News in brief: 150 million Instagrams

Yep, in just seven months 150 million photos have been uploaded to Instagram. (That’s about one every 15 seconds.) And all of those would have come from an iPhone because there’s no Instagram Android app and you can’t upload from your computer, either. Apparently, Instagram haven’t ruled out an Android app, but they are being super tight-lipped as to when one might appear. I can scarcely begin to imagine what will happen when Instagram hits the non-iOS collective. Is the world going to become one giant Instagram?

(Headsup to Engadget)

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: Gaia - the billion pixel camera

I might’ve had enough of megapixels when it comes to camera phones and compact cameras, but I can probably forgive a billion pixel camera when its purpose is to map a thousand million stars across the galaxy, in 3D. (No, I won’t quibble with 3D here, either.) The camera’s called Gaia and it was produced for the European Space Station by e2v Technologies, based in the UK.

The camera is effectively a mosaic of 106 CCD sensors that measure 6 × 4.7 cm and are a few microns deep. They should be able to detect light from stars that are about one million times fainter than the human eye can manage. Or be accurate enough to measure someone’s thumbnails if she or he is on the moon and the camera’s on earth.

Want to know more? The European Space Station website has it all.

(Headsup to Engadget)

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: The Fujifilm guide to restoring water-damaged images

I’ve heard lots of people say that if there were a fire in their home, something that they’d try to rescue would be their photos. (I’d be quite interested in getting out alive, although I can see how old albums can be important.) But what about the opposite of fire? What about water damage? It might feel a bit hopeless if you find troves of images that are encrusted with mud or sand, stuck together, or just horribly water damaged, but you might be able to salvage them. And Fujifilm has the perfect guide to explain what you need to do.

Depending on the type of prints that you’re trying to salvage (silver halide, dye sublimation, dye-type inkjet, or pigment-type inkjet) and how they’ve been damaged, you’ll need to use different techniques. Whatever the print, though, you’ll need a very decent dose of patience and remember to dry them in the shade and don’t use anything like a hairdryer.

Everything that you need to know is over at Fujifilm.

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: Cute Slideshow - now with video!

It’s awesome when developers listen to your suggestions! A while back I had look at Cute Slideshow, a simple-to-use iPhone app that allowed me to turn my pictures into a slideshow, insert text, and even set it to music. I loved the idea, but it had one major flaw: the slideshows were stuck there in my phone (unless I had a cable to watch them on a monitor, which I probably did… somewhere… ). What it really needed was an export function.

Lo-and-behold, the latest update to Cute Slideshow includes an export function compatible with the iPhone 4 and fourth generation iPod Touches. All for £1.79 (US$2.99) from the App Store. Super stuff!

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: Twitter + Photobucket = InTwit photo-sharing

Yep, they’ve done it. Twitter’ve announced that they will indeed be introducing their own photo-sharing feature so that you can share your morning coffee or make your followers jealous of the sunset you’ve just seen in a picture direct from Twitter.com. And as for their photo-hosting-partner-of-choice: it’s Photobucket.

They’re working on introducing the feature to all of their official mobile apps as well as figuring out a way to let people who’ve not yet succumbed to the allure of a smartphone be able to share images via MMS from their mobiles. Yay for a bit of technological equality there!

More about it on the Twitter blog.

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: Researchers Show Improved Algorithm For Smoothing Upscaled Pixel Art

A paper from researchers at Microsoft Research and Hebrew University details a new, spline-based algorithm for transforming pixel art, such as that from early sprite-based games, into scalable vector images.

Johannes Kopf and Dani Lischinski’s paper titled “Depixelizing Pixel Art” describes an up-scaling technique that differs from other popular methods in ways that are particularly suited for the low-resolution sprites of classic games.

From blocky to smooth'n'sexy.

As a geek, I love the sound of this – but it’s also interesting to see whether the new research could have implications in photography world as well.

Read the full skinny at Gamasutra

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: Do people not have anything better to do with their money?

Why on earth would you pay $1,000 for a lens that you can’t use? Even if it is Leica and has been transformed into a work of art? Actually, especially if it had been made by Leica. Yeah some students at Leica, as part of their graduation project, made art out of a discontinued Tri-Elmar-M 28-35-50mm lens and a 50mm f/1.4 Summilux lens by splitting them in two. Valued at $4,500 and $3,700 respectively when whole, the Tri-Elmar sold for $995 on eBay. There are some things in life that I just don’t understand…

(Headsup to Engadget)

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: It’s all about the final result

I stumbled across a lovely article by ctein on The Online Photographer, where he talks in great detail about a rather bloody fantastic image.

“Making that photograph was a significant challenge”, he writes, and explains how he managed to push the boundaries of what was physically possible in photography, in order to to capture a picture of a space shuttle back in 1975.

In all the hard work he did to get the photo, he learned a brutal lesson… the story of which is definitely worth a closer read…

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: The itty-bitty medical camera

Having cameras shoved in various parts of your anatomy isn’t exactly a pleasant experience, so the smaller the things, the better. I’m thinking that a 0.99mm diameter camera, with a 0.66 x 0.66mm CMOS sensor and 45,000 pixels of resolution is a pretty good deal.

It’s been developed by the Israeli company Medigus for use in disposable instruments where they need tiny cameras. Things like cardiology or robotic surgery. Astonishing!

(Headsup to Engadget)

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.

News in brief: Ever lost your camera or had it stolen?

You may not be aware, but your camera probably embeds its serial number in every one of your photos – so if someone is taking photos with your stolen camera, you can track them down.

Now if only there was a way of doing that… Enter Stolen Camera Finder, a brand new website designed to help you get re-united with your camera.

How very nifty.

What is this? - In our NewsFlash section, we share interesting tidbits of news. Think of it as our extended twitter feed: When we find something that get our little hearts racing, we'll share it with you right here! Loving it? Great, we've got lots more News Flash articles - and, of course, we're still on Twitter as well, for even shorter news tidbits.