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Aqueti Looks For Kickstarter Funding For ‘Gigapixel’ Camera

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:42:38 +0000

Durham, N.C. — Aqueti, a startup company looking to commercialize gigapixel photographic technology developed at Duke University, said Monday it will look to gain funding from the Kickstarter site to help evangelize its Aware gigapixel digital cameras.

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The campaign, which began Monday and runs through June 19, is looking to raise at least $25,000 to tour the camera around North Carolina for three weeks.

Gigapixel imaging technology is being developed for use in next-generation cameras to capture large panoramic images with multi-angle perspectives and massive amounts of high-resolution detail.

One gigapixel application is for high-level video surveillance, including use in military Drone aircraft to resolve detailed images from great distances.

The “first generation” of Aqueti’s Aware cameras have been deployed by the U.S. Navy for maritime port surveillance, and the new company considers video surveillance to be a core application and development focus.

The Aware gigapixel platform began as a Duke University research project, and was spun off into the Aqueti startup company after passing initial field trials and raising a round of DARPA funding.

Aqueti said it is now looking to “change the concept of a panoramic camera” by capturing a single moment instantly with 10 times the detail of 20/20 vision, the company said.

Aware cameras are made up of hundreds of small cameras that capture images with one large glass ball lens.

High-speed electronics stitch the images together, resulting in one image with more than 1 billion pixels (1 gigapixel), about 40 times bigger than SLR images and 125 times bigger than a cellphone image.

One of the limitations of gigapixel technology has been very slow frame rates, but Aqueti claimed to have developed technology to produce a 600 times faster frame rate using a completely different approach to gigapixel technology.

“Aqueti’s launch efforts focus on helping our community experience what is truly revolutionary about the Aware camera,” said Dr. David Brady, CEO of Aqueti. “Most surprising is how it changes the relationship between the photo and its viewer, with endless options of unique perspectives and instant access to so much more than the eye can capture alone.”

“Aqueti is returning what Henri Cartier-Bresson called the ‘decisive moment’ to gigapixel photography,” said Greg Downing, co-founder of creative images company XRez Studio. “This advancement will allow us, for the first time, to combine life's fleeting moments with the extreme detail of gigapixel photography, significantly impacting what we use gigapixel photography for.”

Aqueti plans to use the money it gains from Kickstarter to take the Aware camera on the road to capture a collection of panoramic moments.

The tour will consist of three regions across North Carolina, from the mountains of Asheville to the Piedmont in Durham and the ocean near Wilmington, the company said.

At each region, the company will host a technology demonstration to allow enthusiasts to experience the camera hands-on, and will have multiple photo shoots throughout each region.

Backers of the trip will have a wide choice of gifts for their support, ranging from t-shirts to private receptions and prints, as well as exclusive access to all images made during the tour.

Three galas will be held at the tour’s end, hosting the trip’s print images in the first-ever panoramic exhibition of Aware photographs, and premiering a video made during the tour, Aqueti said.

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May 21 2013 - 12:41pm

Polaroid To Sponsor Wakeboard Series

John Laposky — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:46:01 +0000

Ridgefield Park, N.J. – Polaroid has been named the official action sports camera sponsor of the 2013 King of Wake wakeboarding series.

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Ridgefield Park, N.J. – Polaroid has been named the official action sports camera sponsor of the 2013 King of Wake wakeboarding series.

King of Wake draws the sport’s most prestigious contestants from around the world into a season-long points chase to determine the ultimate champion.

The King of Wake series will make eight stops throughout the United States, commencing in Orlando in April and ending in August in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Polaroid Action team will follow the tour with a booth at each stop to showcase its mountable sports action video cameras and instant digital camera lines.

The team will also be giving away free tickets to the events.

At each stop, spectators will have the chance for one-on-one meet-and-greets and autograph signings with the tournaments’ athletes.

Hundreds of prizes will be given away including autographed t-shirts, Polaroid instant cameras and several autographed Polaroid XS100 HD waterproof sports action cameras as grand prizes.

