS-using moms).

3. Kindle Paperwhite

Get it at: Amazon ($119)

Tagline: "The world's most advanced e-reader"

Plenty of moms out there already have an e-reader, but there are plenty more who probably don't yet know what they've been missing.

There are several reasons a Kindle Paperwhite will make a perfect Mother's Day tech gift: it's affordable and it's easy on the eyes, and since it's the newest Kindle model, your mom will be able to brag to all her friends about it.

The best part? She won't have to deal with all the book clutter she has lying around, since they'll all be digital.

4. Moxie showerhead and bluetooth speaker

Get it at: Amazon ($149.25)

Tagline: "It takes Moxie to shower out loud"

Moms have it hard. Whether their kids are 2, 12 or 40, it seems their job never ends. The shower may be one of the only places your mom gets to relax. And with the Moxie showerhead and built-in bluetooth speaker, she can do it while listening to her favorite Celine Dion or Phil Collins songs.

The showerhead speaker connects to a smartphone or other bluetooth devices at up to 32 feet, and one of the best parts is that the speaker isn't limited to the shower - it detaches and can travel with your mom all over the house or wherever she wants to go, with seven hours of battery life.

An alternative for moms who appreciate some ambiance but don't care as much about music is an LED showerhead that can simulate rainfall while projecting various soothing colors. Browse LightintheBox.com and take your pick.

5. Slingbox

Get it at: Slingbox.com ($179.99 - $299.99)

Tagline: "Watch your TV anywhere"

The Slingbox is a great Mother's Day tech gift - whether your mom is down with all the memes or still thinks that her browser is called "Google," she'll appreciate the ability to take her television shows and newscasts with her on the go.

The latest models are the Slingbox 350 and the Slingbox 500, and although the 500 comes with some extra features, let's be honest - your mom probably isn't going to use them anyway. You might as well go with the cheaper version (we won't tell).

Plus, your dad will likely show some appreciation for this one as well.

6. Flower Power by Parrot

Get it at: Parrot.com (not yet available)

Tagline: "The most advanced plant sensor"

Parrot's Flower Power is a device the likes of which we've never seen before, and it's sure to tickle your mom's green thumb - or better yet, lack thereof - on Mother's Day.

It's a plant sensor that sits in the soil of a planter or pot, monitoring sunlight, moisture, temperature, and fertilizer, then sending the data wirelessly via bluetooth to your mother's gadgets. It will even remind her when to water them.

It was only introduced at CES this year, so unfortunately it's not on the market yet, but a 2013 release is promised and you can sign up to be notified at parrot.com. Maybe it will make a good birthday present, or you can remember it for next year's Mother's Day.

7. LogMeIn

Get it at: LogMeIn.com ($69.95 per year)

Tagline: "Simply connect from anywhere"

This one's for the working moms, though even the retirees and stay-at-homes out there could no doubt find some use for it. LogMeIn is a subscription service that will allow her to access her home PC from anywhere.

Moms at soccer practice or dance recitals won't have to duck out to email their bosses that important file, and when she's with her friends she'll be able to pull up all those cute baby pictures and home videos without having to worry about what's synced with her tablet or phone.

Trying to juggle files between multiple devices can be a hassle even for the tech-savvy, so your mom will definitely appreciate not having to do it.

Getting her a year's subscription to LogMeIn Pro will ensure that she remembers what a good son or daughter you are all year long.

8. Canon PowerShot Elph 110 HS

Get it at: Amazon ($194.98)

Tagline: "Style, Sophistication and Power"

If your mother is sick of being disappointed by blurry smartphone photos (or if she - gasp! - doesn't use a smartphone at all) you might want to consider getting her an affordable point-and-shoot.

There are many to choose from, but Canon's name carries some weight in the world of photography and the Elph line of point-and-shoots has always proved reliable in our experience.

The Canon PowerShot Elph 110 HS is the latest model, and it has plenty of features that will keep your mom entertained. In case she isn't too tech-savvy, though, the charming name ("Elph") and the rainbow of colors that the 110 comes in should allay most of her fears.

And she might be amazed when you tell her that it takes full HD 1080p video, even though that's become a standard feature for point-and-shoots. You don't have to tell her that part.

9. Nook HD

Get it at: Barnes & Noble ($149)

Tagline: "The best in reading"

If the Kindle Paperwhite is too light on features for your media-hungry mother, the Nook HD may be the ideal alternative.

Barnes & Noble's Kindle competitor has improved dramatically with the Nook HD, which, with the very recent addition of Google Play store access, has become a desirable little tablet in its own right. The standard Nook HD comes in a handy 7-inch size, while the upgraded Nook HD+ adds an extra two inches and an improved resolution.

The best part? Barnes & Noble has got your back with a Mother's Day sale that's knocked $50 off the price of the Nook HD and a full $90 off the price of the plus-sized version.

10. Epson Perfection V500 photo scanner

Get it at: Epson.com ($149.99)

Tagline: "Extraordinary quality and versatility"

If your mom's a scrapbooker or dedicated family archivist, she may balk at the idea of turning her old-fashioned photos into a sleek digital collection. But with Epson's easy-to-use photo scanners, she won't have any more excuses to remain in the realm of physical photos.

The optical resolution of 6,400ppi means that all her photos will make the transition with nary a pixel lost, and she'll be thrilled with the quality once they make it to the other side.

Everything will be preserved for future generations, just like she wants, and she'll be kept busy for a while, too - perfect for newly retired mothers wondering what to do with their time. The Perfection V500 isn't even limited to photos, so it will fulfill all your mother's scanning needs, whatever they may be.

11. ION Pure LP USB conversion turntable

Get it at: ionaudio.com ($99.99)

Tagline: "Convert your records in style"

Here's another one for the mom who spends her days reminiscing about the past - not that that's a bad thing.

A vinyl-to-digital converter like ION's Pure LP may seem like a gadget only an audiophile will appreciate, but your mom may very well enjoy combing through her dusty collection of LPs and cataloging them digitally. It's easy to set up and comes with custom software that will guide her through the process.

Once they're on her computer, she'll be able to transfer them to her smartphone or MP3 player and listen to all her favorite tunes from the days of yore wherever she goes.

For Apple-loving moms there's also ION's iLP digital conversion turntable, which can skip the PC altogether and transfer songs from vinyl directly to an iPhone 5, 4th-gen iPad or iPad mini.

12. Belkin Chef Stand and Stylus

Get it at: Amazon.com ($23.99)

Tagline: "Use your tablet while you cook"

Belkin's Chef Stand and Stylus is a niche gift, for sure, but foodie moms who love to use recipes on their tablets will definitely appreciate the convenience afforded by this gadget.

The Chef Stand will do little more than prop up her tablet, while the stylus, which rests on its own little stand, will allow her to navigate on the device without touching the screen and potentially messing it up with food.

It boasts compatibility with most iPads, including the iPad mini plus the stylus reportedly works with any touchscreen. She could probably even use it with her smartphone if tablets aren't your mother's thing.

And all components, including the magnetic stylus, are hand-washable.

Olympus introduces world's fastest compact system camera

Amy Davies — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The new Olympus PEN E-P5 builds on the heritage of the existing PEN lineup, but uses the same 16.1 million pixel sensor as the premium Olympus OM-D camera. It also features the same True Pic VI image processor, which should mean that it shares similar image quality to the more advanced camera.

One of the key improvements Olympus has made to the camera is to the mechanical shutter, which is now able to offer a maximum speed of 1/8000 second for capturing very fast action. This is a world first for compact system cameras and is usually reserved for professional DSLRs, such as the Nikon D4.

For the first time in an Olympus CSC, Wi-Fi is now built in. In conjunction with a free app available for both iOS and Android, the camera can be remotely controlled from a smartphone or tablet, while photos can be shared quickly to social media sites and the like.

The same 5-axis image stabilisation system designed for the OM-D can also be found on the PEN E-P5, but Olympus says this has been improved.

Ergonomics

Although the design is very similar to the previous PEN cameras, a new "2 x 2 dial" system enables the different dials to change functions depending on preference.

Like its predecessor, the camera features a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen that, unlike the Olympus PEN E-P3, is tiltable.

Other interesting features include focus peaking while using manual focus, 12 digital art filters and the inclusion of Photo Story - a feature that enables you to create montages in-camera.

Although there's no in-built viewfinder, a new external device is also announced today. The 2.36 million dot VF-4 is tiltable and will be available to purchase separately.

The Olympus PEN E-P5 body only price will be £899 (around AU$1,368 / US$1,399) and is expected to be available at the end of June.

Canon expands Project 1709 beta for Mac users

Jeff Meyer — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:26:00 GMT

Last week we heard rumours of a pending update to Canon's Project 1709 photo management platform.

Today Canon has made good and formally announced this long-awaited update.

The release of the Project 1709 Mac upload tool brings the full complement of three upload options on Canon's Project 1709 platform to Apple users.

In addition to this desktop upload tool, you can also make selective uploads via the Project 1709 website or choose to import your Facebook and Flickr photo collections.

However, the desktop uploader - already available for PC users - offers the most direct and efficient way to add your pictures in bulk.

Use it wisely

Compatible with Mac systems running OS X 10.7 Lion and above, the uploader app first needs to be installed on your system and then configured to sync with one or more folders containing pictures on your computer.

Next, pick your favourite network, set the monthly upload limit and nominate the day that you want uploads to begin on. The new upload tool will then operate in the background, and you can check its progress from your system tray.

Step-by-step information on how to use the new Mac uploader is available here.

Competition: WIN! A Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone or Samsung NX300 camera

TechRadar — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:37:00 GMT

TechRadar has teamed up with Samsung to celebrate the launch of their Connected Home at Grand Designs Live 2013.

We are giving you the chance to win some of the fiercely sought-after products on show at Samsung's futuristic stand, the Connected Home, including two Samsung NX300 cameras and two brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones.

Grand Designs Live is at the ExCeL, London, from 4th-12th May 2013, the Samsung Connected Home includes a home cinema room, kitchen, gaming lounge, photography studio and gallery.

At the Samsung Connected Home visitors can experience the latest Samsung gadgets including the recently launched NX300 camera, flagship F8000 TV with voice and gesture control, stunning HW-F751 sound bar, as well as energy-saving ecobubble washing machines.

Four lucky winners will receive either one of four prizes, including two NX300 cameras and two Galaxy S4 smartphones. To win, just click here to answer a simple question.

Please note that this competition is only open to UK residents over 18 years of age.

Buying Guide: Best Linux photo editors: 6 top image suites on test

Adam Oxford — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:00 GMT

There's still a lot of prejudice against Linux amongst photo enthusiasts and pros, but the time at which our favourite operating system wasn't taken seriously for image manipulation is long past. There may be no Adobe- or Apple branded software designed for Linux yet - and would we want it if there was?

But there are more than enough serious, mature packages for everything from basic library management to RAW development. It's entirely possible to run a professional studio without the aid of Windows or a Mac these days. There's such a staggering amount of choice, in fact, that whittling them down to just six for this roundup involved making some very tough decisions about what software to include and what to leave out.

Inevitably, there are some familiar faces. Gimp, although covered ad nauseam elsewhere, can't be overlooked when it comes to an allround package for post-processing shots. Likewise, you may already know more than you could ever want to about the Gnome and KDE staples Shotwell and digiKam - but they're the de facto choice for a reason. Leaving them out of this roundup would be to not consider the very best.

The real controversy, in fact, is whether or not to include Corel's AfterShot Pro – nee Bibble – in the roundup. It's the gold standard for RAW image editing on Linux, but it's also closed source and not terribly cheap either, at $59.99 for the full version. It has been updated since we last looked at it, though, so we're going to revisit it at the expense of a truly FOSS alternative.

It feels wrong, but it's the right thing to do. Disagree with our choices? Email us at www.linuxformat.com/forums.

Our selection

AfterShot Pro
Gimp
Shotwell
digiKam
Darktable
Fotoxx

How we tested

It's hard to directly compare a lot of the software here, since it's all been developed with slightly different purposes in mind. The basic tests, however, were standardised as much as possible. We challenged each application to catalogue a library of several thousand images, and looked at how it coped with developing RAW files, editing photos in JPG format and batch processing resize jobs and filters.

