Coming to a Camera Near You: Autofocus As Fast as the Human Eye
Contrast detection is one of the two main techniques used in camera autofocus systems. Although focusing speeds continue to improve, the method uses an inefficient “guess and check” method of figuring out a subject’s distance — it doesn’t initially know whether to move focus backward or forward. UT Austin vision researcher Johannes Burge wondered why...
Think You Don’t Need to Focus? Think Again.
Been tons of chatter online about the Lytro camera the last few weeks. In case you’ve been living under a rock or too busy to notice, then you’ll be happy to know that the new Lytro camera allows you to select focus AFTER you shoot the photograph. AMAZING technology developed at Stanford by Ren Ng....
ARCHRIG Slashes the Price of their Follow Focus Rig for DSLR’s
We found ArchRig just the other day and since we’d never seen them before and they’re having a sale, we thought we’d better pass the news on to you in case you’re interested. Oh, if you want to jump straight to Amazon to buy one (and get free shipping) – buy now An ArchRig demo...
DIY Pulling Focus
Michael The Mentor came up with a fairly ingenious idea for pulling focus using only three simple arrow post-it notes. Attach a post-it to the center of your lens. Find the two fields you are planning to focus on. Then place a post-it where your lens ends up for both fields. When you’re shooting all...
Shoot first, focus later! Are “focus free” cameras in your future?
There’s a buzz going around the web since yesterday about Lytro (a new camera brand that was announced just Tuesday) which features the functionality of selectively changing the focus of your image after it is taken and you can change the focus any time you want. You will also be able to share the photos...
the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a piece of s*it
Not my words but those of Karel Donk who’s not been a fan of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II (reviews) since just about day one. Here’s a bit of his latest controversial post… [source: 5DMk2blog] Snips from Karel Donk By now you’re probably thinking I’m being too hard on this camera and I understand...
DSLR Solutions announces a simple inexpensive DSLR follow focus
DSLR Solutions announces a simple inexpensive DSLR follow focus – a planet5D exclusive first look at this new HDSLR follow focus unit from dslrsolutions.net. We talked with Aric Spence yesterday and this could very well be a great product for those not wanting to buy a rails system to mount a follow focus. It has...
What it Looks Like to Focus a Rangefinder Camera
If you’ve never used a rangefinder camera before, this video provides a visual look at how focusing works (a Leica M2 is used). Basically you’re given a second (smaller) image of the scene, and your goal is turn the focus ring until the two images match up for the subject you’d like to have in...
Frazier Ultimate Lens Shows Everything in Focus with Massive Depth of Field
The Frazier Ultimate lens is like the universe’s anti-matter to the Canon 50mm f/1.0 that we shared yesterday. Rather than have a tiny depth of field and tons of bokeh, the Frazier lens is one that has massive depth of field, allowing both the foreground and background of the image to be in focus at...
Lensbaby Composer Pro
Earlier today Lensbaby announced their new Composer Pro lenses This series of lenses allow you to have certain sections of your frame in focus while others remain out. They offer two versions, one featuring their Double Glass Optic ($300) and the other with Sweet 35 Optics ($400.) They are set to ship within a few...
Okii – USB Follow Focus Controller released!
Tweet The 5D Mark II Team has sent us a special announcement that the USB Follow Focus unit we previewed earlier has been officially announced by the manufacturer Okii – and the 5D Mark II Team has a special section of their site set up with additional information as well as a discount code for...
Hot off the presses – new HDSLR USB Follow Focus Controller
Tweet This just came in from friends the 5D Mark II Team – they’ve been working with the manufacturer of this new USB Follow Focus Controller for Canon HDSLRs and are finally ready to announce it – and they’ve been gracious enough to share this with you – the planet5D readers first! PREVIEW: Accessory for...
