6Sight

NIKON SLR CAPTURES VIDEO, PIVOTS LCD

Nikon’s latest model further blurs the line between compact cameras and SLRs aimed at beginners and enthusiasts.

The D5000 records 720p HD video at 24 frames per second. 

Its 2.7-inch LCD tilts and swivels. Its four live view autofocus shooting modes include subject tracking.

The SLR has a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor. 

In-camera Retouch functions smooth images, correct perspective, or eliminate color and tonal gradations.

With a 18-55mm lens, the camera is $849.

April 20, 2009

PHOTOS EMBEDDED WITH SHOPPING LINKS

Online advertising startup Pixazza embeds photos on web pages with price tags that pop up over for-sale items, and link to online purchases.

The Mountain View, CA-based company hires home-based workers to tag images (which can’t yet be automated accurately) and pays them with a sales commission. They look for both original items for sale, as well as look-alikes that might cost less.

Pixazza investors include Google, the AP reports.

April 20, 2009

NEW GIGAPAN ROBOT FITS SLRS

GigaPan Systems latest robotic camera mount accommodates larger point and shoot cameras and small SLRs.

The $449 Epic 100 also has an expanded range for camera tilt and elevation, the company says, and an illuminated display for shooting nighttime panoramas.

It has a maximum weight limit of three pounds.

GigaPan utilizes technology developed by NASA for the Mars Rover to bring advanced high-resolution photography to a wide market. A camera attached to the robotic mount automatically takes hundreds or thousands of images, which are combined into a panorama. 

April 20, 2009

WATCHING THE WATCHERS

The Gebze Institute of Technology in Turkey developed a gaze-tracking camera system that watches the eyes of CCTV operators, reports New Scientist.

Webcams are aimed at the irises of surveillance staff, and the software detects where they look. The system also summarizes which video sequences -- those with detected movement -- the watchers themselves missed during a shift.

April 20, 2009

In the Weekly Briefing April 20, 2009

6SIGHT SPOTLIGHT: The week's top stories

Nikon SLR captures video, pivots LCD

Photos embedded with shopping links

DIGITAL CAMERAS

Camera sales to drop

New GigaPan robot fits SLRs

Panasonic camera lacks IS

Measuring SLR shake

Point-Of-View wearable camera market growing

MOBILE and INTERNET IMAGING

Google maps webcams views 

Animoto upgrades photographer video service

Easing online image sales

Avid frees video editing

PhotoBucket tweets

INDUSTRY UPDATES 

Watching the watchers

Kopin sees for security

NINTENDO EYES CAMERAS

The new Nintendo portable game device packs two cameras, and the company's TV ads promote image capture and manipulation for entertainment.

The $169 DSi has two still cameras, one of which faces the user. Software distorts faces, adds colors and graffiti, or morphs from one face to another.

The gaming unit has two 3.25-inch displays and can download games over Wi-Fi.

"The concept of entertainment is clearly expanding to enable self-expression and creation in ways never before possible," the company says. "It's not just about the cameras, but what people can do with these features that makes Nintendo DSi such an enjoyable game system."

April 13, 2009

HD LESS THAN $100 FROM DXG

DXG will market an HD camcorder for just $99. The DXG-125V HD captures 720p video and 3-megapixel still photos. It comes sans storage, however; you'll have to buy an SD card to record anything. The waterproof camcorder also has a built-in compass.

August will see a $130 "Luxe" version that looks like a clutch purse with a 3-inch LCD.

April 13, 2009

SENSOR MARKET UP

Continued uptake of cameras in mobile phones and notebook PCs is driving growth in the image sensor market, reports In-Stat. The research firm says worldwide unit shipments of image sensors in camera phones continue to rise - driven largely by the popularity in Asian markets of phones with dual cameras that provide two-way video communication.

Camera phones comprised nearly 81 percent of area-array image sensor shipments in 2008. That share is expected to shrink slightly through 2013.

In-Stat also says that cameras embedded in laptop PCs will surpass still cameras "to become the second-largest application for image sensors by 2011."

CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensors dominated image sensor shipments in 2008 with more than an 87 percent share. While CMOS is gaining in digital still cameras, it will not surpass CCDs (charge-coupled devices) until 2013. However, CMOS will make up 62 percent of security camera image sensors by 2013, In-Stat predicts.

