First camera samples of Meizu MX5 released, they look quite stunning

The newly launched Meizu MX5 boasts of some impressive features, among them is the powerful 20.7MP camera with a Sony sensor and laser assisted autofocus and dual flash. If you are curious to know how the snaps taken by this camera come out, you can see it now. The Chinese handset manufacturer has released some sample pics to show what the camera can deliver.

Check out the pics here:

The 20.7MP rear camera of the Meizu MX5 features 1/2.3 inch Sony IMX220 sensor and an f/2.2 size aperture lens with 6 optical elements and 1.2-micron pixels. The rear camera has a laser assisted auto-focusing system that causes the camera to focus automatically in only 0.2 seconds within 50cm range even in low light conditions.

The rear camera can also record 4K videos as well as slow motion videos at 100fps in 720p resolution and can compress these videos in H.265 encoding system for storing the files with minimum loss of detail. Meizu MX5 also sports a 5MP front-facing camera with a f/2.0 aperture lens for taking selfies and video chatting. The cam comes with Face AE function and FotoNation 2.0.

The new Meizu MX5 flagship has a full metal jacket body and features a 5.5-inch 1920 x1080 pixel AMOLED display, the latest 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 Turbo processor, a PowerVR G6200 GPU, 3GB RAM and three storage options – 16GB/32GB and 64GB. The handset comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop.

First camera samples of Meizu MX5 released, they look quite stunning

Differences on Camera Aperture and ISO which will Help You in Taking Better Pictures

Camera could be one of the aspects that people look when they are choosing on which smartphone they would like to buy.  Last year, smartphone manufacturers are focusing at the higher resolution camera being embedded on its smartphone. It was a megapixel race. Nowadays, it is about its aperture size, general build technology as well as the software which you can edit the image to be closer to the original or maybe even better than the original.

Thanks to bloggers at Photoblog Hamburg, we can know a little bit more about aperture size, shutter speed and ISO setting by providing us with a quick reference graph of the three of them as you can see from the above picture and how they are related to each other.

The aperture size has two effects on the photo. The larger the aperture size, more light can get in thus the better image that it is produced. A larger aperture size normally will be represented by lower number.  Shutter speed is the time taken for the camera to capture what the sensor sees. On a sunny day, it should be kept at minimum to get a great picture as not to allow your hand to shake. When your hand shakes, you might get a blurry picture. However, if the shutter speed is too low, then you will get an overexposed picture. In darker environment, on the other hand, you might want to lower the speed as you want more light to get in.

ISO controls how much light ends up on the image. Low ISO means the least amount of light, vice versa, high ISO means more light. However, do note that high ISO introduce noise to the photo.

In dark environment, it is better to balance the ISO and shutter speed to get a picture which is not too noisy and not too blurry. In sport shots, you will need to set the shutter speed as high as possible since the athlete movement is happened so fast that you want to take it in motion without blurring them too much.

Differences on Camera Aperture and ISO which will Help You in Taking Better Pictures

Several Sony Xperia Z4 camera sample pictures leak!

A few days back, the first sample picture taken with the Sony Xperia Z4 (model E6553) smartphone had leaked. We now have a couple of more photos snapped with the Xperia Z4 camera. These are outdoor pictures and look beautiful with brilliant colors.

The outdoor photos taken by someone with “Sony E6553” were posted on the website esato.com.  The photos have a resolution of 5248 x 3936 pixels indicating that they have been taken with a 20.7MP camera that probably belongs to a prototype of the Xperia Z4.

All the Xperia Z1, Z2 and Z3 feature a 20.7MP rear camera and the upcoming Xperia Z4 is also rumored to have a 20.7MP rear camera, but it is expected to come with several improvements. At least, the pictures look quite stunning though Sony might still make some improvements in the camera department before the final product is launched.

Apart from the 20.7MP rear cam, the Sony Xperia Z4 is rumored to sport a 5MP front-facing cam , an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and a 4GB RAM. There would be a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of either 1920 x 1080 pixels or 2560 x 1440 pixels or there may be two variants of the device.

The Sony Xperia Z4 will probably launch in summer this year but there is no concrete information from the company about it as yet.

You can have a look at the photos below:

Several Sony Xperia Z4 camera sample pictures leak!

Apple patents new camera technology for iPhones that uses a single sensor and multiple camera lenses

There has recently been a spurt in patents relating to the camera technology from Apple hinting that the Cupertino giant may be planning something bigger for the iPhone cameras. Last month, Apple got a patent for a new True Zoom Lens system for the camera. It has also patented Mirror Tilt Actuation to get better quality photos. And now we have another patent filed by Apple for a new camera system mechanism.

