camera

Android originally designed as smart-camera system

Back when Microsoft and Symbian ruled the smartphone market, before iOS or the iPhone even existed, Android was an operating system for cameras.

Android co-founder Andy Rubin said today that the operating system, now a dominant force in the smartphone market, was actually built for digital cameras. When smartphones took off, the Android team switched gears and tweaked the system accordingly.

Rubin -- who recently left the Android team to head up a new endeavor within parent company Google -- talked about Android's beginnings at an economic summit in Tokyo, according to PC World.

The Android creators intended to … Read more

Latest iPhone 5S rumor pegs camera at 12 megapixels

As rumors swirl about Apple's manufacturing partners kicking into high gear to produce the next version of the iPhone, a new report adds some more detail on what could be inside the new device.

The latest comes from Vietnamese site Tinhte, which says Apple's next iPhone (expected to be called the 5S) will sport a 12-megapixel camera. That's as compared to the 8-megapixel sensor found on both the iPhone 5 and 4S.

Now it wouldn't be unusual for Apple to make improvements to its camera, which it's done with each successive iPhone model. But the … Read more

Camera 360 1.0.1 Review

If your smartphone has become your point-and-shoot camera, you're probably missing some of your go-to shooting modes. Camera 360 will help bring them back and add some cool effects, too. It's a big shift from what you're used to in Android's default camera, but it's a switch worth making.

This app does away with the translucent viewfinder tools you'll find in most camera apps. That means there's not as much room for you to actually frame your shot, sadly. It's even worse when you factor in the ad that the app floods … Read more

Vintage Camera 1.04 Review

There are thousands of camera applications available in the Play store that offer legitimate alternatives to the stock camera application. Vintage Camera, however, is not one of them. It proved easy to use, but produces low-quality images and has limited features. Most users may find this application amusing at first but this isn't really an app with staying power.

The installation runs easily and the overall operation of the application is intuitive. While the user interface is simple, it lacks many features. The main screen consists of a viewfinder and a scrolling menu for the various effects. Eight different … Read more

High-speed cam catches cool 3D shots of snowflakes

Now that winter has passed, those of us who live in cold climes can once again appreciate the beauty of snowflakes without feeling the urge to curse them for making us dig out the shovel. And if ever snowflakes looked lovely, it's in these images shot by a high-speed camera system developed specifically to photograph them in 3D as they fell.

"Until our device, there was no good instrument for automatically photographing the shapes and sizes of snowflakes in free fall," says Tim Garrett, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah and one of the developers of the cam known as MASC, or Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera. "We are photographing these snowflakes completely untouched by any device, as they exist naturally in the air."

MASC -- under development for three years -- takes 9- to 37-micron-resolution stereographic photographs of snowflakes from three angles while simultaneously measuring the speed of their fall, a highly influential factor in the location and lifetime of a storm. … Read more

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Turn off the screens at our concerts

Go to any live concert these days and you'll see many audience members watching the performance through a small screen instead of their own eyes.

In response to this epidemic of diverted attention, indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently put the proverbial foot down on concertgoers with a sign that instructs those with a smartphone, tablet, and/or camera to "Put that s*** away."… Read more

Hands on: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6

Editors' note: The GF6 has not yet been announced in the U.S. This hands-on preview is courtesy of our sister site CNET Asia. The camera was subsequently announced in the US at a price of $599.99 for the 14-42mm standard zoom kit, and is expected to ship in June.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6 comes as an update to the DMC-GF5. The new camera features a chunkier build and a sleek metallic design. With this iteration, Panasonic has added a few notable improvements such as wireless connectivity, a 180-degree tilting screen and a mode dial. This 16-megapixel interchangeable lens … Read more

Use either volume button as a shutter release on BlackBerry 10

One of the smaller features I have appreciated in the iPhone's camera app has been the volume up key acting as a shutter release. Instead of tapping on a digital button, pressing the volume up key will snap a pic.

When I first launched the Camera app on the BlackBerry Z10, I instinctively pressed the volume up button and to my surprise it snapped a pic. The normal method for taking a picture on BlackBerry 10 requires you to tap anywhere on the screen. But with either volume key acting as a shutter release, you can avoid tapping on … Read more

The weird things you find in a Japanese electronics shop

TOKYO--Yodobashi Camera is a massive electronics complex in Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku district. You walk through the neon-lined entrance into a maze of computer, smartphone, TV, and other displays. It's designed to overwhelm.

The plastic shines under the glare of fluorescent lights. Add to that fumes from the bus depot outside, yelling salesmen, and a looped company jingle on the PA system based on "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

It's a sensory assault. … Read more