Technology Explained, Practice
Daniela Bowker
Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! ...

When you hear the term 'high-res' thrown about with such abandon when it comes to images for web use, have you ever stopped to think just how big or how high quality and image meant for the web needs to be?

Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! Saving images for the web
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring

There's an assumption that high-contrast images are more dynamic, more compelling, more inviting. Have a go at some low-contrast photography. You might surprise yourself with the results.

Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring
Feature Articles, Theory
Daniela Bowker
Seeking balance in your photos

Balance doesn't mean symmetry; it means an internal consistency and tension within your photos. And it's a vital element of composition. 

Seeking balance in your photos
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Training your photographic luck

Great photos might be down to a little bit of luck, but most of that 'luck' you make yourself. Don't believe us? Read on...

Training your photographic luck
Feature Articles, Practice
Daniela Bowker
The ups and downs and ins and outs of ...

Photographing buildings doesn't have to mean wide-angle lenses and fretting about correcting for the keystone effect. Any lens, and angle. Don't believe us? Let us show you!

The ups and downs and ins and outs of photographing buildings

light situations

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Super-sensitive, super-light graphene sensors: which manufacturer will bite first?

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Image courtesy of NTU We're accustomed to stratospheric ISOs making their ways into camera specs, helping us to capture images in lower and lower light situations. But what if changing the material from which camera sensors are manufactured could make them even more photo-sensitive, and lighter and more energy efficient to boot? A team of researchers at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, led by Assitant Professor Wang Qijie, think they've cracked it. With graphene, the super-strong, rather flexible, heat-resistent carbon compound.

A graphene-based sensor has the potential to be 1000 times more sensitive to light than a current model CMOS or CCD sensor by making use of a light-trapping nanostructure that is able to retain light-generated electron particles for longer. In addition, graphene is lighter and more flexible than your usual sensor, with the potential to be five times cheaper. Rather than graphene-based sensors demanding a complete overhaul of the manufacturing process, it's possible to swap-out traditional metal-oxide semiconductor sensor bases for the new-fangled graphene versions without any major changes. It keeps getting better.

We're not just looking at more light-sensitive and more engergy-efficient sensors in our smartphones, compact cameras, or interchangeable lens cameras; being broad-spectrum sensors, they have roles in satellite technology and infra-red imaging, too.

Which major manufacturer will be the first to bite, then?

(Headsup to Tech News Daily, Will Jennings, and Nanyang Technological University)

Canon canons on with compacts


Canon IXUS 255 HS, available in pink, black, and silver

Canon brought out four new compact cameras, as well as the Powershot N, at CES; three weeks later and it has announced another four compact cameras. Today we're introduced to the IXUS 255 HS, IXUS 135 HS, IXUS 132 HS, and the Powershot A2500. (Or the ELPH 330 HS, ELPH 115 HS, and Powershot A2500 in the States. Yes, only three new cameras there.)

You know the drill: they'll all have smart auto mode with an improbable number of scene options (58, in the case of the IXUS 255 HS), they'll be HD video-ready, they'll all have a slew of filters, there'll be some quirky new introductions in an attempt to keep compact cameras relevant, and then you'll blink and you will barely be able to tell the difference between them.

In the case of the 255 and 135, they have wi-fi connectivity to allow you to share your images via your mobile or your tablet, and you can latch on to GPS via your mobile, too. All of them include Canon's new Eco mode, that aims to reduce battery use by 30% and there's also ZoomPlus technology, that supposedly allows you to double the reach of your optical zoom digitallly, but still maintain image detail.

The IXUS 255 (ELPH 330 HS in the US) is a fairly grown-up compact, with a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor coupled with a DIGIC 5 processor that should be competent in lower light situations and allow for higher speed shooting. Its lens is 24mm at its widest point and has a 10× optical zoom. There's also Intelligent IS to help reduce camera shake whatever you're up to, and the same Hybrid Auto that we saw in the Powershot N, that uses both smart auto and scene detection to grab the best shot and can create a montage of four second video clips grabbed before every shot that you take over the course of a day to produce some sort of meta-shoot.

The IXUS 135, IXUS 132 (ELPH 115 HS in the US), and Powershot A2500 all have 16 megapixel sensors with DIGIC 4 processors and 28mm lenses at their widest. Whilst the IXUS models have 8× optical zoom and Intelligent IS, the A2500 has a 5× zoom and slightly less wizzy Digital IS. 

There's no UK pricing or availability for these cameras as yet; I'll be interested to see what sort of difference there'll be between the IXUS 135 and IXUS 132 with really only wi-fi to choose between them. But the Powershot A2500? I think that could make an excellent first camera for a little one.

(In the US, the ELPH 330 will be around $230; the ELPH 115 $170; and the Powershot A2500 will be in the region of $130.)