A new Apple patent filing published by the US Patent and Trademark Office is titled “System and method for capturing images”. This image capture device will include two or more apertures to admit light from different directions and direct it to an image sensor. The system would use a series of electrically switchable mirrors, movable lenses and other components that will direct light from two or more apertures on to a single image sensor device.

This means that a single image sensor would be sufficient for light coming from two different apertures. Current Apple mobile devices use two cameras, the rear camera and the front-facing one which have been branded as iSight and FaceTime HD respectively in the iPhone 6. The front-facing camera uses a smaller, low resolution sensor compared to the 8MP rear camera due to space constraints. The new invention could mean that only one image sensor would be needed for both the cameras, thus saving precious space.

In the new mechanism, light will enter the device from two opposite directions like in the iphones, and then instead of falling directly on the image sensor after passing through the lenses as it does now, it will be bounced off a series of “machine controlled mirrors”. So the image sensor need not be directly behind the lenses.

The electrically controlled mirrors can switch between reflective and transmission modes when an electric current is applied to them so that they can manipulate light without moving parts. The lens apparatus is also movable to compensate for the difference in distance between the first aperture and the image sensor, and the second aperture and the same image sensor.

This new camera technology will save space and could result in smaller camera modules and consequently sleek devices without the “camera bump” which is obvious in iPhone 6 because of its slimness.

It is not clear if Apple will deploy this new camera technology in its upcoming iPhone.

Apple patents new camera technology for iPhones that uses a single sensor and multiple camera lenses

Apple gets patent for a new Camera invention that could bring True Zoom Lenses to future iDevices

Apple has recently been granted a patent for its new camera invention having a real zoom lens system that we may see in future iDevices such as the iPhones, Macs and TVs. In order to bring a true zoom lens mechanism with moveable lenses to iDevices, a new type of light splitter has to be integrated inside the iSight camera.

The light splitter was invented by Apple back in 2011 but the company has got patent for it only recently. The new digital camera system includes a light splitter cube. This cube splits the incident light falling on it from the camera scene into 3 color components which are picked up by 3 image sensors so positioned, that each sensor receives 1 color component. The color splitting cube helps to improve contrast and enhance the visibility of the subject, giving good images even through fog, clouds, rain or smoke.

This highly technical camera mechanism also consists of a folding mirror that acts as a deflector. This mirror can be tilted or rolled by an automatically controlled actuator. This is a part of the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) mechanism present in current iDevices. In this system, the deflector mirror is moved instead of moving the sensor or lens as is done in the traditional system.

Such an OIS system has been implemented in the new iPhone 6 Plus. OIS works with an A8 chip, a gyroscope and a M8 motion co-processor that measures the motion data and causes the lens to move precisely, compensating for the hand shake in low light. The long-exposure and short-exposure images are fused together which helps to reduce movement of the subject and give great images even in low light.

The third feature of the camera system is the true zoom lens. In the image below, we can see the deflector #20, the zoom lens #21 and the light splitter #2 which are housed together inside a camera module.

The zoom lens consists of one or more moveable lenses whose position is controlled automatically by a motorized actuator. This may be a true zoom lens that maintains focus even when its focal length or magnification is changed. Apple is still working to build a high quality true zoom lens system.

According to Apple, such a camera module could be fit into iDevices and other portable wireless gadgets including PCs and TV monitors. Well, we certainly hope to see this new camera technology in iDevices soon.

Apple gets patent for a new Camera invention that could bring True Zoom Lenses to future iDevices

Additional details about HTC One M9 camera sensor and SoC clock speed leaked

HTC’s new flagship One M9 which is going to be unveiled on March 1 at the MWC in Barcelona, has seen numerous leaks up till now. Just recently we saw its renders, specs and other details leaked. Now a new leak has emerged, this time from Twitter that gives some additional details about the HTC One M9 specs.

According to the leaks, the new HTC flagship is supposed to have an improved 20MP rear camera. Spigen’s HTC One M9 cases appearing for pre-order on Amazon also confirmed it. Now this new tip by Roland Quandt claims “filling in the blanks” for the said phone regarding its 20MP camera. According to him, the camera will feature f/2.2 aperture and 27.8 mm lens. This means that the camera might not be Sony’s 20MP snapper that has been used in smartphones such as Xperia Z3 and Meizu MX4, but may be of some other make.