Not all of the apps listed can do all of those things, of course, but while there's a fair emphasis on features what really counts is speed, ease of use and the end result. If it's faster to use one app for taking care of where photos are stored and finding them and another to do the editing, that's fine by us.

Casual or pro?

Who's the software aimed at, and should it matter in terms of ease of use?

There's an array of audiences catered for in our six candidates, and intentionally so, but none of these packages is short on features. It's more about the way they're presented and interact with one another.

So, if you're looking for something simple just to manage your photos and remove a bit of red eye, then distribution stalwarts digiKam and Shotwell should be amply suited to your needs. Both focus on the essentials of a photo manager, and while they have in-built editors neither are prescriptive or force you to use them.

Shotwell, especially, is designed for simplicity of use with the same kind of bare minimalism that developer Yorba has injected into its excellent email client, Geary. Open it up and you get photos on the right, and sorting options on the left, with little else between. The image editor is almost app-like in its simplicity, though - there's a one-click Enhance button, which spruces a pic up before you publish it to the sharing site of your choice.

DigiKam is far more fleshed out, however, and full of options and features for the tinkerer. It's difficult to say who digiKam is for, though. The Library tool is exceptional, allowing you to sort by date, tag, facial recognition and even a 'fuzzy search' that tries to match general shapes to an existing image - you're invited to 'sketch' the shape you want to find in a blank box and digiKam will try to find it.

Aside from the slightly variable results from fuzzy searching and face matching, though, digiKam can prove to be a bit intimidating for the very casual user, without containing powerful enough editing tools to please the professionals.

AfterShot Pro, as the name suggests, is a proper tool for proper photographers. It has a sophisticated library manager, a reasonable image editor and arguably the best RAW development tools of any software on any platform. It's also not expensive when compared with the likes of Lightroom or Aperture, although having said that it isn't cheap enough for the faint-hearted.

Darktable is designed purely for handling RAW files, but is better suited - in our opinion - to the enthusiastic amateur photographer than the pro. It's got an incredible number of features, and can do everything that AfterShot Pro does, but it's infused with the spirit of open source and too infinitely tweakable to fit comfortably into a serious workflow. Wrestling every picture into perfection is fine if you only have two or three to fine tune - not if you need to process hundreds of shots in a day.

Gimp, meanwhile, is still overwhelming for the novice despite a recent makeover. However, lack of competition for picture editing functions, like a clone brush and layer control, means that it'll find its way into most photographers' toolboxes, whether you're just brightening party shots taken on your phone or looking to create artwork for high street advertising campaigns.

Verdict

AfterShot Pro - 5/5
Gimp - 4/5
Shotwell - 4/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 3/5
Fotoxx- 2/5

Photo management

Lots of images to look after? Which one excels at it?

Most of us start off managing our image libraries using a standard file manager and some cleverly named folders. Some of us stick with that through our entire careers. But why complicate things when you can double-click on 'Christmas 2012' and Nautilus or Dolphin et al will throw up a page full of browsable thumbnails?

With one notable exception, all of our candidates have some form of library management in their design. Gimp is a pure editor, and wisely eschews trying to do too much.

Library management is at the heart of Shotwell and digiKam, and both do the job well. DigiKam will sort your shots by any combination of folder, date and EXIF or tag you want, although the interface can be a bit cludgy once you move away from the file tree. Shotwell is a little more limited, as it sorts everything by date first - which can be problematic if you don't tag your shots with subject information.

AfterShot Pro, meanwhile, has a very sophisticated library function that allows you to sort photos according to just about any parameter. Unfortunately, it's let down by an import function that is overly complicated, and won't automatically watch folders for updates, so the in-built file browser is better.

That's probably the reason why Darktable's library management reflects the file structure on your hard drive - it's simple and lets the app get on with generating fast, browsable thumbnails.

Fotoxx, again, displays its weirdness here. It should be a library manager, but operates more like a file browser, in which there's no obvious way to go up a level. Odd.

Verdict

AfterShot Pro - 3/5
Gimp - 0/5
Shotwell - 3/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 1/5
Fotoxx- 1/5

Interface

You've got the package, now how easy is it to get around?

AfterShot Pro - 5/5

If you've used a RAW editor in the last decade or so, the layout of AfterShot Pro will be instantly familiar to your eyes. On the left, you have the browsing controls - a file manager, a library viewer and some settings for filtering and searching for shots.

In the middle is a digital light table that shows thumbnails or zooms to individual pics for editing. Over on the right, meanwhile, are the editing tools. Laid out in a fashion not designed for efficient use of screen space, but named and ordered in an intuitive fashion such that most photos can be edited from the default tab, with advanced options for harder work cascading behind.

It's not the prettiest or most modern photo editor, but neither does it look dated or make the user work to find essential tools. Top marks.

digiKam - 3.5/5

Few things are more than a click away. It opens up onto a library manager, and you can rearrange the view according to title, date taken, metatags, ratings and more, or switch to a fully-fledged RAW importer and photo editor.

This is also a problem, as by default there are icons running down both sides of the main frame, and lots of controls to remember. It's perfect for someone who handles a lot of images and wants to stay within digiKam for everything, but if you aren't going to use the extra controls, it's cluttered.

Plus some of the cooler features - like the spinning globe for GPS tagging photos - are slightly buggy. The date sorting panel looks great, but is less usable than Shotwell's dull folder tree. Being a native KDE app, though, it is eminently tweakable.

Shotwell - 3/5

Now Google's Picasa is no longer maintained for Linux, Shotwell is the next best thing to a dedicated library manager that focuses on helping you find a photo fast. By default, it sorts images by time taken using a timeline on the right that looks rudimentary, but is easier to get around than the one in digiKam.

You can also view by tag or EXIF information - although these options aren't obvious and require going through the View menu. There's a one-click photo fix button, and it uploads shots and albums directly to a vast number of photo sharing sites.

Shotwell is simple, but not yet elegant. The rounded icons used for folder and album views look slightly out of place, and the functional sorting column on the left could do with a little love.

Darktable - 3/5

The guiding principle for Darktable seems to be to take the established design of a traditional RAW editor and simplify it. To this extent, it is a massive success. The library view is simple and straightforward, and the editing tools seem initially straightforward too. Then there's the little flourishes, the swirls that are reminiscent of a silent movie panel that decorate the black background.

But while it looks simple, Darktable is a challenge to use. Editing menus are labelled with icons rather than words, and named unintuitively. Controls are divided into Basic Group, Tone Group and Explicitly Specified by User. Some of the more commonly used controls aren't available, but have to be added from the hidden Plugins menu.

Set it up right, and Darktable is an efficient tool laid out to your way of working. But for most, the learning curve is staggeringly high.

Fotoxx - 2/5

There's something a little Windows 98-ish about the interface of Fotoxx that will put most users off trying it. Not to give it a go, however, is to miss out on some of the wonderful lunacy that's gone into the design.

It's a library management tool that hides its core function. You get a grey screen that does, apparently, nothing. Only if you're very observant will you tap the tiny letter G in a corner that fires up a file manager with a folder and thumbnail structure that works, so long as you never need to go up a level.

There's a row of buttons for file functions and navigation. It's only when you start going through the file menu options that the full range of capabilities is revealed. In any other software this wilful obfuscation and confusion of the user would be a sin. But there's something joyously quirky about Fotoxx, and it's hard not to be charmed.

Gimp - 4/5

Ah, what hasn't been written about Gimp that we can add here? Most of the improvements in the 2.8 version are in the editing engine and the GEGL framework for plugins that will lead to hardware acceleration and floating point colour control.

The basic interface is as hardcore as ever, feeling as if it's designed to intimidate newcomers into submission. There are some grudging compromises for those who've complained about ease of use. The single window option which locks dockable toolbars into place is a good start, and you can turn off dialogs that you don't need. But Gimp is a place you can do anything from simple exposure adjustments to masking and cutting out sections of an image to paste elsewhere.

Our only real gripe about the interface is that it still seems to roll a D3 every time it boots up before deciding what docks it will have open. Will there be layers and histograms? Who knows?

Colour management

The most important aspect of photo editing is now commonplace

All of these applications except Fotoxx can handle full colour management. That may not sound important, but is a huge leap forward for Linux photo editors. It means they can use a custom gamut, as laid down according to ICC standards, to alter the way they display colours according to the monitor's unique characteristics, the tested colour space of the camera and that of the image - which will usually be one of the standard RGB profiles, such as sRGB or Adobe RGB.

This is vital for professional image editing, as it means the colours you see on screen are an accurate representation of what will be printed. The real credit goes to the Gnome developers for including simple colour calibration controls based on Argylla as a default control panel setting. It's easier to fully calibrate a monitor using a device like a ColorVision Spyder 2 in Gnome now than it is in Windows.

The same applies to Canonical's Unity environment, which uses the same tool. KDE is catching up - Oryanos and KCM are almost on a par with Gnome's default tools, but require a manual build and install, while XFCE's only real option is the CLI-based xcalib tool. Without setting these up correctly, there's no point having a colour managed editor, as your monitor won't be correctly calibrated.

Photographers who don't want Gnome or Unity do have one other choice, though - Kubuntu includes colour calibration by default, based on the same packages as Unity.

Verdict

AfterShot Pro - 5/5
Gimp - 5/5
Shotwell - 3/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 4/5
Fotoxx - 3/5

Plugins

So you can edit pictures, what else can you do?

There's no such thing as the perfect photo editor, and one thing that separates professional tools from the amateur stuff is support for extensions that add extra functionality, or act as a macro to achieve particular image effects. Plugins that increase contrast and bleach out colours have been around for PhotoShop for a lot longer than Instagram has been in existence.

Gimp, for example, has a large and well established library of plugins, including one that makes it look like PhotoShop. Fotoxx, meanwhile, treats plugins as simply a custom menu command to launch an external editor.

Shotwell and digiKam come with most of the available plugins already installed - and many are geared up for accessing photo sharing sites without leaving their respective environments.

In Darktable nomenclature, every function and set of image sliders is a plugin. It's highly extensible, in that you could add more than the default set of functions, except that there aren't any extra ones to download - as far as we can see. If Darktable can capture a large enough audience these will surely come.

When AfterShot Pro was known as Bibble, there was an enthusiastic community of plugin developers, both free and commercial. The good news is that these have gone with the project to Corel, and the forums there are full of homemade packages for geotagging, framing and generally messing up or improving pics as you see fit.

Verdict

AfterShot Pro - 5/5
Gimp - 5/5
Shotwell - 3/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 3/5
Fotoxx - 1/5

Outputs

Happy with your editing results? What about the file format?

There are two questions to address here. Firstly, what's the quality of the final photo like? And what can you do with it? Gimp, for example, isn't yet capable of 16-bit colour precision, which is a problem for professional photographers working in print. It also has an annoying insistence on working with its own file format, .xcf.

Almost everything in Gimp 2.8 was an improvement, apart from the decision to remove other file formats from the Save as dialogs and move them into an Export menu. There are logical reasons for this, but it gets in the way of established workflows and introduces two extra layers of dialog boxes just to output a JPG in the format it was opening from.

DigiKam, meanwhile, is the opposite when it comes to file formats and is happy to upload and download from any photo sharing site, too. Some of these online plugins are a little unreliable, and the chances of tags and metadata getting through unscathed are variable.

Shotwell has fewer online plugins, but all the main social sites are covered just fine. For a RAW converter, AfterShot Pro has a surprisingly diverse range of output options. There are no direct plugins for online sites, but you can create everything up to 16-bit TIFFs in terms of quality and output to ready-made web galleries or contact sheets. It means that for many shots, no external editor is required to get the perfect picture from camera to client fast. It's not without quirks, though - the output dialog is over-complicated and offers to add more effects, like sharpening, without a preview.

In the most recent update to AfterShot Pro the developers also addressed its previous biggest flaw: the default colour balance for pictures is not much more natural, and not quite as eye-poppingly 'contrasty' as before. So it's easier to get great quality shots first time.