During the events, many of the participating athletes will capture extreme shots using the Polaroid XS100.

The Polaroid Action team, coordinated through C&A Licensing, an authorized Polaroid licensee, will compile footage for use in a commercial to air during the King of Wake Games on the NBC Sports Network this summer.

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May 17 2013 - 1:44pm

PMA Supports Fairness Of Online Sales Tax Legislation

Doug Olenick — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:38:50 +0000

Jackson, Mich. – The imaging-industry trade association PMA issued a statement Thursday expressing support for federal legislation mandating online companies to collect state sales taxes.

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Jackson, Mich. – The imaging-industry trade association PMA issued a statement Thursday expressing support for federal legislation mandating online companies to collect state sales taxes.

Earlier this month, the United States Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which requires online retailers with annual revenue of more than a million dollars to collect sales tax on transactions across state lines.

Foes of the legislation say complying with 50 different tax codes would put an undue burden on online retailers. The bill is now going before the United States House of Representatives.

“Although we oppose more taxes in general, PMA stands in support of legislation to level the playing field for local businesses. Right now, brick-and-mortar retailers must charge sales tax for the same merchandise that people can buy online without paying sales tax. This puts brick-and-mortar retailers at a huge and unfair disadvantage,” said PMA President Allen Showalter.

“While PMA also supports its members who do business online, the situation as it exists today is very one-sided. The Marketplace Fairness Act will allow all retailers to operate under the same conditions when it comes to charging sales tax. Provisions in this bill dictate that states have to provide tax software free of charge to online businesses, and update it regularly; thereby mitigating the hardship this legislation will create for online retailers.

“PMA endorses legislation that allows local, brick-and-mortar businesses to compete and thrive, which in turn supports their local communities, and the growth of the imaging industry as a whole,” Showalter added.

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May 16 2013 - 3:38pm

Olympus Scales Back Camera Business With Loss

Doug Olenick — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:33:54 +0000

Tokyo – Due mainly to growth in its medical equipment businesses, Olympus said Wednesday it returned to black in fiscal year 2012.

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Tokyo – Due mainly to growth in its medical equipment businesses, Olympus said Wednesday it returned to black in fiscal year 2012.

It reported a group net profit of $78.4 million (8.02 billion yen), compared with a loss of $479 million (48.99 billion yen) in the previous year.

But company president Hiroyuki Sasa said Olympus sustained a greater than anticipated operating loss of $225 million (23.07 billion yen) from its imaging business, mainly consisting of digital cameras.

As a result the company said Wednesday it is cutting back production of cheap low-margin compact point-and-shoot cameras and will shift its focus to high-margined mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras instead.

Olympus reported an operating profit of $343 million (35.08 billion yen), down 1.2 percent, on sales of $7.2 billion (743.85 billion yen), down 12.3 percent.

Olympus cut its compact digital camera sales forecasts to 2.7 million units for the current business year, compared with 5.1 million units in fiscal 2012.

The company said it will continue to focus on development and sales of mirrorless cameras, while drastically reducing the compact camera line.

Sasa said restructuring the imaging business is “one of our top priorities.”

The company has already started to significantly reorganize its manufacturing systems, and has consolidated five factory sites into two in Shenzhen and Vietnam.

It will cut R&D expenditures and operating costs, while substantially reducing the number of camera models, Sasa said.

The company is now focusing resources on high-margin mirrorless cameras and vowed to “improve responsiveness to market changes.”

In shifting the focus only to high-margin mirrorless models, Olympus said it will concentrate sales efforts on major cities where the mirrorless segment is expected to expand, and will “accelerate investment in sales channels highly suited to mirrorless cameras.”

Olympus said it will reduce imaging business staff by 30 percent by March 2014 compared with March 2012 levels, and will significantly reorganize sales systems by consolidating overseas sales bases, and efficiently reducing sales channels.

