With the megapixel race fizzling out, Optical Image Stabilization seems to be the “next big thing” in mobile phone cameras. But it’s very rare – only two phones currently on sale have it, while the rest rely on digital processing to stabilize the image. CNET did a test to see how some of the most popular phones on the market cope with a user’s shaky hands.

The Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC One naturally were involved in the test (the two phones that do have OIS), then there are the Samsung Galaxy S III and S4, the Sony Xperia Z and the Apple iPhone 5. Read more »

Just like its predecessor, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is known for its quality video recording performance that rivals professional video cameras. Now, thanks to a little software tweak by Magic Lantern, the Mark III can not just rivals them, but even exceeds them.

Magic Lantern is a custom software for Canon DSLRs that runs alongside Canon’s firmware and adds additional features not present by default. In case of the Canon 5D Mark III, this firmware adds the ability to record RAW video in 24fps at 14-bit quality per frame. Read more »

Olympus is celebrating 50 years of its PEN F camera with the launch of the flagship PEN E-P5 Micro Four Thirds camera. As you’d expect from a flagship, the E-P5 comes with a ton of bells and whistles but maintains the beautiful, retro design of the original PEN F.

The new E-P5 borrows the 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor, super fast AF and 5-axis image stabilization from the OM-D E-M5 camera. The E-P5, however, goes one step beyond and offers a stunning 1/8000th of a second shutter speed, the highest for a compact camera. Read more »

HTC One’s Ultrapixel camera didn’t get quite the best reception but the company has issued not one but two updates since, which supposedly improve on the quality of the photos.

Samsung also issued an update for its Galaxy S4 flagship, which tweaks the camera performance as well. Naturally we wanted to see what those are all about and took the two hottest smartphones of the season for another shooting session. Read more »

Samsung has extended its collection of NX camera’s with the latest addition being the NX2000. The image of the NX2000 smart camera leaked earlier and now, the company has officially announced the availability of the sharpshooter, which is based on a SMART camera technology.

The NX2000 comes with a 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and the DRIMe IV engine, providing improved picture processing and color reproduction. Read more »

The Samsung Galaxy Camera is so far unique in Samsung’s lineup and quite a rare beast in general – an Android-powered camera (especially if you don’t count the once that get announced but never make it to the market). It may not be lonely for long though, the Bluetooth SIG has certified a Samsung GN120 Galaxy Camera device.

The current Galaxy Camera has two versions – GC100 with mobile connectivity and the GC110, which is Wi-Fi only. Notice it’s GC, while the new device is GN. Read more »

Ricoh hasn’t been making headlines lately but has the imaging pedigree to stir the attention of photography enthusiasts. Today, the Pentax-owned company came out with the GR – a compact camera with a 16.2 MP APS-C (read DSLR-sized) sensor on board and a fixed 18.3 mm (28 mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens.

The Ricoh GR comes to challenge the Nikon Coolpix A but at a lower price – $800, coming to the US next month. Read more »

Panasonic has launched the new LUMIX GF6, a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The GF6 has a 16 megapixel sensor with a new Venus Engine that can shoot up to ISO 26,000 and can record videos at 1080i60.

The GF6 has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC. The Wi-Fi can be used to transfer images and playback content on a DLNA compatible television. The NFC helps connect the camera over Wi-Fi to compatible devices with just a tap. There is also built-in GPS for geo-tagging your photos. On the back is a 1040k dot articulating touchscreen LCD. Read more »

The Nokia Lumia 920 was the first phone to feature Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and has gone through some pretty extreme tests (including being strapped to the front of a four by four and driven through a desert). Now, a post on WP7Forum.ru shows another test of the OIS, pitting the Nokia flagship against the brand new Samsung Galaxy S4.

Samsung’s flagship droid only has digital image stabilization to rely on so it’s at a disadvantage. Read more »

Samsung announced the smart and 3G/4G-enabled Galaxy Camera last August and it hit the shelves November last year. Shortly after we learned Samsung is prepping a cheaper Wi-Fi-only model.

Well, the Wi-Fi model is finally coming later this month, at least in the US, and will cost $450. Read more »

HTC’s camera expert, Symon Whitehorn, revealed why the HTC One comes 4 MP camera in a world believing a flagship should have at least a 13 MP sensor.

In an interview with ComputerWorld he talks about the magic number 4 and how it came to be, the benefits of OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and addresses the issues some early HTC One units had with noise and processing. Read more »

A couple of months ago Panasonic unveiled its plan to improve digital cameras by replacing the ubiquitous Bayer filter. The company claims a Bayer filter blocks 50%-70% of the light entering the camera, while its new color splitter design uses all the available light. A new video goes into more detail on the tech.

According to Panasonic, the color splitters are a pop-in replacement for Bayer filters, so the same sensor tech can be used. Also, the splitters can be made by current manufacturing processes, the big problem was that getting the design right took a lot of computing power to run simulations. Read more »

Canon has announced the new EOS 100D, also known as the Rebel SL1 in North America, which is the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR camera yet. The 100D is based on the recently launched EOS M compact mirrorless camera and borrows many of the specifications from it.

For starters, it uses the same 18 megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor capable of shooting from ISO100-12800 (expandable to ISO25600) and up to ISO6400 for video (expandable up to ISO12800). It uses Canon’s DIGIC 5 processors that lets it shoot up to 4 fps in burst mode. There is also a nine-point auto-focus system with a new Hybrid CMOS AF-II sensor. Read more »

We got the chance to snap a few shots with the Samsung Galaxy S4 camera at the smartphone’s announcement event in New York and are rushing to share them with you guys.

To get the formalities out of the way the Galaxy S4 has a new 13 MP snapper on the back complete with a single LED flash. The camera can produce stills of 4128 x 3096 resolution. There’s autofocus, simultaneous video and image recording, image stabilization among other things. Read more »

Canon has developed a high-sensitivity, low-noise, full-frame 35mm sensor specifically for video capture. The new sensor opts for 19-micron pixels, which are 7.5 times bigger than those on the EOS-1D X.

The use of large pixels here results in a sensor that can capture video without losing any resolution or space between the pixels gaining incredible high-sensitivity in low-light. It’s a similar thing to what HTC tried to achieve with the One Ultrapixel camera, except on a much bigger sensor. Read more »