April 13, 2009

SANYO SEES IN LESS LIGHT

Sanyo Electric reports it has developed a low-light image sensor that can capture color images in just 0.4 lux.

The prototype uses "impact ionizing phenomena" to energize electrodes to increase the number of electrons the sensor makes in reaction to light - rather than the standard technique of magnifying the amplitude of the signal, which creates noise.

April 13, 2009

In the Weekly Briefing April 13, 2009

6SIGHT SPOTLIGHT: 

The week's top stories Nintendo eyes cameras

DIGITAL CAMERAS 

HD less than $100 from DXG 

Asia Optical, Flextronics to jointly make cameras 

Camera production down in Japan

MOBILE and INTERNET IMAGING 

I3A delivers phase 2 CPIQ 

Corbis moves more video

COMPONENTS AND ARCHITECTURES 

Sensor market up 

Sanyo sees in less light 

Microsoft acquiring 3DV

INDUSTRY UPDATES 

Sarnoff resolves video quality

NOKIA POINT & FINDS

The Point & Find feature from Nokia will access relevant information and services on the internet when you point a camera phone at real-life objects.

Nokia says Point & Find “uses advanced real-time image processing and recognition technologies to link the user to digital content and services.” It also recognizes bar codes, integrates GPS positioning technology, and supports category-specific text-entry search.

When the phone is pointed at an object, Point & Find uses the phone’s camera, internet connectivity, and GPS positioning to evaluate the object. Searching through a database, the system identifies the object and returns a set of links to associated content and services, the company says.

Nokia adds that Point & Find is an open service platform on which other companies can build customized experiences. 

The system is in beta now in the United Kingdom and United States, with a feature set limited to cinema: point at a poster for a new movie and watch the trailer, read reviews, and find the closest cinema where it is playing, Nokia says.

April 6, 2009

IMAGESPAN TEAMS WITH PICSCOUT

ImageSpan and PicScout say they are partnering to deliver image licensing and tracking services that address “a huge and growing problem: online image theft.” 

Lost revenues from unauthorized uses of images online are estimated at upwards of $65 million, according to a comprehensive study by the Stock Artists Alliance. 

The partners provide subscribers with “a view into where and how their images are being used online.” PicScout searches for image copyright infringement. ImageSpan’s LicenseStream is a licensing and royalty payment automation platform with which photographers can better monetize content with, among other functions, automated remedies to convert copyright infringers into paying customers. 

ImageSpan also announced partnerships with PMA®, the National Press Photographers Association, and the American Society of Media Photographers to offer discounts on key LicenseStream Creator services. 

We have an interview with ImageSpan CEO Iain Scholnick on the Imaging Executive Podcast.

April 6, 2009

CAMERA PHONE PENETRATION RISING

Fifty-three percent of U.S. households own at least one camera phone. That’s up from 46 percent in 2007, and 37 percent in 2006. That’s according to the 2009 PMA U.S. Camera/Camcorder Digital Imaging Survey, which also found that 10 percent of U.S. households own three or more camera phones. 

Eighteen percent of those surveyed say their camera phone performed at a level above their expectations – or even far beyond their expectations. Sixty-seven percent of users felt that the camera phone performed as expected. But 15 percent of camera phone users felt the camera performed below or far below their expectations.

April 6, 2009

In the Weekly Briefing April 6, 2009

6SIGHT SPOTLIGHT: The week’s top stories

Nokia point & finds

DIGITAL CAMERAS

Sony touches maps

Canon captures color at night

Olympus to launch SLR on QVC

MOBILE and INTERNET IMAGING

Facebook upgrades photo storage

ImageSpan teams with PicScout 

Camera phone penetration rising

Phanfare prints from iPhone 

Pre-designed picture sites 

Gimmick-free graphics

COMPONENTS AND ARCHITECTURES

Maxim’s Mobicam3 monitors multiple camera streams

Toshiba to go it alone on OLEDs and LCDs

OmniVision captures in low light

INDUSTRY UPDATES 

TI hypes next-gen 3D DLP

CANON ADDS HD TO REBEL

Canon says it "raises the entry-level bar" with the EOS Rebel T1i, Canon's first consumer DSLR to feature high-definition (HD) video capture. "High-resolution still images and HD video can now both be produced in a handheld device, for under $1,000," the company says.