Sasa projected earnings after reduction of the compact camera business to decrease from 57.2 billion yen for the year ended March 2013 to 40.2 billion yen in March 2014. Mirrorless cameras are forecast to climb from 37.8 billion yen in March 2013 to 50 billion yen, as the IC recorder business rises from 12.5 billion yen in fiscal 2012 to 13.7 billion yen.

Net sales from imaging are forecast to decline from 107.6 billion yen in March 2013 to 104 billion for the year ending March 2014.

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May 16 2013 - 1:33pm

Polaroid Bows XS80 HD Action Cam

Doug Olenick — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:32:57 +0000

Ridgefield Park, N.J. — The Polaroid brand has expanded with the addition of the value-priced XS80 mountable HD action video camera.

The Polaroid XS80 ($130 suggested retail) action video camera from licensee C&A Marketing is waterproof to 30 feet.

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Ridgefield Park, N.J. — The Polaroid brand has expanded with the addition of the value-priced XS80 mountable HD action video camera.

The XS80 ($130 suggested retail), which is manufactured and sold by Polaroid licensee C&A Licensing, allows consumers to capture action and point-of-view shots in extreme weather conditions.

The camera has the ability to take 1080p video at 30 fps, and it can be mounted to record action while biking, surfing, mountain climbing or any other outdoor activity.

Polaroid offers the camera in a tough waterproof (to 30 feet) housing and includes anti-shake technology. It is resistant to shocks and can be used with a variety of mounts designed for the camera to allow video and still images to be captured virtually anywhere, the company said.

“The Polaroid XS80 is an exciting addition to our line of high-definition sports video cameras, which bring the Polaroid ideal of sharing life instantly to a new level,” said Scott W. Hardy, Polaroid president and CEO. “Whatever the sport or activity, the XS80 offers the portability, durability and versatility needed to capture and share life’s most exhilarating and memorable moments in an instant, all at an affordable price point.”

The Polaroid XS80 comes standard with a helmet mount and a limited one-year warranty.

In addition to HD 1080p video, the XS80 will capture 720p and VGA video and 16-megapixel, 5-megapixel, 3-megapixel and VGA stills. It offers three photo modes (single, 10 fps burst and time lapse), accepts up to a 32GB Micro SD card, has a 120-degree field of view, includes G sensor (auto rotation), anti-shake technology, and is powered by a lithium-ion battery.

It will be available through leading North American retailers, including Canadian Tire and TigerDirect, and on the Polaroid website.

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May 14 2013 - 12:32pm

Nikon Adds 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 Lens

Doug Olenick — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:29:34 +0000

Nikon Adds 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 Lens

Nikon’s 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 medium telephoto lens ($900 suggested retail) will ship in June as the newest lens addition for Nikon 1 series cameras.

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Melville, N.Y. – Nikon introduced Tuesday its latest 1 Nikkor lens – the 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 medium telephoto lens, for the company’s popular Nikon 1 mirrorless compact system cameras.

The 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2, which is shipping in June in a choice of black or silver at a $900 suggested retail, was originally introduced as a development lens in October 2012. As a regular line introduction, the lens stands as “the fastest ever in the growing 1 Nikkor line,” Nikon said.

Features include a fixed 32mm focal length (86mm equivalent), f/1.2 fast aperture, Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for quiet operation during videos, the first 1 Nikkor lens with a manual focus ring and M/A (AF with manual override function), first 1 Nikkor lens sporting a Nano Crystal Coat to reduce instances of ghost and flare, compatibility with the entire family of Nikon 1 system cameras (J1, J2, J3, S1, V1, V2).

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May 14 2013 - 12:28pm

Olympus Unveils Pen E-P5 CSC

Doug Olenick — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:19:40 +0000

Center Valley, Pa. — Olympus celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Pen F camera with the introduction of the Pen E-P5 mirrorless digital compact system camera offering up to a 1/8,000-second shutter speed and built-in Wi-Fi support.

Olympus’s new Pen E-P5 mirrorless compact system camera ($1,000 suggested retail for the body only) offers up to a 1/8,000th-second shutter speed.

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Olympus said it developed the Pen E-P5 to offer discerning photographers a range of advanced automatic and manual tools in a retro-look compact body.