And that brings us back to our major criticism of Darktable - despite the apparent simplicity of the interface, it's complex to use, which increases the chances of making a mistake. You can't save an image directly after editing it, for example - you make the changes, go back to the thumbnail view, then find Export Selected Images. It'll suit some workflows, but makes it inflexible to use.

As far as image quality goes, however, Darktable is capable of results on a par with AfterShot Pro - if you can master the controls.

Verdict

AfterShot Pro - 4/5
Gimp - 4/5
Shotwell - 4/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 3/5
Fotoxx - 3/5

Multithreading & performance

Fancy features are all well and good, but can it get the job done fast?

Camera sensors are getting bigger, more of us like to work in RAW formats and bandwidth limitations are no longer critical for reducing picture quality and size before uploading. Plus, we're shooting a lot more photos than ever before. Image files aren't getting any smaller, and our libraries are expanding rapidly. So photo editors are in a Red Queen race: they need to be more efficient than ever just to seem as good as they were.

With the exception of Fotoxx, all of our software here is multi-threaded and can take advantage of more than one processor core. digiKam and Shotwell are surprisingly fast at dealing with large libraries of photos and helping you find the shot you want. Neither are perfect, though: Shotwell feels a little buggy and slows down at seemingly random periods, while digiKam's interface is often the stumbling block. Opening up a RAW file, for example, means going through a tedious and old-fashioned import screen rather than going straight to the meat of the editing tools.

As far as our dedicated RAW editors are concerned, AfterShot Pro is incredibly fast at cataloguing and editing files, and designed to get the most out of your workflow. It's still a little sluggish at dealing with picture layers, though, so you'll likely want to fall back on Gimp for fine grain editing.

Darktable, meanwhile, is fleet-footed in thumbnail mode, but once you start layering edits onto an image it quickly takes its foot off the metaphorical gas and begins to get frustratingly slow. Even zooming in to a shot takes too long (and there's no slider to show you how far you've zoomed in either).

The triumph of the latest release of Gimp, meanwhile, is its support for multi-threaded processors and - if you're prepared to tinker - OpenCL for GPU acceleration, too. The upshot is that nothing on Gimp 2.8 feels like a chore, so long as you know what you're doing.

Verdict

AfterShot Pro - 5/5
Gimp - 5/5
Shotwell - 3/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 3/5
Fotoxx - 3/5

The verdict

One thing we haven't covered is picture quality. Gimp remains the only really serious tool for all-round work; Darktable gives AfterShot a run for its money, but struggles without a hefty CPU behind it.

Ultimately, there is no one tool that does it all, and where applications try to take photos all the way from hard drive to output in one go they inevitably fall down somewhere.

AfterShot Pro's library management is a bit too intense for daily use if you're just browsing through old snapshots, while digiKam's RAW developer would drive you insane. The best set-up for RAW shooters would be Shotwell for image management and AfterShot Pro or Darktable for developing pictures.

For the casual snapper, digiKam works wonderfully on both KDE and Gnome, although you'll probably end up wanting to cover two thirds of its icons with sticky tape. Where Shotwell's editing tools are too basic for most, digiKam can be quite overwhelming.

Which brings us onto Gimp. That it should, after all these years, remain the only real choice for lightweight or heavy lift editing activities seems like a missed opportunity, but the only piece of software that can survive without its touch-up skills is AfterShot Pro - and even there it's easier to fall back on Gimp for fine tuning.

It's not often in Linux that there's only one way of doing things, but we feel everyone who edits photos should have Gimp installed. The lack of 16-bit colour precision means it has limitations for professionals, but it's more than adequate for most needs.

So what of AfterShot Pro? It pains us to admit it, but the fact that this is the product of a large company with a lot of resources shows. Only Gimp comes close to its level of sensible design choices and bug-free execution, and even then it tends to stray off into a slightly bonkers world of its own. We salute Corel for continuing to support Linux with such a fine piece of software.

Fotoxx is wonderfully quirky, and has an insane feature set for an application that appears so simplistic on first boot, but it's not mature enough yet to compete with the established names.

Final scores

AfterShot Pro - 5/5
Gimp - 4/5
Shotwell - 3/5
digiKam - 4/5
Darktable - 3/5
Fotoxx - 2/5

Pelican's 16-lens camera coming to Nokia Lumia phones next year?

Chris Smith — Sat, 04 May 2013 13:26:00 GMT

Pelican Imaging's unique 16-lens camera module for smartphones could appear in Nokia Lumia handsets as soon as next year, the company has hinted.

The Finnish manufacturer beefed up its investment in Pelican this week and now the imaging start-up's boss says it is in talks with at least one manufacturer to bring the tech to market in a 2014 handset.

Speaking to Engadget, Pelican's CEO Chris Pickett didn't say which manufacturers are testing the tech, but it would seem unlikely that Nokia would pump money into a company only to see others reap the benefits.

Nokia has been very always been very active in pushing mobile camera tech, most recently with its PureView 42-megapixel sensors, which are reportedly coming to Lumia phones.

Could they be combined with Pelican's tech too?

Why all the fuss?

So what's this Pelican camera and what makes it so great? Well, the camera unit features 16 individual lenses, all of which snap pictures when the shutter is pressed, while depth information is captured at every pixel.

This, like the innovative Lytro camera, allows the photographer to alter the focus of the image or even have multiple focus points after the shot has been captured.

Photographers can also "change backgrounds, scale any part of the picture, or combine elements from multiple photos into interesting new images," the company claims.

Photos that are shared by the photographer feature all of the information necessary to download and edit on any device.

The tech is certainly pretty neat and could be the biggest thing to happen to smartphone cameras in a long time.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JovK9-Ig0Cg

Instagram adds Facebook-style tagging with Photos of You

Amy Davies — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:25:00 GMT

Instagram has added a new way to tag friends in your retro-filtered photos.

Not only can you now tag people and things in photos, you can peruse all the snaps of your good self in a new "Photos of You" section on your Instagram profile.

It's a very Facebook-alike tagging system, which is no real surprise given that the social network bought Instagram last year.

If someone tags you in a photo, you'll receive a notification and it will appear in the "Photos of You" section on your profile. If you'd prefer to approve the photo first, the ability to adjust sttings is also included.

Experiment

The new function will go live on all Instagram profiles on May 16, but if you update the Instagram app on Android or iOS from today, you can play around with the tagging tech ahead of time.

It doesn't look as though the tags or the Photos of You section show up on the web version of the app yet but we have no doubt that this is on the cards for a later update.

Adobe shows off iOS Lightroom prototype in RAW form

Michael Rougeau — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:29:00 GMT

Adobe today showed off a version of Lightroom, one of the Photoshop maker's signature photo editing apps, running on an Apple iPad.

Adobe Group Product Manager Tom Hogarty appeared on the photography web show The Grid to give a demonstration of the mobile Lightroom app.

Lightroom on iOS appeared in an early, rough state, yet it possessed all the functionality that Lightroom users would expect. That said, Hogarty admitted that attempting some of the functions that were not optimized for the mobile version would likely "make the iPad explode."

The Lightroom app is a photo management and editing suite that photographers use to make non-destructive changes (meaning the original file is not altered) to large RAW format photographs.

Lightroom on a light device

It's clear that Lightroom for iOS is still early on in development, and Adobe hasn't yet decided how it might release a finished version of the app - whether as a standalone purchase or as part of Adobe's $49.99 (UK£46.88, AU$49.99) per month Creative Cloud subscription suite.

Hogarty showed it off on a second-generation iPad, and despite the app's slightly half-baked appearance it was still capable of manipulating a large 5D Mark III RAW image's shadows, highlights and color temperature.

RAW images, which are often enormous, aren't stored on the tablet itself, but rather on a computer that the tablet would access through the app.

The changes to RAW photos are saved as smaller, separate files that could then be synced through the cloud to other devices.

The mobile Lightroom app could make it easy for photographers to manipulate professional-grade files on the go without having to drag a laptop around - if it ever gets beyond a prototype stage, of course.

We asked Adobe to clarify whether it plans to release Lightroom on iOS or any other mobile platforms at any point, and a company spokesperson responded that today's demonstration was merely "a sneak peek look at future technologies and not specific product plans or news."

Blip: Honey, I shrunk the SLR!

Kate Solomon — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:01:00 GMT

Ever thought about swallowing a camera and seeing the full digestion process from beginning to end?

It might soon be possible thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Illinois who have managed to create a camera so small, it could rest on your finger-tip.

The digital camera measures in at a minimal 1cm wide and has 180 microlenses, which is roughly what fire ants or bark beetles have in their compound eyes.

The curved design means that the camera will be able to offer two huge advantages over that of ordinary cameras. Firstly, the shape of the lens means that the camera can capture extremely wide-angle fields of view. Secondly, the multitude of tiny lenses has an almost infinite depth of field, which keeps objects in focus regardless of their distance from the camera.

Researchers predict that the device will be used on miniature flying drones to get a better view of a battlefield or as a device to inspect people's innards. Perverts are reportedly happy that they'll be able to replace their old mirror-on-shoe trick for something more sophisticated.

More blips!

Need more news nuggets in your life? Get your five-a-day here.

Samsung announces NX2000 with Wi-Fi and NFC

Amy Davies — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:32:00 GMT

Samsung has launched the latest camera to sit in its NX range of compact system cameras in the shape of the NX2000.

Fitted with a 20.3 million pixel APS-C sized sensor, it is joined by a DRIMe IV image processing engine which has been designed to reduce noise, improve speed and boost colour reproduction.

Continuous shooting at up to 8fps is available, while a 1/4000th second top shutter speed is also promised. A wide sensitivity range of ISO 100 to ISO 25600 is included.

On the back of the camera is a 3.7 inch WVGA full touch screen which can be used to control all aspects of the camera.

Beginners

SMART mode provides options to help beginner photographers, offering 14 different scene modes and a range of settings to reflect the shooting environment and needs. For instance, Action Freeze can be used to capture a child running, while "Best Face" takes five consecutive photos and lets the user select the best expression of each person in the picture for the final result.

The range of lenses available for NX cameras has grown to 12, which includes compact pancake lenses, zooms and portrait and macro lenses. i-Function lenses allow controls, such as aperture and shutter speed, to be changed via a button on the lens.

Equipped with Wi-Fi, as with the other SMART NX cameras, the NX2000 also features NFC (near field communication) technology allowing it to instantly connect to compatible Android smartphones and tablets. A Direct Link button can be used to instantly upload to social networking sites such as Facebook.

Check out Samsung's Your Mobile Life to discover loads more about the infinite possibilities of the GALAXY Note II

A free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 will be included with every purchase of the NX2000, designed to appeal to more advanced users.

Available in white, black and pink, the Samsung NX2000 price is yet to be confirmed.

Updated: Best compact camera 2013: 35 reviewed

Angela Nicholson — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Best advanced compact cameras

There are hundreds of digital compact cameras on the market, with advanced, superzoom and rugged camera options all being available, which makes finding the right one quite tricky.

The right choice, of course, depends on what you want from your compact digital camera. Maybe you're looking for a high-end compact camera to take the place of your SLR, or perhaps you want something more basic to get a few snaps on holiday.

Whichever type you are looking for, we've pulled together a selection of what we believe are the best compact cameras on the market now.

Best compact cameras: Advanced

Fuji X100S

Price: £999/$US1,300 (around AU$1,680)

Specs: 16.3MP APS-C format CMOS II sensor, EXR Processor II, Full HD video

Fuji's replacement to its popular FinePix X100 compact camera draws on user feedback to make improvements. The Fuji FinePix X100S uses the same APS-C format sensor, but with a 16.3 megapixel resolution and a new EXR Processor II and 6 x 6 RGGB filter array pattern.

We liked the retro design and control arrangement of the Fuji X100. Its image quality is also good, but it is surpassed by that of the Fuji X-Pro1, which is capable of producing pictures that aren't far off those from some full-frame cameras.

Read our Fuji X100S review

Fuji X20

Price: £479/$US600 (around AU$760)

Specs: 12MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor, 6 x 6 RGGB filter array pattern, 7.1-28.4mm f/2-2.8 lens

The Fuji X10 was our favourite high-end compact camera of 2012, and combining it with the same sensor design as one of our favourite compact system cameras - the Fuji X-Pro1 - bodes very well.