The camera has a 15-megapixel resolution, ISO speeds from 100 to 3200, and a 3-inch LCD with live view. Its Digic 4 imaging processor has 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion. That lets the camera continuously shoot at 3.4 frames per second for up to 170 large/fine JPEG images or up to nine RAW images in a burst when using a class 6 or higher SD or SDHC memory card. 

The Rebel will record 16:9 720p HD video at 30 fps or 1080p video at 20 fps [which seems strange: who uses 20 fps?]. It records video up to 4GB per clip equaling approximately 12 minutes of full HD video, 18 minutes of 720p HD video, or 24 minutes of SD video, depending on the level of detail in the scene.

Photographers can adjust image sharpness, contrast, color saturation, and white balance in still mode, and then have those settings apply to a movie capture as well. 

The new Rebel is $799 body-only or $899 with an 18-55mm lens.

March 30, 2009

YOUTUBE SHARES VIDEO WITH TWITTER

"Everyone's on Twitter these days," video sharing site YouTube says on its blog, "so we've added a "share to Twitter" button ... so you can easily send a video into your Twitterstream."

The option is similar to those already in place for Facebook, Digg, and other social services.

YouTube also streamlined features for browsers on mobile devices and for instant messaging. "We're working hard to develop apps and a mobile website that enables the best possible video experience on as many devices as possible," the company says. "We recognize that mobile is a key component of how people will consume video in the future. So in addition to launching a new mobile landing page, we've cleaned up the upload flow from phone-to-YouTube so this should be a lot more smooth and intuitive now."

In addition, YouTube says it has added more control over how video looks, "including the option of it being eye-blazingly clear HD." 

March 30, 2009

CAMERA ADDS GAME GRAPHICS TO REALITY

"Augmented Reality will open up new applications in the gaming, education, and business sectors," says Vuzix. Applications will range from "books that come alive to interactive worlds with 3-D characters that materialize right in your living room."

The company is building on its iWear VR920 video headset with a clip-on USB camera, which mounts onto the glasses and then tracks objects and the user's position in 3-D space, and a "PhasAR" wireless augmented reality input controller that allows users to interact with virtual, mixed, and augmented reality worlds with a tracking system that lets the computer know exactly where the user is touching in the virtual and real worlds. 

"Depending on the application, the PhasAR can become anything from a powerful virtual magic wand to a 3-D virtual paint brush," Vuzix says.

Vuzix partnered with metaio Inc., a developer of augmented reality software solutions to make the Augmented Reality Accessory Kit, which is expected to retail for less than $200.

March 30, 2009

HEADSET CAM FOR COPS

Taser International, maker of the namesake stunning device, will next bring "the power of incident video to every law enforcement officer" with a point-of-view (POV) camera in a headset. 

The Axon records audio and video "from a head camera the size and weight of a standard Bluetooth headset. Its video signal also allows remote monitoring and recording of what a police officer sees. The system can integrate into existing radio communications through a standard 3.5 mm headphone connection, Taser adds, providing two-way communication.

It's aimed at providing "accurate footage when a police officer is questioned in court," the company says. 

"Law enforcement officers constantly face false allegations and complaints that question their integrity and honor."

March 30, 2009

MAPPING FLICKR PHOTOS REVEALS SHOOTING PATTERNS

Researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) are working with photos on the Flickr website that have geographical data, and their analysis reveals what areas are or are not heavily photographed. 

The World's Eyes project is first examining shots taken in Spain.

About 60 percent of Flickr users disclose information on their home country, MIT says. "Analysis of the time and location data embedded in digital photo files allows us to examine the Flickr photographers' geographic presence and trails over time and to differentiate locals from visitors. Based on this information, spaces of diversity maps the contrast between where locals capture images and where visitor communities experience an area." For example, the current tests show when Britons visited Barcelona in fall 2007.

"Photographers often attach descriptions and tags when posting their photos on Flickr. The data mining of these tags allows us to infer the kinds of activities that these photos capture. Spaces of activity reveal the regions and cities that host memorable parties in Spain over the course of a year. It also shows the places that attract more quiet experiences through art. The size of the glow on the map corresponds to the density of each type of activity. A greater glow implies a greater density of photographic activity. 

"Through data mining and visualization techniques, the project uncovers the evolutions of the presence and flows of tourists. As photos pile up to reflect the intensity of the tourist activity, they uncover where tourists are, where they come from, and what they are interested in capturing and sharing from their visit. The analysis and mapping of this data allows the understanding of the attractiveness of leisure cities and their points of interest. It also reveals the unphotographed regions of Spain still free from the tourist buzz."

