DxO ONE - DSLR QUALITY IN YOUR POCKET

Recently, I've been thinking more and more about downsizing. This goes for many aspects of my life. I started with my gear bag, but I didn't want to sacrifice quality. More and more I'm on the go and really hate lugging around a ton of gear and extras. Let's be honest, who really likes do that anyway?

Smartphone photography is incredibly popular, and with advancements in tech over the last few years, the quality output of these devices is only getting better. They pretty much render the small point and shoot cameras, well, pointless. DxO has released the DxO ONE, a 20 megapixel camera that attaches to your iPhone and allows you to capture impressive quality images from a device that fits in your pocket.

I saw this little doodad floating around on the web a few days ago and disregarded it. This morning, however, I decided to take a closer look. The DxO ONE is probably one of the first smartphone camera accessories that I would really like to own. I suppose it could be considered an accessory. It's actually a camera itself. It plugs into your iPhone via the lightning connector and uses your phone's display to view the images you're snapping. The camera itself is a 20 megapixel 1" sensor with a lens that is roughly 32mm . It has a maximum aperture of f/1.8. A nifty little extra is that the camera captures images in the DNG format. Those images are ready to imported and edited right away in Lightroom.

Introducing the DxO ONE Connected Camera from DxO on Vimeo.

The accompanying iOS app gives you full control of the image taking process. You can choose from a number of different shooting modes or switch to fully manual for precision and creative control. The sample images look great! It's hard to believe you get all of this from something that fits right in your pocket.

The DxO ONE isn't a cheap accessory though. It's $599. It's a little on the pricy side for a mobile phone accessory.

NEW APPLE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN IS 100% IPHONE USER GENERATED

Last night my lady and I went to see the film Trainwreck. Honestly, a positively fun movie, but that's not why I'm writing this post. Over time, more than just trailers have been added to the pre-show entertainment of a film. It's not totally uncommon to see a handful of ads from companies like Coke or Lexus just before the trails are presented.

The usual ads appeared and I was somewhat tempted to not pay attention, but then a very short, yet simply incredible ad appeared from Apple. It was maybe 15 seconds long, and nothing more than a video clip shot on the new iPhone 6 and including the name of the user who shot it. Brilliant! It's probably one of the most inspiring pieces of advertising I've seen in a very long time. Not only that, they looked amazing on the big screen.


Photographers and filmmakers are constantly hung up on the gear. It seems they're always wanting the latest and the greatest. That real work can't be created with anything less "pro" level gear. There are always artists out there that are proving this notion incorrect. These series of ads do just that.

Lumenati CS1 'Smartcase' Turns Your iPhone Into A Classic Cinema Camera

Ready to kick it old school? The Lumenati CS1 is a nifty contraption. There's interesting potential here. It transforms your iPhone into a classic lo-fi cinema camera. Complete with the look and feel too. This astonishing invention was developed by a group of animators, filmmakers, and designers in Denver, Colorado called Lumenati. The CS1 "combines the technological features of a digital device (film-free shooting, instant sharing and an editing app) with the cool design, ergonomic  ease and natural narrative that the lo-fi classic camera is known for."

Setting it up is as easy as popping your iPhone into the CS1 just as grandpa would load an 8mm film cartridge and you're ready to start shooting. It's that simple. The housing is lightweight which allows anyone to frame up a steady shot with the pull of an intuitive trigger. There's also a cold shoe which allows for attaching lights, mic, and extra handles for sports shooting. A real-time viewfinder allows WYSIWYG capabilities even in bright light. Most modern mobil devices are lacking in this area. Add to all that, lenses can be swapped out for wide angle, macro, and telephoto. This thing just gets better and better.

Currently, the CS1 is only compatible with iPhone 6, but Lumenati plans to bring the CS1 to more device users with successful fundraising. To find out more, visit their Kickstarter page and help contribute to this awesome project. You can get your hands on one of the units for an "early bird special" which will cost you $150, which gets you a black CS1, a .45 wide angle lens, and lens wipe. Once the special runs out, the price jumps to $200. Production and distribution are slated for February 2016.