Fuji says it's made 50 improvements on the X10 for the X20, including a new 2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS II sensor with 12 million effective pixels and a 6 x 6 RGGB filter array pattern, which combines with an EXR Processor II. The Fuji X20 also boasts a hybrid AF system and a Digital Trans Panel in the viewfinder.

Read our Fuji X20 review

Canon Powershot G1 X

Price: £500/$US700/AU$650

Specs: Large 14.3MP CMOS sensor, 4x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, swivel LCD screen

Although the zoom range is limited when compared to other Canon G-series cameras, the trump card of the Canon G1 X is its unusually large sensor. A larger sensor has more surface area to receive light, improving image quality at high sensitivities and boosting dynamic range. Interestingly, Canon has opted to stick with the 4:3 aspect ratio, rather than 3:2 as most APS-C sensors are, even though the sensor in the G1 X is roughly the same height as APS-C format.

In order to make the most of what the sensor can offer, Canon has equipped the G1 X with the latest Digic 5 processor, which promises better control over noise at high ISO sensitivities, faster operation and smoother 1080p video recording.

The 4x zoom lens provides an angle of view equivalent to a 28-122mm lens on a 35mm camera, and the usual array of direct controls found on G-series cameras should make manual operation a pleasure.

Read our Canon G1 X review

Canon PowerShot G15

Price: £440/$US500/AU$520

Specs: 12.1MP CMOS sensor, 5x zoom lens, f/1.8 aperture

At first glance, the Canon G15 looks pretty similar to the Canon G12, but there are a few significant differences. The most notable of these is the stacked or overlapping mode dial and exposure compensation dials on the top, and a new f/1.8 lens with 5x zoom.

Canon has manufactured a high quality compact camera in the shape of the Canon G15. It is capable of producing great images with bags of detail, good punchy colours and pleasing shallow depth of field effects.

Read our Canon G15 review

Nikon Coolpix A

Price: £999/$AU1,298/$US1097

Specs: 16.2Mp APS-C format CMOS sensor, 28mm (equivalent) f/2.8 lens, 3-inch 921,000-dot LCD

Nikon has given the Coolpix A the same 16.2-million-pixel sensor as the Nikon D7000, but it has left off the anti-aliasing (low-pass) filter to allow it to record sharper details in-camera.

Aimed at serious photographers, the Coolpix A has advanced exposure modes such as aperture priority, shutter priority and manual as well as fully automatic and scene options.

Our tests reveal that the Coolpix A can capture lots of sharp detail, on a par with an SLR, but the file write times are a little longer than we'd like and vignetting is apparent in images shot with apertures down to f/8 and in some cases f/16.

Read our Nikon Coolpix A review

Nikon Coolpix P7700

Price: £390/$US400/AU$525

Specs: 12.2MP, 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, 7.1x zoom, 1080p video, 3-inch 921,000-dot variangle LCD

The Coolpix P7700 replaces the Nikon P7100 and sits at the top of Nikon's compact camera line-up. It's aimed at experienced photographers who want a smaller alternative to an SLR.

There's a liberal covering of control dials and buttons on the P7700's body giving quick access to features such as the shooting mode, sensitivity, white balance and exposure compensation to name just a few.

The lens offers an equivalent focal length range of 28-200mm in 35mm terms, and has a maximum aperture range of f/2.0-4.0.

Although the P7700 is capable of producing excellent images with lots of detail and nice colours, it is a little hampered by slow image processing making it unsuitable for shooting action.

Read our Nikon P7700 review

Olympus XZ-2

Price: £420/$US550/AU$550

Specs: 12MP 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, i.Zuiko Digital lens, TruPic VI processor, Full HD video

The Olympus XZ-2 follows the popular high-end XZ-1, touting a 3-inch tilting touchscreen with 920,000 dots, 1080p Full HD movie capture and full manual and semi-manual exposure controls. It also boasts raw image capture and can share photos straight from the camera to social networks.

Its super-fast i.Zuiko Digital lens has to be this camera's standout feature, offering ultra-wide apertures and an impressive focal length range of 28-112mm, which sails past many of its hottest contenders, and produces sharpness straight out of the camera, which many of its peers fail to match.

Read our Olympus XZ-2 review

Ricoh GR Digital IV

Price: £435/$US550 (around AU$665)

Specs: 10MP CCD sensor, 28mm (equiv) f/1.9 lens, 1,230,000 dot 3-inch LCD screen

A pocketable camera with a high quality lens, equivalent to a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera, and a fast f/1.9 maximum aperture. The GR Digital IV follows in Ricoh's tradition of producing high quality compact cameras that are ideal for street photography.

Despite the compact dimensions, manual controls are easily accessible and a 3-inch LCD screen with an extremely high resolution of 1,230,000 dots has been squeezed onto the rear. Images can be shot in raw formats too.

Strangely Ricoh hasn't followed the trend of including HD video capability, the GRD IV will record video, but only at VGA resolution.

Read our Ricoh GR Digital IV review

Ricoh GR

Price: £599/$US797/$AU880

Specs: 16.2MP APS-C format CMOS sensor, 28mm (equivalent) lens, 3-inch 1.2 million-dot LCD screen

With the GR Ricoh has done what everyone thought it should've done when it revealed the Ricoh GRX compact system camera and unveiled a small compact camera with an APS-C format sensor.

Like the Nikon Coolpix A, the GR has a sensor without an anti-aliasing filter. This should enable it to record sharper details in camera.

Although the Ricoh GR's focusing speed seems pretty good we have reservations about the write times of raw files, but we hope to be reassured when we get a full production sample in for testing.

Read our hands on Ricoh GR review

Samsung EX2F

Price: £260/$395/AU$450

Specs: 12.4MP, 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, 3.3x optical zoom, 1080p video, 3-inch, 614,000 dot variangle screen

The Samsung EX2F improves on the Samsung EX1 by adding Wi-Fi capability for easy image sharing, boosting the pixel count from 10MP to 12MP and increasing the maximum aperture of the 24-80mm (equivalent) lens from f/1.8 to f/1.4.

Two dials on the top of the camera make selecting the shooting mode and changing key settings such as the drive mode very quick and easy. The function (Fn) provides a quick route to most other important features.

Our tests found that the Samsung EX2F is a very capable compact camera that delivers high-quality images with plenty of detail at the lower sensitivity settings, and natural colour. It's Wi-Fi connectivity is also well integrated so its easy to set up and use. You can share images on Facebook in next to no time.

Read our Samsung EX2F review

Sony RX1

Price: £2,600/$US2,800/AU$3,000

Specs: 24.3MP Xmor CMOS full-frame sensor, 35mm f/2.0 Carl Zeiss T* coated lens, Full HD video

On the Sony RX1, the manufacturer has stashed a 35mm format full-frame sensor and a fixed length, 35mm f/2.0 Carl Zeiss T* coated lens inside a compact body. It also features a new Bionz processor, which enables Full HD video recording and sensitivity capabilities from ISO 50 to ISO 102,400.

The Sony DSC-RX1 produces superb images, with a fantastic amount of detail, colour and dynamic range. It really is the best image quality you'll get in something of this size. Of course, you'll have to be prepared to pay a lot for this ultimate combination of quality and portability, not just in terms of asking price, but also in terms of inflexibility.

Read our Sony RX1 review

Sony RX100

Price: £480/$US650/AU$680

Specs: 20.2MP Exmoor CMOS sensor, 3.6x zoom, 1080p video, Bionz processor, f/1.8-4.9 lens

Though it's a relative small compact camera, the Sony RX100 has a larger than average sensor. In fact its 20.2MP 1-inch CMOS device is the same physical size as the one in the Nikon 1 V1 and Nikon 1 J1, which are compact system camera s.

We love the build quality of the RX100 and it provides all the controls that demanding enthusiasts expect, plus the ability to record raw files. We especially like the control ring around the 28-100mm (equivalent) f/1.8-4.9 lens that can be used to adjust a selection of features including aperture.

Our tests reveal that the RX100 performs well across the sensitivity range (ISO 125-6400) and it produces, bright punchy images that aren't excessively vibrant.

Read our Sony RX100 review

Best superzoom and bridge cameras

Sometimes you don't want to lug around a DSLR and an assortment of lenses - you want one camera and one lens that does it all.

This means a feature set that cherry picks the best that a typical DSLR has to offer, including manual control and preferably the ability to shoot in raw format as well as JPEG, along with a lens that offers a very broad focal range, so it won't matter that it can't be swapped.

Enter the superzoom camera, also known as an ultra zoom or bridge camera - so called because it bridges the gap between a point and shoot compact and an all bells and whistles DSLR, in terms of handling and feature set, at least.

Superzoom build

For this reason, superzooms tend to closely resemble DSLRs in terms of look, build and - to an extent - handling, but feature smaller image sensors and, partly because of this, afford physically smaller lenses.

While not a replacement for a DSLR then, the advantage here is that the cameras can offer a very broad focal range; one that, if you were to try and achieve similar with a DSLR, would make for a prohibitively expensive and awkwardly unwieldy combo.

The larger physical size of a bridge camera or superzoom when compared with a snapshot camera may deter some, but there's a lot more creative versatility here in terms of framing choices. A case in point: many models also offer tilt and swivel LCD screens as well as optical or electronic viewfinders. Again, with a bridge camera there is more choice and more options for the photo enthusiast.

So if you are after one jack-of-all-trades digital camera - either instead of a DSLR, or perhaps as a less expensive back up - and you value convenience and flexibility as much as image quality and pixel count, then a bridge or superzoom camera could be your ideal companion. So here we're shining the spotlight on the best of some recent releases.

Fuji X-S1

Price: £400/$US650/AU$720

Specs: 12MP CMOS sensor, 26x optical zoom,1080p video, 3-inch, 460k dot tilting screen

Looking for the ultimate overall bridge camera, and less bothered about just grabbing the longest lens? Separating this 26x optical zoom model from the herd - its focal range running from 24-624mm in 35mm terms - is a rock-solid build reminiscent of the semi-pro DSLR it resembles in shape and form, plus rubberised body armour that aids a firm grip.

Oddly it not only looks gorgeous, but smells great too, the zoom coming with a rubber surround to prevent slippage in the heat of the action. Given that this is a premium product in Fuji's pro/enthusiast photography range, the cost of the Fuji X-S1 is neither cheap nor prohibitively pricey, particularly when it's now being touted for £200 less than the original asking price.

The Fuji X-S1 wins our Best superzoom camera award.

Read our Fujifilm X-S1 review

Fuji FinePix HS30 EXR

Price: £240/$US350/AU$525

Specs: 16MP CMOS sensor, 30x optical zoom, 1080p video, 3-inch, 460k dot screen

Fuji's 16MP FinePix HS30 EXR, denoting both inclusion of a 30x optical zoom - which can be artificially extended to 60x - and a triple-use proprietary 'EXR' sensor, has a lot going for it. Its immediate appeal as you heft it from its box also owes something to a sturdy DSLR-like build, plus a lens barrel that can be extended and precisely adjusted by hand, as with a DSLR proper.

It's a jack-of-all-trades camera, and happily appears to have mastered many of them from the outset. A lithium ion battery, 920k dot resolution electronic viewfinder and tilting LCD screen are improvements. Add in the ability to shoot raw and JPEG, CMOS-shift image stabilisation, f/2.8 maximum aperture, a level gauge to ensure straight horizons without a tripod, plus the ability to manual focus during video - here Full HD - and there's not much to dislike.

Sony Cyber-shot HX200V

Price: £310/$US480/AU$500

Specs: 18.2MP CMOS sensor, 30x optical zoom, 1080p video, 3-inch, 921.6k dot screen

Resembling a downsized DSLR, dimensions in part dictated by a big and bold optically stabilised 30x zoom, here stretching to a 35mm equivalent 810mm at the telephoto end, the HX200 is Sony's flagship bridge camera. While in truth its audience is pretty broad, the included GPS facility - whereby images can be tagged with location data - will appeal to travellers as much as families and photo enthusiasts.