 

filling in the blanks on the HTC One M9: 20 MP cam, f/2.2, 27,8 mm Lens… Android 5.0.2 with Sense 7. Snapdragon 810 4×2.0 GHz & 4×1.5 GHz

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) February 23, 2015

 

Another leakster Ricciolo tipped PhoneArena that the camera sensor in One M9 is made by Toshiba which is another big surprise from HTC after the huge 5X jump in its camera compared to One M8. This reliable tippster claims that the size of the camera sensor is 1/2.4” which is a little smaller than Sony’s.

 

@phonearena the MAIN M9 sensor is NOT from SONY… is made by TOSHIBA and 1/2.4 (slightly smaller than the Z3 etc)!

— Ricciolo (@Ricciolo1) February 23, 2015

 

Roland Quandt has also confirmed that the HTC One M9 will be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC. It will have 4 cortex-A57 cores clocked at 2GHz and 4 cortex-A53 clocked at 1.5GHz. The new HTC phone will run Android 5.0.2 with the company’s own Sense 7 UI on top.

Well, we will know for sure in a few days as the MWC 2015 is just round the corner.

 

Via PhoneArena

Additional details about HTC One M9 camera sensor and SoC clock speed leaked

This Smartphone Has An OIS-enabled 13MP Camera

You thought the Sony Xperia C3 was the king of selfies with its 5 MegaPixel front-facing camera or the HTC Desire EYE with its 13MP selfie snapper was the best selfie phone ever. Wait till you see this latest innovation in selfie technology. Here we unveil the mighty Doov Nike V1.

The Doov Nike V1 uses a camera setup which looks different than anything that we’ve ever seen before in a phone camera. The Oppo N3 had a motorized spinning camera which could be used to take pictures from the front or the back, but Doov Nike V1 takes a different approach to the selfie conundrum.

Oppo’s swerling camera

The Doov Nike V1 has a 13 MegaPixel camera. It uses a F/2.0 second-generation Sony sensor, and the Phillips dual-tone LED flash for lighting. It uses optical image stabilization technology and the sensor is covered with sapphire glass. The sapphire glass has a high refractive index, so its an overall great selfie camera.

The phone’s own specs are not as impressive as the camera but its still not a bad deal. It has a 5 inch 720p screen. It is a quad-core phone with a MediaTek MT6732 inside running at 1.5 GHz. Its RAM is 2 GB and it has a 2,480mAh battery on-board, and comes with a custom version of Android 4.4.x KitKat and a custom UI.

This phone will run you about $325, and you should be able to order it online.

This Smartphone Has An OIS-enabled 13MP Camera

Sony announces 21MP Exmor RS IMX230 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor for Smartphones with 4K Video

Sony Corporation has announced a new improved stacked CMOS image sensor for smartphone cameras and other devices that offers a more sophisticated image capturing. The new sensor called Exmor RS IMX230, is type 1/2.4 with 21 effective megapixels featuring a compact size, better image quality and enhanced functionality.

The following image shows HDR imaging with the new Exmor RS IMX230 stacked CMOS image sensor:

The IMX230 is the first stacked CMOS sensor to offer image plane phase detection AF signal processing function that can focus track fast moving objects such as vehicles or pets. The new sensor’s HDR (High Dynamic Range) function captures the images much clearly and vividly, even the high-contrast ones and it now also supports high-resolution 4K (4096 x 2160) video recording as well as still image. Sony also plans to develop a 16 MP stacked CMOS image sensor having the same image plane phase detection AF signal processing and HDR imaging functionality by next year.

The following image shows the image plane phase detection AF signal processing function:

 

The new Exmor RS sensor features a chip with signal processing circuits having a stacked pixel section of back-illuminated pixels on top. Such a stacked imaging sensor is compact in size but at the same time offers improved image quality and functionality.

Sony gives the date of shipment of the new IMX230 sensor as April 2015 and the sample price as 2,100 yen (About US$18)

Following are the Key Specifications of the new Exmor RS IMX230 stacked CMOS image sensor:

Sony announces 21MP Exmor RS IMX230 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor for Smartphones with 4K Video

Google releases 4 new ads as Android Lollipop rollout begins on Nexus devices

Google recently announced that the roll out of Android Lollipop has started and it would soon be available on most of its Nexus devices. It has now released four new Android commercials on its YouTube account. As in earlier ads, these new commercials also feature Androidified animated characters.

Each commercial focuses on a different theme. Google seems to have adopted a new slogan for Android – “be together. not the same”. This line appears at the end of each ad.

