Instagram Shows Off Hyperlapse App to Smooth Out Video and Time Lapse

hyerlapseHyperlapse is becoming something of a buzz word. It’s essentially a time lapse video, but with more (and smoother) movement. Microsoft recently showed off an incredibly complex and beautiful method to achieve fluid time lapse video. Now Instagram is taking the wraps off of their solution.

It’s novel in its simplicity. Many phones incorporate some form of electronic image stabilization. Instagram’s Hyperlapse app will use the sensors in your phone to detect movement, and then it’ll filter that movement out to give you a smoother tracking shot. As it detects movement in real time while recording, it’s unknown if the app will be able to import and smooth out previously shot video.

The UI is incredibly simple. Push big red button to capture video. Once Finished capturing, there’s a slider to change playback speed from 1X to 12X, and then you have the option to share that video with Instagram or Facebook.

As this is Instagram, it’s iPhone only for now, as they’re sorting out Android API’s, and it’s doubtful we’ll see this on Windows Phone (and those incredible Nokia cameras) any time soon. It is live now for you iOS folks though on the App Store.

See another sample from Hyperlapse below!
Continue reading “Instagram Shows Off Hyperlapse App to Smooth Out Video and Time Lapse”

PhotoJoJo Wide Angle Lens on a Lumia 1020 at the Petersen Auto Museum (4K Review)

As part of my Birthday WEEK celebrations, I finally got to take a tour of the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA. For the trek I paired a PhotoJoJo Wide Angle Smartphone Lens with my Lumia 1020, and here are the results!

More info on PhotoJoJo products.

Why Wikipedia is WRONG to Share the “Monkey Selfie” as Public Domain

David J Slater, a British photographer set up a camera in Indonesia to capture monkeys at play. One monkey managed to snap an extraordinary “selfie”.

Wikipedia claims that because the monkey hit the shutter button, the image belongs in the Public Domain. I disagree…

Microsoft Details “Hyperlapse” Process for Smoothing Out First-Person Perspective Video

hyperlapseStrap a camera to your head, and your neck can be a pretty decent stabilizer, but engaging in sporty activities can give even the most rugged neck a challenge in producing smooth video. Speeding up a timelapse series can look extremely jittery.

Microsoft posted a video preview of their new Hyperlapse process, which scans through video for details, stabilizes the image, and creates a subtle 3D effect to help image to image transitions.

We just sort of take it for granted that footage from a GoPro, or other head mounted camera, is going to be shaky. Hyperlapse looks like it can provide some stunning effects. Fingers crossed we see this type of image processing at the consumer level soon. Continue reading “Microsoft Details “Hyperlapse” Process for Smoothing Out First-Person Perspective Video”

Photo Walk Santa Monica Shootout – LG G3 vs Galaxy S5! #TTTLA

***Update: Added a 4K video slideshow for folks who want a little music to listen to while checking out the comparison.***

Here are some real-world comparison shots between Android’s top shooters! It’s a battle between laser focus with optical image stabilization on the G3 and the larger image sensor on the Galaxy.

Who will reign supreme? Leave a comment with who you think won the comparison!

Click on any photo during the slideshow to see a high res version.

Many thanks to the AT&T Mobile Review team for setting up such a fun outing!

Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera Tip: Should You Leave Picture Stabilization on for Low Light Photos?

Samsung is doing something a little different with the electronic image stabilization on the Galaxy S5 Camera. Does it really result in better pics with less noise?

Let’s take a look!

HTC One M8 Camera outclassed by Galaxy S5, and it has NOTHING to do with MegaPixels…

Let’s get this out of the way right now. The One M8 camera is good. Maybe it’s even “very good”, but over the last year we’ve seen some excellent cameras bolted onto the backs of our phones by companies like Sony and Nokia.

WP_20140421_21_19_32_ProThe M7 was my favorite camera on an Android phone of last year, and was only bested by the likes of Nokia. It lost the resolution battle with only a 4MP sensor, but the combo of larger “UltraPixels” and Optical Image Stabilization made it one of the best devices to shoot on in indoor and low light environments. Outdoor pics were very good, low light pics were gorgeous, and video was nicely smoothed out by the stabilizing hardware.

My expectations were tremendously high for the M8.

Continue reading “HTC One M8 Camera outclassed by Galaxy S5, and it has NOTHING to do with MegaPixels…”

You can now upload pics to Google+ using IE on Windows Phone 8.1

google plus photo upload windows phone 8_1This has been a long time coming.

Even as recently as a week ago I was kvetching about not being able to share pics from my Windows Phone to Google Plus while on a recent trip.

It looks like I can finally stop whinging about it, as the updates to Internet Explorer have finally included file management support for sites like G+. We no longer have to jump through hoops, or transfer our photos to other devices to participate!

If you’re rocking Windows Phone 8.1, and you’re on the Googles Plus give it a shot. The best camera phones on the market can now properly share on one of the best photo sharing services on the net.

Enjoy!