Build quality feels substantial, and thanks to a moulded handgrip the camera is reassuringly chunky. Plus, if you don't mind a painterly appearance to the end result - due to processing smoothing the usual blocky appearance of pixels - zoom capability can be digitally extended to 60x. The zoom is operated either via a lever or by twisting the lens ring, which prompts a mechanised response yet delivers more precise control.

Read our Sony Cyber-shot HX200V review

Nikon Coolpix P510

Price: £300/$US350/AU$490

Specs: 16MP CMOS sensor, 42x optical zoom, 1080p video, 3-inch, 921k dot tilting screen

Trumping its wimpy-by-comparison 36x optical zoom predecessor the Nikon P500 with its new improved 42x zoom, the Nikon P510 is an amateur paparazzi's dream, courtesy of an ultra-wide 24-1000mm equivalent focal length. For that, a £400/$US400 asking price doesn't feel too bad. Again, the build is 'DSLR lite', the zoom supported by lens-shift rather than sensor-shift image stabilisation, while a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor lies at its core. Performance is enhanced by an Expeed C2 image processor.

Slightly more exciting is, once again, a tilting LCD screen - this time of the 3-inch, respectably high 921k-dot variety, which can be angled up or down but not swung out parallel to the body. Naturally Full HD video shooting is also included, while like its Canon SX40 HS rival the ISO range tops out at a modest ISO 3200, and, doing battle with the Sony HX200V, a GPS antenna sits over the lens barrel and pop-up flash. This means, unlike the Fuji X-S1, there's no space for a hotshoe. For sports fans, continuous burst shooting of up to 7fps is offered, which is better than most entry-level DSLRs at its price.

Read about the Nikon Coolpix P510

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Price: £370/$US450/AU$510

Specs: 12.1MP, 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, 50x optical zoom, 1080p video, 2.7-inch, 460,000-dot variangle screen

Although it has the same pixel count as the Canon SX40 HS that it replaces the Canon Powershot SX50 HS makes a huge leap forward with its focal length range as it features a 50x zoom lens. This optic has a focal length equivalent to a 24-1200mm lens on a 35mm camera, with a maximum aperture of f/3.4-65.

This lens means the camera is suitable for a huge range of photographic situations, from cramped interiors to distant wildlife, but if the telephoto range isn't quite enough it can be extended digitally to a100x zoom, giving the equivalent of a 2400mm lens.

As well as the ability to shoot in shutter priority, aperture priority and manual exposure mode the SX50 HS can record images in raw format, making it even more attractive to experienced photographers. Less experienced users are also catered for though as there is a host of automatic exposure modes as well as JPEG recording.

On the whole images from the Canon SX50 HS impress, having plenty of detail, good exposure and pleasantly vibrant colours.

Read our Canon SX50 HS review

Olympus SP-620UZ

Price: £110/$US165 (around AU$168)

Specs: 16.6MP CCD sensor, 21x optical zoom, 720p video, 3-inch, 230k dots screen

Want an ultra zoom but on a tight budget, and not bothered about too many manual features or enthusiast satiating bells and whistles? Although its styling gives a nod to a DSLR, this 16 megapixel Olympus compact is in fact one of the smallest cameras in its class, with dimensions when dormant that enable it to be squeezed into a roomier jacket pocket.

That said, its 21x optical zoom - a range that travel zoom pocket compacts can now match - does appear a tad weedy in the company of such colossus as Nikon's 42x zoom P510, with the Olympus's focal range stretching 25-525mm.

There are some interesting features here, if, arguably, they aren't essential ones. These include Olympus's Magic Filters digital effects - where the manufacturer has led and others have followed - a panorama mode that automatically stitches three images together - not as flash as Sony's machine gun-like burst of images in 3D or 2D Sweep Panorama mode - plus a software-enhanced 3D mode that overlaps two images taken at marginally different angles, with results viewable only on a 3D TV.

Read our Olympus SP-620UZ review

Best travel compacts

Nikon Coolpix S6400

Price: £160/$US150/AU$230

Specs: 16MP CMOS sensor, 12x optical zoom , Full HD video

The Nikon Coolpix S6400 appears to have just about everything you want from a digital compact camera of its class. With a 12x optical zoom, 3-inch 460,000-dot touchscreen, 16 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, Full HD video recording, a host of direct controls, 20 scene modes, small, lightweight body and a modest price tag, what more could you ask for?

The Nikon S6400 does a number of things pretty well and offers a lot of flexibility, from its wide range of creative filters to its responsive touchscreen, accurate AF system on down to the all-important thing: great image quality.

Read our Nikon Coolpix S6400 review

Samsung Galaxy Camera

Price: £400/$US500/AU$590

Specs: 16MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, 21x optical zoom, Full HD video, Wi-Fi and 3G

It's not really a surprise that Samsung, a company that makes both Android smartphones and dedicated cameras, should decide to merge the best aspects of these two devices to create the Samsung Galaxy Camera.

The combination of a compact camera-sized sensor and a 21x optical zoom lens in a relatively thin body with a huge (by camera standards) touchscreen is very enticing. And an Android operating system and Wi-Fi tools stand out from the crowd. The good news is that this isn't all window dressing - the Samsung Galaxy Camera delivers the goods.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Camera review

Canon PowerShot SX260 HS

Price: £200/$US300/AU$300

Specs: 12MP CMOS sensor, 20x image stabilised optical zoom, 1080p video, GPS

Sporting a 20x zoom lens offering an angle of view equivalent to a 25-500mm lens on a 35mm camera, the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS should be very well equipped for those who wish to travel light. A 12MP rear-illuminated CMOS sensor, coupled with the latest DIGIC 5 image processor, enables this camera to take great quality images, even in low light. The image stabiliser system will also help with taming camera shake when shooting at low shutter speeds.

Full HD video can be recorded and output via the built-in HDMI interface and global positioning information can be recorded for sharing on image and video sharing websites. Advanced photographers will also appreciate the inclusion of manual exposure options, whereas a wide range of automatic shooting options are also included for those who are less technically inclined.

The Canon Powershot SX260 HS sweeps our Best mid-range compact camera trophy.

Read the Canon SX260 HS review

Sony Cyber-shot HX20V

Price: £250/$US380 (around AU$382)

Specs: 18MP CMOS Sensor, 20x optical zoom, 1080p video at 50fps, GPS

An 18MP Exmor R sensor promises excellent quality low light images, despite the relatively high resolution. A 20x optical zoom lens providing an angle of view equivalent to a 35-500mm lens on a 35mm camera should cover most photographic situations when travelling.

High quality Full HD 50p videos can be recorded, and a GPS function is included for tagging images with your position. Plenty of artistic picture effects and easy creative options are also included to get your creativity flowing.

Read our Sony HX20V review

Samsung WB850F

Price: £230/$250/AU$300

Specs: 16.2MP, 21x zoom, GPS and WiFi enabled

One of Samsung's Smart Camera range, the WB850F is aimed at travellers who want a versatile camera and as such it has a Schneider-Kreuznach Varioplan lens with a 21x zoom giving an equivalent focal length range of 23-483mm.

In addition to being WiFi enabled so images can be shared via Facebook, Picasa and Photobucket or by emailing emailed direct from the camera, the WB850F also has GPS technology built-in. There's also a 3-in 614,000-dot AMOELD screen which provides a nice clear view of the image being composed in all but very bright light.

Generally the WB850F produces nice, vibrant images with plenty of punch, but it can struggle to reproduce the full tonal range of some reds, making them too intense and uniform.

Read the Samsung WB850F review

Olympus SH-25MR

Price: £140/$US250/AU$260

Specs: 16MP CMOS sensor, 12.5x zoom, take still images while recording HD video, dual Image Stabilisation

Although a 12.5x zoom range may seem quite modest when compared to other travel compacts on offer, the 24mm wide angle will certainly be handy for shots in cramped conditions, or large buildings you may encounter on your travels.

Just like many other travel-orientated compact cameras, GPS tracking is included and a rear-illuminated 16MP CMOS sensor should provide decent quality in low light conditions.

Unique to this camera is the ability to take still images at the same time as recording video clips, enabling you to capture high quality stills to complement your high definition video.

Read the Olympus SH-25MR announcement

Panasonic Lumix TZ30/ZS20

Price: £240/$US270/AU$330

Specs: 14.1MP CMOS sensor, 20x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, touchscreen interface, 3D still images

The Panasonic Lumix TZ30 (or Panasonic Lumix ZS20 in the US) replaces the TZ20 (ZS10) as Panasonic's flagship TZ camera and pushes the zoom range from 16x to 20x, with a focal length equivalence of 24-480mm.

In other respects the TZ30 is very like the TZ20 having the same touchscreen LCD display, GPS technology and a raft of automated shooting modes as well as more advanced options for experienced photographers.

However, HD video can be shot in 1080p at 50 frames per second rather than the TZ20's 1080 interlaced. And, although the sensor is still a 14MP 1/2.33-inch device, it has been redesigned to produce cleaner images across the sensitivity range. There's a lot packed into this relatively small camera.

Read our Panasonic TZ30 review

Fujifilm FinePix F770 EXR

Price: £180/$US200/AU$260

Specs: 16MP EXR CMOS sensor, 20x optical zoom, ISO 12,800, 1080p video, 8fps high speed continuous shooting

If you've ever struggled to capture the perfect shot of Minky The Whale jumping through a hoop at Sea World, then the Fuji F770 EXR has the solution. It is capable of taking full resolution shots at a blistering pace of eight frames per second, and if you wish to share where the image was taken via popular image sharing services, GPS information can be recorded too.

The rear-illuminated 16MP EXR CMOS sensor has a few tracks up its sleeve too. It can be optimised to take high resolution 16MP images, or images with improved dynamic range at reduced resolution.

By combining neighbouring pixels, sensitivities of up to ISO12,800 are also possible, making this camera ideal for shooting with in adverse conditions.

Read the Fujifilm FinePix F770 EXR review

Best waterproof and rugged cameras

Rugged or waterproof compact cameras allow you to take photographs in places that you wouldn't dare use a normal camera. They are a great choice for beach holidays and ideal for families with children that might want to have a go at taking a photograph. Here are some of the best around.

Canon PowerShot D20

Price: £260/$US290/AU$300

Specs: 12.1MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, 5x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, 3-inch screen

Canon's rough-and-ready PowerShot provides a good range of beginner-friendly photography features, as well as advanced camera technologies. Along with intuitive point-and-shoot modes, there's a selection of underwater shooting options to make aquatic photo capturing a stress-free experience. Some handling issues – both underwater and on dry land - take a bit of the shine off this camera's overall performance. But what this compact lacks in speed, it makes up for in image quality.

The build quality and ability of this camera to produce consistently well-exposed, detailed images can't be faulted, and additional features such as built-in GPS and Full HD video mode broaden the Canon D20's appeal. It's got a lot to offer, but if you're after an everyday rugged all-rounder, some similarly priced rivals may offer a more comprehensive package.

Read our Canon PowerShot D20 review

Panasonic FT4/TS4

Price: £225/$US280/AU$325

Specs: 12.1MP 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor, 4.6x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, 2.7-inch screen

One of the higher-priced rugged compact cameras, the Panasonic FT4 is a feature-packed compact with a superb level of protective attributes. Waterproof to a depth of 12m, the Panasonic Lumix FT4 enables you to explore greater depths than with many if its competitors, plus it's shockproof if dropped from a height of up to 2m, and freeze-proof down to -10C (14F).

Built-in GPS, plus a compass, altimeter and barometer all add to the Panasonic Lumix FT4's appeal for adventure-bound photographers, while Full HD movie recording and a respectable all-round image performance makes this a decent choice for active families in search of a reliable camera, with the ability to take more punishment than your average compact.

Read our Panasonic FT4 review

Sony Cyber-Shot TX20

Price: £220/$US200/AU$180

Specs: 16.2MP 1/2.3-inch Exmor R CMOS sensor, 8x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, 3-inch screen

This svelte little camera is worlds apart from many of its rivals in terms of looks. The Sony TX20's petite profile - being just 17.9mm thick – coupled with its sleek lines makes this camera perfectly pocketable. The sliding front cover is designed to offer some added protection for the lens when the camera's powered down, and has the added bonus of ensuring that the front panel remains perfectly flat when not in use.

