Compact Camera News

Want a camera with the imaging power of a digital SLR that can fit in your pocket? Well, a Palo Alto, CA-based company called Light has an interesting new compact device that promises to be 16 cameras in one. Called the L16, the slender, rectangle-shaped device is stuffed with an arachnoid-like array of cameras and lenses, which combine with software to capture what the company claims will be DSLR-worthy images.

Every year member magazines from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) gather to consider and vote on the top products of the year in 40 categories, ranging from cameras to tripods to software and printers. This year’s selections represent technological sophistication along with features and functionality that make them leaders in their respective categories.

Some trends just won’t go away: Billboard magazine notes that U.S. vinyl album sales are up 53 percent, generating $416 million in sales. Stereophile, our sister publication, reviews new analog audio equipment and you can purchase new Nikon F6 or Leica M-A film cameras from Shutterbug advertisers. Ferrania is back making film and the Japan Camera Hunter website is making their own film, a discontinued Agfa emulsion they’re calling JCH StreetPan 400. Amazon’s top-selling photo item is Fuji’s Instax Mini Instant Film. There’s even a new twin-lens instant camera, Mint’s InstantFlex TL70, and yes, I gotta get me one of those.

Got Questions About Photography? Professional Photographer and Photoshop Expert Scott Kelby Has Got Answers.

Many photographers rely on their camera’s sophisticated metering system to provide the “correct” exposure for the scene at hand. While this approach works well under a wide variety of lighting conditions, there are times when even the smartest camera can be fooled.

The weirdest camera at the show, the GFAE, wasn’t even recognizable as a camera, not least because it was a view camera with the bellows left out in order to show its construction more clearly. We’ll come back to it later, but first, let’s look at some more conventional offerings.

Jessica Kobeissi is a professional fashion photographer whose portrait tutorials we share often. This behind-the-scenes video is a bit different, as she uses a $100 Polaroid Snap camera to photograph a model in her home studio.