Shipping in May, the Pen E-P5 will carry a $1,000 suggested retail for the body only, and will be offered in a choice of black and silver or white.

At the same time, Olympus will release a $1,450 suggested retail kit including the EP-5 body (in black and sliver) a 17mm f1.8 M.Zuiko digital lens and VF-4 electronic viewfinder.

The new optional high-definition VF-4 provides 1.48x magnification, a 2.36 million-dot LCD, and Eye Detect to turn it on at the right time.

Other features in the E-P5 include an all-metal casing; 16.5-megapixel Live MOS Micro Four Thirds sensor; TruPic VI image processing; built-in flash with an improved, faster 1/320th of a second synch speed; quick start-up; new short-release time lag AF mode, which reduces the time between shots to 0.044 seconds; and 9 fps sequential shooting.

The E-P5’s new Super Spot AF is said to deliver pin-point accurate focus even on extremely small subjects.

New focus peaking brings shots into focus, emphasizing the contours of the point of focus in white or black.

The camera’s in-body five-axis image stabilization mechanism corrects various kinds of camera shaking for both movies and still photos. Multi-motion IS used in combination with this mechanism produces correction performance, especially during movie recording.

A 2-by-2 dial control system on the back and top of the camera aids in manual shooting by providing a lever on the back to quickly move to one of two positions. In the first position, moving the dial at the front of the camera adjusts the aperture while the back dial affects exposure time. In the second position, the dials change the ISO value and white balance. Alternatively, you can use the lever on the back of the camera to assign a range of other functions.

Wi-Fi support is enhanced with quick synching for smart devices. A QR code on the camera’s screen can be scanned by a Smart device to establish the Wi-Fi link. Olympus’ free Olympus Image Share 2.0 smartphone app then synchronizes the smartphone’s and E-P5’s screens to effectively see the camera’s LCD on a phone and control it by touching the smartphone display.

A photo story mode enables capturing a scene from multiple viewpoints and then combines them into a single image to create unique collages inside the camera. New Photo Story+ has how many shots the camera will capture in a series (one to 99) during that time to create images that show the growth of a plant, the drifting of clouds, etc.

A time lapse movie feature converts a series of pictures taken using interval shooting into a movie inside the camera. Twelve available art filters add additional creativity to time-lapse movies as well as still images, and a live bulb mode has been improved by automatically reducing the monitor's brightness to prevent glare and to display a histogram and the elapsed time of an exposure to more easily shoot stars, light painting and fireworks.

The Olympus Pen E-P5 is equipped with a 3-inch, 1.04 million-dot high-definition tilt-type touch-panel LCD that can be adjusted to face upward at an 80-degree angle and downward at a 50-degree angle.

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May 10 2013 - 10:18am

Nikon Reported Higher Net Sales, Lower Profits

ljohnston — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:55:29 +0000

Tokyo — Nikon reported that net sales rose, but net and operating profits were down by double digits for its fiscal year, ended March 31.

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Tokyo — Nikon reported that net sales rose, but net and operating profits were down by double digits for its fiscal year, ended March 31.

Nikon said in its imaging products business, the interchangeable-lens market climate “took a sharp turn for the worse from the middle of the third quarter. Additionally, the compact digital camera market continued to shrink.” Sales for its precision equipment instruments business were also off.

Corporately, net sales this year increased by 10 percent to a record-high of 1,010,493 million yen. However, due to the impact of the worsening market conditions, operating income decreased 36.3 percent year on year to 51,001 million yen, and net income was 42,459 million yen, a 28.4 percent decrease year on year.

Nikon said its imaging products business showed “strong expansion” up until the third quarter.

Net sales increased by 28 percent for the group from the previous fiscal year to 751,240 million yen, and operating income increased by 12.5 percent from the previous fiscal year to 60,711 million yen.

“Amid this situation, among the digital camera ― interchangeable-lens type, digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras showed steady sales growth for existing products, such as the D800,” the company said.