The touchscreen interface may not be for everyone, and it limits this rugged camera's usefulness when trying to operate it with gloved hands, but its general responsiveness impresses, and the on-screen controls make the Sony Cyber-Shot TX20 simple to operate. It may not be as rugged as some of its beefier rivals, but the Sony TX20 is a solid choice for photographers who want extra peace of mind - and style - when out and about.

Read our Sony TX20 review

Fujifilm FinePix XP170

Price: £160/$US180/AU$215

Specs: 14MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, 5x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, 2.7-inch screen

In spite of its lower price point, the Fujifilm Finepix XP170 is brimming with impressive features, including a very good Full HD movie mode, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi. Distinctive, chunky styling ensures a firm grip on the camera, and added extras such as an LED light aid low-light shooting.

It's not perfect in every aspect, but the Fuji XP170 impresses with its ability to reproduce lifelike, faithfully coloured images – including seamless auto-stitched panoramas – and with its extensive battery life, despite some of the potentially power-sapping features it has to offer.

Olympus TG-1

Price: £300/$US400/AU$390

Specs: 12MP 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor, 4x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, 3-inch screen

This budget-busting rugged compact camera may stretch your resources, but with the technology and features the Olympus TG-1 has to offer, it more than earns its price tag. In addition to some seriously impressive rough specifications, the Olympus TG-1 boasts a fast f/2.0 lens, built-in GPS and little added extras such as a removable lens surround that enables you to attach optional accessories.

No-nonsense styling and an innovative Tap Control feature combine with artistic options such as Olympus's popular Magic Art filters to produce a camera that's as tough and practical as it is creative. A top-notch macro mode, great handling and decent image quality under a range of conditions sweeten the deal.

Read our Olympus TG-1 review

Nikon Coolpix AW100

Price: £195/$US220/AU$300

Specs: 16MP 1/2.3-inch RGB CMOS sensor, 5x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, 3-inch screen

Nikon's first 'All-Weather' compact camera boasts a decent range of automated features that make it simple to pick up and start shooting with right away. Although its launch price of £329.99 in the UK and $US379.95 in the US puts it towards the top end of this sector of the market, you can currently pick up the Nikon Coolpix AW100 online for around £100/$US80 less, thanks to its having been around for a little while.

Nonetheless, Full HD movies, built-in GPS and a digital compass, plus useful 'Action Control', are all features that ensure the Nikon AW100 can hold its own among its contemporaries. Overall, it's an attractive prospect that strikes a good balance between rugged features and everyday performance.

Read our Nikon Coolpix AW100 review

Best all-rounder cameras

Nikon Coolpix S3300

Price: £85/$US90/AU$110

Specs: 16MP CCD sensor, 6x optical zoom, 720p HD video, 2.7-inch screen

This slim, metal bodied camera has a 6x optical zoom lens squeezed into a body only 19.5mm thick, which makes it ideally pocketable. The 16MP CCD sensor should provide ample resolution for producing large prints, and the Vibration Reduction system will help to tame camera shake.

Plenty of automatic features are provided to aid creativity without oodles of technical know-how. A set of 18 scene modes cover camera settings for common picture taking scenarios, and the Smart Portrait System provides a plethora of automatic detection technologies to enable foolproof people pictures.

Canon IXUS 230 HS/Canon ELPH 310 HS

Price: £180/US$375 (around AU$275)

Specs 12.1MP CMOS sensor, 8x image stabilised zoom, 720p HD video

This slim, stylish, metal bodied camera sports an Image Stabilised 8x zoom lens and delivers excellent quality images, even at high ISO sensitivities thanks to the implementation of Canon's HS system. The same 12.1MP CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4 processor found in other Canon HS cameras work together to produce cleaner, sharper images, fast response times and good dynamic range.

Being an IXUS, it is designed with point and shoot photographers in mind and is very simple to get to grips with. 720P HD videos can be recorded via the direct recording buttong on the rear and a selection of art filters expand creative opportunities.

The Canon IXUS 230 HS wins our Best entry-level compact camera award.

Read our Canon IXUS 230 HS review

Samsung PL120

Price: £100/$US190 (around AU$152)

Specs 14.2MP sensor, 5x optical zoom, 26mm wide angle, dual image display

This budget marvel has an extra 1.5-inch LCD screen on the front, to aid taking self portraits. This is a great feature for those travelling on their own, or as a couple who might be a little scared to trust a stranger with their gadgets when trying to take a picture with themselves in it. It can also show animations to keep little ones' attention when you switch on the Children mode

A comprehensive range of image effects, a video mode and an in-camera editing function all add to what is a very fun camera to use, for a very reasonable price.

Read our Samsung PL120 review

Updated: Nikon rumours: what you need to know

Angela Nicholson — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:30:00 GMT

It wouldn't be a day ending in y if there wasn't at least one Nikon rumour floating about.

Here on this continually updated Nikon rumours page, you'll find the latest hot gossip, information and rumoured specs on what camera is likely to be announced.

Got any tip-offs you'd like to share? Let us know via our Twitter feed, Facebook pag e or email.

Nikon has been through a very active phase of camera announcements, with almost the whole SLR range being refreshed.

First came the Nikon D800 and D4, both of which are likely to have long shelf-lives, in early early 2012. Then came the Nikon D600 in September 2012, followed by the D5200 in November and the D7100 this February.

This just leaves the venerable Nikon D300S and D90, which we are told are still current and have not been replaced by any of the newer cameras. At the moment it's the replacement of the D300S that is creating the majority of Nikon rumours.

Nikon D400 rumours

It's getting on for four years since the D300S made its debut, so it seems very likely that an upgrade is imminent. However, this means that there's been at least two years of rampant speculation about its likely spec, so let's examine what's likely.

First off, the D400 would assume a position at the top of the DX (APS-C sized) sensored cameras in Nikon's line-up, which should set it apart from the newer D7100. Nikon classes the D300S as the entry-level model in its professional camera line-up, so we expect the same of the D400.

The benefit of a DX camera is that it can be smaller and lighter than a full-frame model, which makes it appealing as a second body for pros carrying a full-frame lump like the D4.

In addition, the 1.5x focal length magnification factor allows tighter framing of distant subjects, making it a popular choice with sport and wildlife photographers.

Nikon has had a phase of significantly upping the pixel count of its SLRs, with 24 million being the most common figure. It seems likely that Nikon could stick with this for the D400, but give it a greater burst depth than the D7100 and thus turn it into a better choice for keen sports and wildlife photographers.

Perhaps we will see a return of 7fps as the maximum continuous shooting rate, with a boost to 8fps or more with a batterygrip?

We suspect that the 1.3x crop that was introduced with the D7100 may also feature in the D400, giving photographers an in-camera cropping mode for tighter composition at the shooting stage.

It also seems likely that we will see the Multi-CAM3500DX AF module being used with a total of 51-AF points across the frame.

If the D400 is to be a pro photographers back-up and the darling of wildlife photographers, perhaps it will also be the first Nikon camera to feature Wi-Fi connectivity built-in. As well as allowing wireless transfer of images, this would enable remote control of the camera via a smartphone or tablet app.

Wireless remote control allows you to get great images while you are a respectful distance from timid wildlife.

Buying Guide: Best portrait lenses: 8 tested

Matthew Richards — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:30:00 GMT

Portrait lenses explained

Professional portrait photographers may favour top-money lenses such as the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 or Nikon 85mm f/1.4G. But for those of us who don't want to use this type of lens on a daily, money-earning basis, the respective prices of £1,700/US$2,000/AU$2,300 and £1,200/US$1,450/AU$1,800 put them beyond sensible reach.

At the other end of the scale, lenses such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 cost a mere £80/US$120/AU$130, but come up short in terms of features, performance and build quality. Thankfully, there's plenty of choice to be had in the middle ground, with a range of prime (fixed length) lenses that are affordable but capable. So what makes a good portrait lens?

The first thing to consider is focal length. If you're using a camera with an APS-C format image sensor, a 50mm lens will give an effective focal length of around 75mm to 80mm. This is very close to the 85mm focal length that's considered ideal for portraiture. It enables half-length portraits to be taken from a comfortable distance of around 3m, so you can direct your subject without crowding in and making them feel awkward.

Use an 85mm lens on an APS-C camera, and you'll be able to take head-and-shoulders portraits from about the same distance. One particular advantage of using an 85mm lens for portraiture is that the short telephoto focal length has the effect of slightly compressing any prominent facial features (think noses and chins) for a bit of added flattery.

Generally, prime lenses offer superior image quality to zoom lenses, which makes the optics on test instantly appealing. Their killer feature, however, is a wide maximum aperture that's usually between f/1.4 and f/1.8. This enables a tight depth of field, so you can blur fussy backgrounds and make the person you're shooting really stand out in an image.

The lens's 'bokeh' is all-important. This is the quality of defocused areas within the image, and the aim is to produce a smooth and creamy-looking blur effect. When shooting at anything other than a wide-open aperture, one thing that helps with this is for the lens to feature a well-rounded diaphragm.

Wider apertures also help if you're taking indoor or twilight portraits and you want to make the most of ambient lighting effects without using flash. The key benefit is that you can use faster shutter speeds to enable handheld shooting, as well as freezing any slight movement in the person you're photographing, without having to greatly increase your camera's sensitivity (ISO) setting.

That said, boosting the ISO is less of an issue than it was just a few years ago, since most current cameras offer very good image quality at high sensitivity settings.

At their widest available apertures, very fast lenses often suffer from a significant drop in image sharpness. That's not always a bad thing, since it can give a soft, dreamy look to portraits. It's a good anti-wrinkle feature, for reducing the signs of premature ageing. The only real downside is that the eyes may not be as sharp as you'd like them. You may also need to use a Neutral Density filter in bright lighting conditions, to avoid exceeding your camera's fastest shutter speed.

Portrait lenses aren't just about large apertures. So-called environmental portraits are perennially popular, featuring people in their home or working environment.

When shooting, say, a craftsman in his workshop, you may want to use a small aperture to give a larger depth of field, giving clarity to the surroundings. Sharpness at small apertures can therefore also be an important consideration. As always, maximum sharpness is usually achieved at mid-range aperture settings of around f/8.

Medium apertures are useful when using studio flash lighting as well as for general portraiture. Bear in mind that if you use a very wide aperture for a head-and-shoulders portrait, the person's ears may be slightly defocused when you're focusing on their eyes.

In most portraiture, sharpness is crucial in the central region of the frame. It's a frequently used composition trick to have the person off-centre in a portrait image but, even so, sharpness at the extreme edges and corners is usually unimportant. The exception is when taking group portraits, where people on the periphery may be quite close to the corners of the frame.

It's tempting to use a wide-angle lens for group shots, for the sake of convenience, but the problem with this is that the people near the sides of the image will end up with stretched heads. It's much better practice to stand further back if possible, and to use a lens with a more standard focal length.

Fast autofocus isn't as crucial as it is for action sports or wildlife photography, but it can still be a factor. Nobody wants to miss a fleeting expression or classic moment because they're waiting for autofocus to crawl into place. Quietness of autofocus is also a bonus for shooting candid portraiture.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM - £280/US$360/AU$470

Compared with Canon's range-topping EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, this lens is much more compact, only half the weight and less than a quarter of the price. It still feels pretty robust and the front element is quite well recessed within the inner barrel.

This helps to reduce ghosting and flare, along with Canon's Super Spectra coatings, but it's still worth spending a little extra on the optional lens hood. The inner barrel extends at shorter focus distances but doesn't rotate during focusing.

Based on an eight-blade diaphragm, the aperture is well rounded, and the maximum available aperture matches the best in class at f/1.4.

Autofocus is of the Micro USM variety, involving a motor and gearwheels. This type of system is slower than ring-type ultrasonic autofocus but the Canon offers full-time manual focus override, which is normally only available in the company's ring-type USM lenses.