March 30, 2009

In the Weekly Briefing March 30, 2009

6SIGHT SPOTLIGHT: The week's top stories

Canon adds HD to Rebel

YouTube shares video with Twitter

DIGITAL CAMERAS

Camera adds game graphics to reality

Phase One Invests in Mamiya

Garden camera captures time-lapse video

Headset cam for cops

MOBILE and INTERNET IMAGING

Microsoft adds to online NASA imagery

Finding faces on Facebook

Mapping Flickr photos reveals shooting patterns

Kodak changes Gallery storage policy

Pelago, Eye-Fi add images to online stories

COMPONENTS AND ARCHITECTURES

Smith Micro patent shrinking JPEGs

INDUSTRY UPDATES

Looking at displays 8 hours a day

ACD optimizes images for frames

View photos on HDTV

March 30, 2009

CISCO FLIPS

Top internet hardware maker Cisco Systems will acquire Pure Digital Technologies of Flip camcorder fame for about $590 million in stock – with a likely long-term goal of boosting high-definition video sharing on the internet.

Pure Digital says it has sold more than 2 million Flip camcorders. The company started selling simple, cheap, reusable cameras first for stills, then for video. Customers paid a low cost [$20-$30] to, in effect, rent a camera and leave a retail store with a DVD and prints.

But more potential lay in the idea of the low-cost simple camcorder than in the prints and DVD fulfillment, and so the Flip was born. The latest version, the Flip Mino HD, is perhaps the lowest cost high-definition camcorder available.

Cisco has previously acquired home network equipment provider Linksys and TV set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta. Speculation last week cited Cisco's strategy for media-enabled homes and visual networking. The acquisition could be the first step to a consumer version of Cisco's high-cost corporate TelePresence video-conferencing system. Many homes have a high-definition television and a set-top box with high-speed connectivity. The missing piece is an HD camera. Or: Why not add wireless transmission to the Flip? (If Eye-Fi, for example, can sell an SD card with a Wi-Fi transmitter for less than $99 ...)

That aside, consumer video clips uploaded with current Flip cameras all contribute to total internet traffic – and so boost demand for Cisco's primary business: routers and switches. Video is reportedly now about 30 percent of consumer internet traffic.

Cisco should complete the acquisition in July.

March 23, 2009

YOUNGER USERS SHARE MORE IMAGES VIA WEB, NOT EMAIL

Eighty-six percent of young people post pictures online on sites such as Facebook, My Space, and Flickr, according to the 2008 PMA Youth Digital Camera Usage Study – but that rate rises to 90 percent of teens between 14 and 18 years old, as compared to 82 percent of those 19 to 29 years old.

The rates are reversed when it comes to sharing pictures via email:

• 87 percent of 19- to 29-year-olds

• 79 percent of 14- to 18-year-olds

Another sign of the times: • 69 percent of young people share pictures through the camera phone by picture email or MMS [multimedia messaging service]

There are also gender differences: • 90 percent of females post pictures to online sites • 82 percent of males do so

Please see the upcoming full 2008 PMA Youth Digital Camera Usage Report for more.

March 23, 2009

EMBARRASSMENT BARS PICTURE SHARING

The top thing bothering people about photo sharing over the internet is potential embarrassment. Sixty-four percent of respondents are bothered by unflattering or embarrassing photos of them appearing online – and women are more bothered by this practice than men.

Those are some of the findings in a photo sharing survey conducted in February by GfK and sponsored by Shutterfly.

Other data include: When it comes to scanning old images and posting them – such as sharing kindergarten photos from 1979:

• 46 percent of respondents said they are either on the fence about the practice or feel it shouldn't be done at all.

• 87 percent of people think they should have control over which photos are shared online of themselves and their families.

Also, the majority of respondents do not share photos over the internet unless photos are password protected.

The telephone interviews of 1,004 adults – 18 years of age and older, 480 males, and 524 females – were conducted by GfK Custom Research North America from Feb. 20-22.

March 23, 2009

GEOEYE SATELLITE IMAGES NOW ON GOOGLE EARTH

Satellite imagery provider GeoEye is delivering new high-resolution, color satellite imagery from its newest satellite to Google.