Take a look at the commercials:

1. Android: Break Room

This ad shows the scene near the water cooler in a break Room and what happens when you look at your smartwatch when you have a full cup of beverage in your hand. Two characters who first look at their watch are shown wearing square-faced smartwatch (Like the LG G Watch) and the third one spilling the drink is wearing a round-faced watch like the Motorola Moto 360 or the LG G Watch R. Then comes the tagline, “all kinds of watches for all kinds of wrists.”

 

2. Android: Garage Band

This video shows a band playing music and it is being recorded with a camera. One member of the band is over enthusiastic and inadvertently knocks over the camera. After a short pause, they continue to sing and the tag line “awesome cams for awesome hams” shows up on the screen.

 

 

3. Android: Scary Movie

In this video, a lady is shown sitting in an airplane watching a movie on a tablet in her lap. Two men sitting on either side of her, watch it by looking over her shoulders and a third person watches from behind. The movie seems to be a scary one because all of them jump at the same time. The tag line “bigger screens for bigger screams” shows up on the screen.

 

 

4. Android: Slightly Longer Road Trip

This commercial shows many people traveling in an RV of the 80s era, all grooving to the song  “Whoomp there it is” by Tag Team. Their vehicle stops at a toll booth and the toll tax collector also joins up with them, dancing to the song and then comes the tag line, “be together. not the same”.

 

 

All the four ads are quite appealing. Will they inspire you to buy an Android device?

 

Source YouTube (Android) Via PhoneArena

Google releases 4 new ads as Android Lollipop rollout begins on Nexus devices

An Introduction To The Apple iPad Air 2 8MP Camera"s New Features

When you want to capture a moment in a photograph all you need is a good camera at arms reach. These days most phones and tablets come with their own cameras but quality really matters. A blurry or dark picture is often unusable when taken with a poor quality camera. A lot of people use phones and tablets to take pictures these days and this is where Apple really shines.

Apple phones and tablets are best known for their excellent cameras. When a camera isn’t  around, you can take good quality pictures with your Apple tablet. Apple is bringing a few new features to its ultra slim tablet with iPad Air 2 this year.

New features include the ability to shoot 1080p video with stereo sound. Slow motion pictures can be recorded at 120-fps and time-lapse pictures can be recorded as well. Panoramas of up to 43 megapixels can now be captured with this new camera. Other new features are Auto HDR, self-timer, and manual exposure control.

The iPad Air 2 now comes with an 8MP iSight camera. Compared to last year, the iPad Air 2 gets 66% more pixels. The pixel size for this camera is a tiny 1.12 microns. The aperture size of the camera is F2.4.

The SoC that processes these digital images is Apple’s own A8X. The iPad Air 2 can now detect faces much better and from a longer distance. This helps focus the image and identify faces in the picture. The new camera also comes with better noise reduction for clearer photographs.

So there you have it. The Apple iPad Air 2 camera is a pretty decent camera for a tablet. What would you do with the slow-motion or time-lapse feature? Please tell us in the comments section below.

An Introduction To The Apple iPad Air 2 8MP Camera"s New Features

HTC Unveils RE Super Wide Angle Handheld Camera

At its ‘Double Exposure’ event on October 8, HTC has launched what it calls “A remarkable little camera” dubbed RE along with its new selfie-focused HTC Desire EYE and other new features such as HTC EYE Experience and ZOE. By launching its first action camera, the Taiwanese company has taken a huge step forward from being just a smartphone maker. Readers may recall that the photos of the RE action camera had already leaked a few days prior to its launch.

HTC RE is a small hand-held camera that fits comfortably in the hand. It has a grip sensor inside that switches on the camera when it is picked up, so there is no power button. It has a single shutter button that needs one tap to click a photo and a long press to record a video.

RE camera features a 16MP 1/2.3”CMOS sensor and a 146 degree ultra wide-angle lens (f/2.8). The camera is capable of recording high-resolution photos and full HD 1080p video recording @30fps. It can also record 720p slow motion videos @120fps.

The camera is powered by an 820mAh battery that is sufficient for taking 1,200 photos or 1 hour 40 minutes of continuous FHD video recording. It has a 32MB ROM and 256MB DDR RAM with microSD card support. Connectivity options include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) and microUSB port. You can pair the device with your smartphone for syncing, playing and sharing videos and photos. The RE app works on both iOS and Android and allows you to see what you are shooting, on your smartphone’s screen. HTC is also offering cloud storage facility and and is planning to offer live YouTube streaming in future.