You can tweak the focus setting in One Shot autofocus mode without having to switch between AF/M on the lens barrel.

Autofocus is actually faster than in the Nikon 50mm f/1.4, which is fitted with a ring-type ultrasonic system. Sharpness and contrast aren't very impressive at f/1.4, and sharpness is worse than with other lenses in the group throughout the rest of the aperture range. Even so, as a portrait lens for Canon users with APS-C sensor cameras, it gives pleasing results.

Sharpness test

Full ISO 200 image, see the cropped (100%) version below.

There's a distinct lack of sharpness at f/1.4, and unfortunately it's unimpressive at any point throughout the aperture range.

Fringing test

Poorer than most competing lenses in this group at any given aperture, and colour fringing is most noticeable at around f/8.

Distortion test

It's not particularly obvious in the images, but there is some barrel distortion, which is a little high for a 50mm prime lens.

Image test verdict

Unfortunately the Canon 50mm f/1.4 doesn't really excel in any specific area of image quality and, overall, it's merely an average performer.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM - £300/US$385/AU$585

While it's understandably bigger than the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens, this 85mm optic is still compact and has the same filter thread of 58mm. Both Canon lenses look quite similar at a glance, but the 85mm has a larger front element that isn't recessed within the barrel, making the purchase of an optional ET-65 III lens hood all the more important.

Build quality is good and the lens benefits from a ring-type autofocus system that's very fast and almost silent. It's a significant step up from the Canon 50mm's Micro USM system, both in speed and the smoothness of full-time manual focus override.

Autofocus is fully internal, so the barrel doesn't extend during shorter-range focusing. The eight-blade diaphragm gives a well-rounded aperture, similar to that of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens.

There's noticeably more sharpness and contrast than with the Canon 50mm lens when using the widest available aperture, albeit at f/1.8 as opposed to the 50mm's f/1.4.

Sharpness is also improved at medium apertures of around f/5.6 to f/8. The lens is almost completely free of distortion, while colour fringing and vignetting are well controlled.

With its improved autofocus system and superior image quality, this lens is better value than the Canon 50mm lens, since it's only a little dearer to buy. It's an ideal portrait optic for full-frame DSLR bodies and very useful for telephoto portraiture on APS-C cameras.

Sharpness test

Good rather than excellent throughout most of the aperture range, this lens does better than the Canon 50mm at large apertures.

Fringing test

Colour fringing is quite low and remains consistent through most of the aperture range, although it peaks at f/1.8.

Distortion test

There's very marginal barrel distortion and it's all but impossible to see in images. It's on a par with the Nikon 85mm lens.

Image test verdict

Sharper and with less colour fringing or distortion than the Canon 50mm lens, the 85mm delivers very good image quality for the money.

Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G - £280/US$400/AU$550

This G-mount lens is a major update of the somewhat antiquated 50mm f/1.4D. As such, it ditches the aperture control ring, adds AF-S (Silent Wave) autofocus and has completely redesigned optics.

The good news about autofocus is that, unlike the previous lens, it works on all Nikon DSLRs, even bodies like the D3200 and D5200 that don't have a built-in AF drive.

The bad news is that, despite being a ring-type ultrasonic system, it's sluggish and slower than when using old D-mount lenses on bodies like the D7000 or any Nikon full-frame DSLR. At least the full-time manual override works well, with smoothness and precision.

The lens feels robust and well put together, complete with a weather-seal ring around the metal mounting plate. Like the equivalent Canon lens, the front element is well recessed within the inner barrel, although it does extend towards the front of the lens's outer barrel at shorter focus distances. Unlike the Canon lens, the overall physical length of the lens doesn't alter through the focus range.

Images look quite soft at wide apertures between f/1.4 and f/2.8, but sharpness improves at f/4 and is consistent across the whole frame. Barrel distortion is slightly noticeable, slightly more so than with any other lens here. Bokeh is very pleasant, thanks in part to a well-rounded nine-blade diaphragm.

Overall, it's a significant improvement over the old D-mount lens.

Sharpness test

It's poorest in the group at f/2.8, where sharpness is marginally worse even than at f/1.4. It's respectable at apertures of f/4 and smaller.

Fringing test

There's a spike in colour fringing at f/2.8, but it's fairly minimal at f/1.4 and at medium to small apertures in the range.

Distortion test

A little disappointing for a lens in this class, the Nikon 50mm does have some barrel distortion, but it's not normally noticeable.

Image test verdict

Very good overall at apertures of f/4 and narrower, the lens is let down by a lack of sharpness at wider apertures between f/1.4 and f/2.8.

Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G - £380/US$400/AU$680

A relative newcomer to Nikon's range of lenses, this is a direct competitor to Canon's EF 85mm. Both lenses feature nine optical elements and ring-type ultrasonic autofocus.

The Nikon's autofocus isn't as fast as that of the Canon lens, but it's much quicker than the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G. There are only seven diaphragm blades, compared with eight in the Canon 85mm and nine in the Nikon 50mm, but the aperture is still well rounded and bokeh is nice and dreamy.

Both this lens and the Canon 85mm feature full internal focusing, so the front element remains completely fixed throughout the focus range. The diameter of the front element is about the same in both lenses, but the Nikon's is slightly further recessed and the filter thread is larger at 67mm as opposed to 58mm.

The Nikon also comes with a lens hood, rather than it being an optional extra. The mounting plate features a weather-seal ring, which is absent on both Canon lenses in the group. Handling is very refined, with smooth manual focus and full-time focus override delivered by a comfortably large focus ring.

Sharpness and contrast are impressive, even at the widest aperture of f/1.8, and both of these image attributes are excellent at apertures of between f/2.8 and f/16. Distortion is practically non-existent and there's almost no colour fringing whatsoever. Overall, it's an excellent performer that's well worth the price.

Sharpness test

There's plenty of sharpness and contrast even when shooting wide-open at f/1.8, and consistency is good through the aperture range.

Fringing test

Colour fringing is absolutely minimal at any aperture, from f/1.8 to f/16. It's the most impressive lens in the group in this respect.

Distortion test

There's just the faintest touch of pincushion distortion, but it's negligible and goes unnoticed in the vast majority of images.

Image test verdict

All-round excellence in image quality makes this a worthy new addition to the Nikon lineup and it's great value at the price too.

Olympus M Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 - £220/US$400/AU$500

Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds cameras have a reputation for struggling to give a tight depth of field, due to their 2x focal length multiplier. However, with its moderately large f/1.8 aperture, this Olympus lens makes it feasible to blur defocused areas in images.

Compared with most of the 50mm optics in the group, this lens is a tiny thing, with a filter thread of just 37mm and weighing only 116g. From a distance, the lens barrel looks like high-grade metal, but it's actually made of plastic with a metal-like finish. Even so, build quality feels solid.

As an extra gimmick, the front 'decoration ring' can be swapped for rings of different colours. The ring also needs to be removed when fitting the official lens hood, which is an optional extra.

The MSC (Movie & Stills Compatible) autofocus system is driven from an in-camera motor. It's practically silent and, in stills mode, as fast as the quickest ring-type ultrasonic lenses here.

Full-time manual focus override is available via in-camera settings, but there's no focus distance information on the lens.

Sharpness is outstanding, even at the widest available aperture of f/1.8, but this aperture is two-thirds of a stop slower than with the 50mm f/1.4 lenses in the group. Colour fringing is a little above average and pincushion distortion is slightly noticeable.

Overall, the Olympus packs big portraiture potential into a tiny package.

Sharpness test

The maximum aperture of f/1.8 is two-thirds of a stop slower than some 50mm lenses in the group, but wide-open sharpness is superb.

Fringing test

Not quite a match for most of the lenses on test, there's some colour fringing in evidence, mostly at large aperture settings.

Distortion test

There's a little pincushion distortion with this lens, however its actual severity is less than with any of the 50mm lenses on test.

Image test verdict

Razor-sharp, especially at wide and medium apertures, the Olympus boasts very good all-round image quality with fairly minimal distortion.

Pentax SMC DA 50mm f/1.8 - £220/US$250/AU$270

Pentax's 55mm f/1.4 lens is outside the price bracket of this group, costing a hefty £600/US$800 (around AU$880). That leaves the 50mm f/1.8 but, on a direct comparison of maximum aperture, it's three times more expensive than the Canon 50mm f/1.8. So what do you get for your money?

Build quality is quite tough overall but the mounting plate is plastic rather than metal. The lens is fairly compact and lightweight, as you'd expect from a 50mm optic with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 rather than f/1.4.

There's no lens hood, but the front element is well recessed at the infinity focus setting. However, it ends up quite close to the front of the lens at the shortest focus setting, as the inner barrel extends as you focus down.

The lens doesn't have an internal autofocus motor, instead being screw-driven from a motor in the camera body. It's not particularly fast and is very noisy.

One plus point of the 'quick-shift' focus system is that you get full-time manual focus override, but it's stiff to operate unless you switch to manual focus mode on the camera body. At least the aperture is quite well rounded, based on a seven-blade diaphragm.

Sharpness is very good at f/1.8 and is excellent in the range between f/2.8 and f/11. Colour fringing is fairly low and barrel distortion is slightly less apparent than with the Canon and Nikon 50mm lenses on test.

Sharpness test

The upside of a reduced maximum aperture is that the Pentax offers extremely good sharpness at wide and medium apertures.

Fringing test

Colour fringing is impressively low at large apertures, although it rises slightly as you progress through the aperture range.

Distortion test

Like the Canon and Nikon 50mm lenses, there's a little barrel distortion, but the amount is a bit less and barely noticeable.

Image test verdict

It's rather expensive for a 50mm f/1.8 lens with only a basic feature set, but all aspects of image quality are very pleasing.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM - £360/US$450/AU$480

The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 costs more than the equivalent Canon and Nikon lenses. It's a big and heavy lens, having a 77mm filter thread and weighing in at 505g. That's getting on for twice the weight of the Canon and Nikon lenses, but it's certainly not uncomfortably heavy, and build quality feels particularly strong.

The ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system is ultra-quiet and impressively fast, with similar performance to the Canon 85mm lens in the group. Full-time manual focus override is silky-smooth. The inner lens barrel extends at shorter focus distances, putting the front element almost flush with the front of the lens at the closest focus distance.

However, the lens comes with a good quality petal-shaped lens hood plus a padded carry pouch. Matched only by the Nikon 50mm lens on test, the Sigma has nine diaphragm blades that produce a very well-rounded aperture.

The Sigma retains sharpness at f/1.4 slightly better than the Canon and Nikon 50mm lenses. However there's a blip at f/2.8 where sharpness drops to the same level as the Canon, and the Nikon runs it close at f/11.

Apart from at f/2.8, sharpness is consistent throughout the aperture range and across the whole frame, from the centre to the corners of the image. Helped by the oversized front element, vignetting is negligible. For a prime 50mm lens, pincushion distortion is a bit on the high side.

Sharpness test

There's a dip in sharpness at f/2.8, but the Sigma acquits itself very well at f/1.4-1.8 and at medium to small apertures.

Fringing test

Colour fringing is extremely low at either end of the aperture range, and the only real peak is at f/2.8, where it's still minimal.

Distortion test

As with the other 50mm lenses on test here distortion is low, but slight pincushioning can be apparent in some images.

Image test verdict

Apart from at f/2.8 where there's a dip in sharpness and a peak in colour fringing, this Sigma lens delivers very good image quality indeed.

Sony 85mm f/2.8 SAM - £200/US$300/AU$300

Suitable for portraiture on full-frame bodies such as the Sony Alpha a99, as well as for tightly framed portraits on APS-C cameras, this 85mm lens is the cheapest here.

It's light in weight but feels a bit flimsy and only has a plastic mounting plate. It's also the 'slowest' lens in the group, with a maximum aperture of a mere f/2.8. Sony does also make an 85mm f/1.4 lens but, typical of this focal length and aperture combination, it's nearly six times the price.

As a 'SAM' lens, it features a built-in Smooth Autofocus Motor. In practice, autofocus is fairly quiet but slow. You can manually override autofocus but, as with the Pentax lens, operation is uncomfortably stiff unless you switch to manual focus mode. It's a shame the small focus ring isn't textured but at least it has a distance scale printed on it.