In addition, Nikon temporarily increased product inventory as a measure to mitigate related risk for floods in Thailand, and “were forced to lower prices particularly for entry models as the market conditions deteriorated from the middle of the third quarter. We made progress in inventory reduction and were able to reduce the inventory level as planned by the end of the fiscal year.”

The company noted that advanced camera―interchangeable lens type Nikon 1 captured a high market share especially in North America and Europe, raising brand awareness for the series.

Amid a shrinking compact digital camera market, the group captured top market shares in each region as a result of efforts to launch and expand sales for product lines “with distinctive features,” Nikon said.

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May 9 2013 - 11:53am

Connected Cameras Top Survey Results

ljohnston — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:26:29 +0000

Weymouth, Mass. — Connected and smart cameras generate the highest level of interest from new camera shoppers, according to a survey released Thursday by InfoTrends.

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Weymouth, Mass. — Connected and smart cameras generate the highest level of interest from new camera shoppers, according to a survey released Thursday by InfoTrends.

The study found Wi-Fi-enabled cameras received the highest interest ratings of all the product concepts presented.

In 2012, less than 15 percent of all camera models introduced connectivity features. In 2013, that will likely be closer to 30 percent, while 100 percent of camera phones are connected, InfoTrends said.

“As connectivity finds its way into more cameras, it will make the task of sharing photos with friends and family easier and better able to compete with the immediate ability to send camera phone photos via email, MMS or upload to Facebook with a click of a button,” according to the market research firm.

The new InfoTrends survey on the digital camera end-user market considered the ways in which user demographics are changing, highlights the segments that should be targeted in future marketing efforts, and spotlights what consumers are doing with their digital photos, the company said.

It also highlights some key, year-over-year changes to gain a greater understanding of how this market continues to evolve.

InfoTrends said it has been advocating for many years that connectivity needs to be a standard feature if cameras are to become a more relied upon photo taking and sharing device.

“Digital camera vendors need to make sure the sharing feature is simple and easy to use to guarantee consumer adoption of this feature/function,” the study said. “The camera phone has become the everyday camera for most consumers and continues to steal more and more photo taking activity away from traditional cameras. The image quality produced by camera phones is constantly improving — traditional camera vendors cannot rely on image quality alone to compete with camera phones.”

The full report can be acquired at the InfoTrends website.

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May 9 2013 - 11:25am

Oregon Scientific Ships ATC Chameleon

Doug Olenick — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:40:18 +0000

Tualatin, Ore. — Oregon Scientific introduced this week the ATC Chameleon action video camera.

Oregon Scientific’s ATC Chameleon action video camera ($200 suggested retail) features dual wide-angle lenses for synced, or separate simultaneous, shooting.

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Tualatin, Ore. — Oregon Scientific introduced this week the ATC Chameleon action video camera.

The ATC Chameleon features two built-in lenses that can shoot two videos simultaneously, capturing footage from a first-hand perspective as well as the action ahead.

The ATC Chameleon (available now at a $200 suggested retail) is billed as a hands-free camera has two adjustable, built-in wide angle lenses, allowing users to shoot two videos simultaneously and in sync.

The camera features a sleek, lightweight design.

The dual wide-angle lens design shoots video with a field of vision of 170 degrees and a resolution of 1,280 by 720 pixels at 30 fps.

A built-in lithium-polymer rechargeable battery can shoot up to two hours of continuous action.

Other features include a built-in microphone and speaker, a MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB of memory and a mounting system that can attach to most hard surfaces, including helmets, bikes, snowboards, kayaks, baby carriages and more.

It is splash-proof, road ready and fully compatible with all ATC mountings. Oregon Scientific also sells an optional special waterproof case for the ATC Chameleon for capturing underwater shots down to 196 feet.

It comes complete with a MiniUSB charging cable and applicable software. Several mounts, a waterproof enclosure, and a required MicroSD card are each sold separately.

The ATC Chameleon is currently available at several major national retailers, including select Target, Best Buy, Meijer and Costco locations.

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May 8 2013 - 12:38pm