Several accessories are available for the RE including the vertical charging stand, universal mounting stand, portable battery, universal charger, charging stand and dual port adapter. There is a bicycle mount which fits on the handlebar.

The new RE camera is waterproof with IPX7 certification and HTC claims that waterproof cap enhances its rating to IPX8. RE has a price tag of $199 and will become available in the US from November this year, followed soon by other regions.  The camera will be available in four colors – White, Orange, Navy Blue and Teal and is now open for pre-order.

HTC Unveils RE Super Wide Angle Handheld Camera

See the 1st photo clicked using Sony’s curved CMOS sensor

Typical CMOS image sensors available today for cameras are flat and produce flat and somewhat distorted images. Human eye has a curvature which Sony is trying to replicate. Sony’s Device Manager Yarn Soichiro said, “The first idea was to mimic the eyes of the organism”. Sony has been successful in making a curved CMOS sensor that gets rid of vignetting and aberrations and gives a much superior image quality.

Displayed above is the historical first photograph taken with Sony’s curved sensor.

The curved CMOS sensor mimics the structure and working of a human eye (biomimicry) resulting in more sensitivity and less distortion of the image. The lens system here is also much simpler and according to Sony’s engineers it is 1.4 times more sensitive at the center and twice as more sensitive at the periphery.

Sony used a special machine to bend the CMOS sensor and give it the necessary curvature as in the human eye. Then the curved sensor was reinforced with ceramic to stabilize its shape.

Sony has developed two sizes of the curved CMOS sensor – one is a full size chip measuring 43 mm diagonally for the bigger digital cameras and the other is a smaller one measuring 11 mm diagonally for smaller mobile phones. According to the source, Sony is ready for mass production of the curved sensors.

 

See the 1st photo clicked using Sony’s curved CMOS sensor

Photos on iPhone Without Leaving Your Current App

iOS 7, that launched combined with both the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, carried with it some nice new options. As way because the flagship handset was involved, the overview of slow-mo video capture was thought of among the highlights, however even supposing Apple clearly worked arduous to boost the stock Camera utility, there’s still lots of space for improvement. QuickCam, a tweak simply discharged in Cydia, is probably the foremost enhancing feature we’ve seen, permitting you to preview and take snaps and videos while not having leave the present app.

Quick compose tweaks have created it terribly simple for jail broken iOS device users to send and reply to messages while not having to perpetually jump from the app, webpage, or game at hand. Basically, quickCam offers a likewise service for the stock shooter. Using the activation technique of your selecting, it pops up, permits you to arrange or take your shot, and once you’re done, it merely makes manner and permits you to hold on pwning noobs on CoD: Ghosts.

You don’t have to be in Associate in nursing app to require advantage of quickCam’s abilities, either. You’ll be able to conjointly fire it up on the home screen, or simply regarding anyplace else on your device. All you would like to try to keep in mind your chosen Activator action, and you’re sensible to travel.

As well as being smooth and suitable, it conjointly reduces the chance that you’ll miss that all-important Kodak moment, and for the value of simply $1.99, is nice worth for cash.

QuickCam are often selected up over at the BigBoss repository, that ought to be among your default list of sources in Cydia providing you haven’t chosen to delete it. Once you create your purchase, make sure you use Activator to line up exactly however you’d wish to run quickCam, and afterwards, you’ll be in a position to reap all of the advantages of this terribly well created tweak.

Be sure to envision out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to discover a lot of apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod bit.

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Photos on iPhone Without Leaving Your Current App

Nokia Camera Beta update - new traits onboard

 

Nokia Camera Beta for Windows Phone serves to a major update. Version 4.7.1.3 of the imaging app carries new features to Nokia Lumia operators who are running it.

The newest version of the app features support for Living Images. The recent is indeed an update for Nokia Cinema-graph. Constant auto-focus support and surround sound capture are also carried on board.

It should be noted that the above stated features will be maintained by Nokia Lumia 930, Icon, and 1520. The quad-microphone structure and dominant hardware are the probable reasons for the additional trickery.

To the rest of the Nokia Lumia variety, the app will carry new Camera Roll with provision for full resolution zoom and inline video playback. Video Trimmer and Creative Studio have also been baked in.

You can download and connect the newest version of Nokia Camera Beta by hitting the source link below. Feel free to drop us a line with your response in the comments section.

Well Nokia Camera Beta with the new features might surely make a lot of people happy. If you are a Nokia fan and want to read more on the Finish Mobile manufacturer, you can read them here.

Nokia Camera Beta update - new traits onboard