The inner barrel extends at shorter focus distances but the front element remains well recessed at all focus distances. Sony also supplies a hood with the lens. Thanks to a seven-blade construction, the diaphragm is quite well rounded.

The maximum aperture of f/2.8 is entirely usable as sharpness is excellent from corner to corner of the frame, and contrast is impressive. However, this is a plus point we'd expect from a lens that offers a relatively small maximum aperture.

There's a little pincushion distortion, whereas colour fringing is worse than with any other lens in the group.

Sharpness test

Corner-to-corner sharpness is excellent even at the largest available aperture, although this is a relatively disappointing f/2.8.

Fringing test

Colour fringing can be quite noticeable towards the edges and corners of the frame, increasing at medium to small apertures.

Distortion test

It can't quite match the near-zero distortion of the Canon and Nikon 85mm, but there's precious little pincushion to be seen.

Image test verdict

All aspects of image quality are very impressive, with the exception of colour fringing, where the Sony comes bottom of the group.

Verdict: Best portrait lenses

As is often the case, the very fast lenses with extra-wide maximum apertures don't tend to be quite as sharp as the slower lenses.

This is amply demonstrated in our lab test results by the Canon, Nikon and Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lenses when compared with the Olympus and Pentax f/1.8 lenses in this group. The same holds true when comparing the Canon and Nikon 85mm f/1.8 lenses with the Sony f/2.8 lens.

Distortion isn't much of an issue with any of the lenses on test, but the Canon and Nikon 85mm are the most impressive, exhibiting practically no distortion at all. The Canon and Nikon 50mm lenses both have a little barrel distortion, and the Sigma 50mm has the most noticeable pincushion.

Colour fringing is also very well controlled by almost all the lenses in this group test. The Olympus scores a little worse than most, however it's the Sony that is the least impressive.

Verdict

Full of refinement, the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 boasts ring-type ultrasonic autofocus with smooth full-time manual override, and is our favourite portrait lens. It's sharp even at its largest aperture setting and sharpness is both very impressive and consistent throughout the rest of the aperture range, from corner to corner of the frame.

The provision of seven diaphragm blades is less than with the competing Canon lens, which also has slightly faster autofocus, but bokeh is beautiful.

The Sony 85mm lens has very good overall image quality, apart from noticeable colour fringing, but it has a more basic feature set, build quality feels a bit flimsy and the maximum aperture of f/2.8 is somewhat less useful.

Moving down to the 50mm mark, which is often more ideal for general portraiture with cameras that have an APS-C format image sensor, quality is mixed. Neither the Canon nor Nikon lenses give very convincing sharpness at their maximum apertures of f/1.4, and the Nikon fails to improve much even at f/2.8. Even so, both lenses give a pleasant, dreamy look to portraits taken with wide apertures.

The Sigma 50mm gives greater sharpness at f/1.8 and is impressive at medium to narrow apertures, although there's a dip in sharpness at f/2.8. Overall, it's our 50mm portrait lens of choice.

The Olympus and Pentax lenses offer great sharpness, even wide-open, but they're expensive to buy, considering they have a reduced maximum aperture of f/1.8.

In Depth: Six marvels of the 4K revolution at Sony Pictures Studios in LA

James Rivington — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:20:00 GMT

To say Sony is serious about 4K is a bit like saying Canon seems to kinda like making cameras.

4K is at the heart of Sony's entire operation, and that's not surprising given the fact that it's the only company that can tell an on-brand end-to-end 4K story. It makes the movies and TV shows, it produces the cameras to shoot the content, it makes the projectors to display it in cinemas, it publishes the movies on disc, and it delivers 4K it to the home in the form of TVs, games consoles and media servers. Sony has already shipped over 15,000 4K projectors worldwide.

To mark the forthcoming launch of Sony's new 4K TV range, Sony invited us to Sony Pictures Studios in LA to take a closer look at its 4K ecosystem. We've seen 4K movie sets, we've seen Breaking Bad being remastered in 4K and we've compared Sony's 4K TVs against every other brand.

Here are the six coolest techno-marvels we've seen this week...

1. Sony F65 8K camera

The F65 is the pride and joy of Sony's 4K operation. Worth upwards of US$50,000 (about AU$48,500, £32,650), this is the Ultra HD camera that Sony Pictures is using to shoot all its movies and TV shows. It actually shoots at a native resolution of 7680 × 4320. That's 8K, or 33.2 megapixels - four times the resolution of 4K, which in turn is four times the resolution of Full HD. So take the number of pixels in a Blu-ray picture and multiply by 16. What's more, it can do it at any framerate up to 120fps. This allows film crews to downsample after shooting so they can be sure they're working with the very best pictures.

2. 4K film scanners

Even Laurence Olivier classics from 60 years ago can be watched in 4K. But first the original film must be rescanned. This isn't such a bad idea, either - film typically captures a lot more data than ever makes it onto the screen, and our Sony guides tell us that 4K is finally the right resolution to capture and present all that picture information on screen for the first time. These machines scan original film in 4K resolution at around 1.5fps, but that's just the start of the process…

3. Colorworks remastering suite

The big problem with film is that it degrades over time, so the older it is, the more work is needed to get it into shape - a task made ever more complicated by the sheer amount of detail and data captured by 4K images. Sony's Colorworks remastering suite is where movie directors come to master their movies, frame by painstaking frame. Some artefacts like noise and white spots can be removed by an algorithm but most defects require an engineer to polish up every frame individually.

Sony is constantly remastering classic movie and TV titles, and currently has over 100 4K movies in its library, new and old. While some movies can take just a few months to remaster, Lawrence of Arabia has taken nearly three years to get into a condition where the studio was happy with it. We can tell you it looks absolutely stunning.

4. Remastering facility with 11PB local storage

Of course, with hundreds of movies being scanned and edited digitally in 4K, that data needs to be stored somewhere. Sony Pictures Studios has networked servers with 11PB - that's 11 petabytes, or 11,000 terabytes - of local storage. All of this is also backed up locally and elsewhere on tape. Every green light in the image below represents a separate drive, and contained on these drives are forthcoming native 4K movies like The Amazing Spiderman 2 and After Earth, so in a way, you can now say you've seen those titles before your friends. In a way. Sort of.

5. High quality sets

With every generation of picture improvements comes higher production values. Long gone are the days of the Fawlty Towers sets that nearly fall down whenever a door slams shut, or Dallas window backdrops that were clearly painted by school children.

Check out the window on a 4K TV set. Even standing on the set, the window is convincing.

Looking up close, only the set furniture gives the game away.

To pull off this look requires extremely high resolution photography.

It also takes superpowered backlighting which can be dimmed and coloured to give the illusion of daylight or dusk.

We had a walk around one of the sets for the forthcoming Showtime cable drama Masters of Sex starring Michael Sheen. It was the nicest house we've ever been in, yet it's built on the same soundstage where Wizard of Oz was filmed in back in 1939. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures on that set, so you'll just have to watch the show.

6. Sony's professional OLED monitor

Sony's 4K sets make use of the company's super-awesome professional grade OLED monitors for displaying footage in all its natural splendour. The F86 camera can output several different video channels so that different members of the crew can tune into different feeds. The cinematographer needs to be able to see the natural lighting, whereas the camera operators might want to view the footage with different contrast setting so they can see exactly how much detail is being captured in the dark areas of the picture.

And a few other cool thing we spotted at Sony Pictures...

Camera update rolls out to Euro HTC One models

JR Bookwalter — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:21:00 GMT

The HTC One has piled up a super-sized stack of good reviews since its introduction, and an update currently making the rounds in Europe may help squash one of the few downsides noted by critics.

SlashGear reported Tuesday that HTC has started rolling out an update for its flagship One smartphone, adding camera enhancements and improved system performance for international models of the handset.

While Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and HTC Sense remain untouched, the 1.29.401.13 update brings welcome changes to the camera software, which has been cited by many critics as one of the device's otherwise few shortcomings.

Unfortunately, there's no word on if or when this particular over-the-air update will land on AT&T-branded models arriving in the hands of eager U.S. customers this week.

Enhancements aplenty

According to the changelog, the HTC One update improves audio recording when using the handset's impressive Zoe feature, while also reducing noise for videos captured in slow-motion.

Most welcome to HTC One buyers will be the update's promised improvements to color reproduction and dynamic range, which reduces overexposure in non-HDR images under certain conditions.

Finally, the update addresses a bug that caused user-altered ISO settings to now correctly display in embedded EXIF information.

The report notes that the update is rolling out in waves over the next week, so if your international HTC One model hasn't received it yet, sit tight and your patience will soon be rewarded.

Sony announces super light 30x zoom camera

Amy Davies — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:02:00 GMT

The Sony HX50 is the world's smallest and lightest digital camera to feature a 30x optical zoom. It's also equipped with image stabilisation, which Sony says is twice as effective as the Cyber-Shot HX200V, the camera's predecessor.

A 20.4 million pixel Exmor R CMOS sensor is joined by a Bionz processor, which claims to deliver high quality images, even in low light shooting conditions. The Sony Cyber-Shot HX50's sensor is a 1/2.3-inch sized device.

A high speed autofocusing system is said to be capable of capturing quick moments even at full zoom. Speed is claimed to be twice as quick as on the Sony HX200V.

The 30x optical zoom lens gives an equivalent focal length of 24-720mm in 35mm terms. At the widest point of the lens it boasts a maximum aperture of f/3.5, rising up to f/6.3 at the telephoto end.

Aimed at more advanced photographers as well as those attracted by the high zoom ratio, a dedicated dial is included for adjusting exposure compensation, along with a mode dial for manual shooting settings such as P/A/S/M modes.

Add ons

Optional accessories, such as an electronic viewfinder (EVF), flash or microphone can be attached via a Multi Interface Shoe. Full HD video recording at 50p is available. At the back of the camera is a 3-inch, 921,6000 dot Xtra Fine TFT LCD screen.

Sony claims that the X-type lithium-ion battery onboard the HX50 is capable of delivering up to 400 shots from a single charge, despite being physically smaller than any of its predecessors.

Nine different picture effects are included to experiment with, while three are available in Intelligent Sweep Panorama mode. Four different movie effects are available.

Inbuilt Wi-Fi and GPS are included, which is likely to be an added attraction to the travelling photographer.

The Sony HX50 price has yet to be determined, but it will be available to buy from May.

Panasonic reveals latest CSC with Wi-Fi and NFC

Amy Davies — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:02:00 GMT

Panasonic has launched its latest compact system camera - or DSLM (Digital Single Lens Mirrorless) - the Lumix G6.

Revealed roughly a year after its predecessor, the Panasonic G5, it uses the same 16.05 million-pixel sensor but features a new Venus engine which boosts sensitivity settings up to ISO 25,600.

Further improvements have also been made to the autofocus system with "Accurate AF" and "Low Light AF" now included. Panasonic is aiming to be the industry's number one for focusing in low light.

The new Venus engine also facilitates the Panasonic G6's rapid burst shooting capability, which has been boosted to 7fps in full resolution. The camera is capable of shooting at 5fps in AF tracking mode.

A new 24p video mode has been added for a "filmic" effect when capturing full HD videos. It can also output in both AVCHD progressive and MP4 formats.

Another improvement has been made to the electronic viewfinder, which is now an OLED viewfinder. This promises to be both brighter and faster than traditional LCD finders.

Touchy-feely

On the back of the camera is a one million dot, free-angle 3-inch electro static touchpad which allows for touch focusing and touch to fire the shutter. Like with the G5, TouchPad AF enables you to use the LCD screen to focus, even while using the viewfinder.

The G6 is Panasonic's second camera to feature inbuilt Wi-Fi and NFC, after the GF6 was announced earlier this month. This allows for instant communication between smartphones and tablets to control the camera remotely as well as share images online.

Panasonic says that previous generations of the camera, the Panasonic G5 and the Panasonic G3, will remain on sale throughout 2013 to give consumers a greater degree of choice.

The Panasonic G6 price will be £629/US$958/AU$934 (including 14-142mm kit lens). It will be available from the end of May.