GigaPan EPIC Pro, Due in April (better upgrade your RAM)
Looks like GigaPan is finally releasing their DSLR model (due in April for $900). Attach your DSLR to this sucker and be prepared to make gigapixel-sized images that’ll surely turn your computer into a smoldering pile of ashes.
The GigaPan Epic Pro can handle most DSLRs and lens combos of up to 10 pounds. It’ll also take multiple images when in one position, so now gigapixel HDR images are possible.
I’m curious just how fast this will take a group of images. I can see this being used for some interesting landscape photography (though I can see that moving water and clouds and the like could be a problem). Still, it’s not that expensive and might be worth renting to give it a try. I’d love to take a gigapixel image out of my window.
How Penguin Books sees their content on the iPad
I see a glimmer of hope for publishers based on what I’m seeing here in Penguin’s idea of what an iPad-like device can do for their content. What I find particularly interesting is the travel book on the iPad. Tying in the GPS location services with creating a custom “tour of the city” is something I can get very interested in. I think that Penguin is starting to take baby steps in creating a new way to consuming books on the iPad.
Get your own UAV piloted by your iPhone.
This personal UAV, called the AR Drone from Parrot, is controlled via WiFi using your iPhone or iPod Touch, wifi control begs the question about its range. It also sports two cameras on it, although I suppose their video rather than still (hopefully, HD video).
If I could get something like this and mount a 12 megapixel camera to it, I’d be in heaven. I’m trying to shoot aerial shots for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for their 2011 calendar and something like this would be great. My guess is is that it’s going to be really expensive and not strong enough to hold more cargo. Still, I can dream, no?
I think I know what I want for Xmas this year.
New camera sees like the human eye. Costs $140k!
TechOn is reporting that a company has produced a camera that can record the same colors that the human eye can see.
“We confirmed that the camera can take pictures with colors in the full visible color gamut with a color difference of less than 1.”
I suppose this is where things are going in the Land of Digital Capture. But at $140k for a 10.6 megapixel camera and no monitor or printer that can even come close to displaying that color gamut (at least ones that we can afford), I don’t think we’ll be seeing this kind of tech in consumer products anytime soon. Seriously, this is a great bit of news. Capturing RAW images with the same color gamut as the human eye is what we are all waiting for. Actually, wake me when they get the dynamic range to match that of the human eye. Then we’re talking!
Read the whole article here.
Mind training and happiness
Biochemist turned Buddhist monk (and photographer) Matthieu Ricard speaks of the depth of happiness and mind training to achieve that depth. The idea that pleasures and unpleasant feelings are like the waves on the ocean, fleeting, but happiness is in the depths, never changing.
Excellent TED talk. Worth the twenty minutes.
Online Lighting Diagram Creator
The Online Lighting Diagram Creator is a very cool site that lets you diagram out various lighting setups. It’s free to use (donations accepted) and you can output your diagram to a JPG or PNG file to print out.
There’s also a free iPhone app too!