The GeoEye-1 satellite images were taken within the last 60 days and include images of the Pyramids of Giza; Mount Fuji; Sydney, Australia; and many other recognizable locations. The images were taken from 423 miles in space as GeoEye-1 moved around the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour.

The 4,300-pound GeoEye-1 satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2008.

Examples of imagery can be seen at http://earth.google.com/geoeye/.

March 23, 2009

In the Weekly Briefing March 23, 2009

6SIGHT SPOTLIGHT: The week's top stories 

Cisco flips

DIGITAL CAMERAS 

Mamiya's many megapixels

MOBILE and INTERNET IMAGING 

Younger users share more images via web, not email 

Embarrassment bars picture sharing 

I3A launches Camera Photo Image Quality Initiative Phase 3 

Photobucket gets dangerous 

See through any Windows webcam from phones 

Microsoft Silverlight beta boosts video 

GeoEye satellite images now on Google Earth

COMPONENTS AND ARCHITECTURES 

Aptina aims at netbooks 

OmniVision edges illumination

INDUSTRY UPDATES 

Photo books for photo sharers, travelers 

Image viewer remaps color

In the Weekly Briefing March 14, 2009

6SIGHT SPOTLIGHT: 

The Week’s Top Stories 

Sixth Sense overlays information 

KIS-Kiosk kicks out photo book in less than 10 minutes

DIGITAL CAMERAS 

Camera in prosthetic eye 

Sigma signifies sensor size

MOBILE and INTERNET IMAGING 

Photobucket shares simultaneously

Tiny gets Flickr on its Radar

Photosynth for iPhone

COMPONENTS AND ARCHITECTURES 

Fastest CF card yet from Pretec

INDUSTRY UPDATES

Photo to 3-D object 

PMA produces picture forecast 

Scan prints to digital files

PHOTO TO 3-D OBJECT

Shapeways is offering a service for making a 3-D object from any photo.

Photoshaper is “a tool that anyone can use to take anything and turn it into a 3-D printed object,” the Netherlands based company says.

The software analyzes the contrast of a picture and creates a depth-layered 3-D object, which is output on a “Rapid Prototyping” 3-D printer.

“The result is similar to a frieze or a bas relief,” the company says, “made of a polycarbonate or acrylic-based photopolymer.” Objects cost $40.00 to $50.00.

March 14, 2009

CAMERA IN PROSTHETIC EYE

Attendees at the 6Sight Future of Imaging Conference were able to see the details of Rob Spence’s eye surgery and hear his plans for a new camera-based prosthetic eye. In the three months since, work has progressed with help from Steve Mann of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a camera provided by OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

When completed, the prosthetic eye will conceal a camera, battery, and wireless transmitter.

Spence plans to use it to make a film commenting on increasing surveillance. Subjects won’t know they are being filmed, but will be able to choose whether or not the footage is used in the final film.

Spence’s eye was damaged in a childhood shooting accident, but surgically removed three years ago.

March 14, 2009

KIS-KIOSK KICKS OUT PHOTO BOOK IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES

Kiosk Information Systems, Inc. says its new Photobook Maker kiosks, aimed at retail outlets and tourist locations, “are expected to offer a swift return on investment with profit margins up to 50 percent.”

The books are 5.7-by-8.0-inches, and have up to 30 pages with 90 photos printed at 300 dpi.

The Photobook Maker kiosk is billed as the first end-to-customer solution able to create, print, and bind photo albums in minutes. It takes two minutes to lay out photos based on dates and times. Customers choose the photo for the front cover, and enter an album name that is printed on the cover page and spine.

Printing and binding the book takes approximately eight minutes.

All told, one of the more impressive products we saw at the PMA trade show.

March 14, 2009

SIXTH SENSE OVERLAYS INFORMATION

A smart system couples a camera phone and a mini-projector to overlay information in real-time on top of real-world objects and environments.

The concept was demonstrated at the TED conference. The camera phone is connected to the internet’s information, which the micro-projector displays automatically over relevant people, places, and things.

The recognition of those objects can be done on the camera-phone's own processor, or in the Cloud.

[Also, we think the information could better be shown to only the user via a heads-up display in sunglasses, rather than splashed over everything for all to see.]

Developed by Pranav Mistry and Pattie Maes at MIT, the full video of the demonstration is at: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html.

March 14, 2009