Cameras Capture Falling Snowflakes in 3D

Cameras Capture Falling Snowflakes in 3D - A gadget that can snap photos of individual snowflakes in freefall could lead to more accurate weather predictions.

Researchers at the University of Utah have developed the Multi Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC), which uses three high-speed cameras triggered by infrared sensors to shoot flakes as they float to the ground, with exposures as quick as 1/25000 of a second. The device also measures the flakes' fall speed, all without touching them, which would disturb the measurements.

"You've probably seen gorgeous pictures of snowflakes that have been collected on glass slides and put under a microscope. These pictures, while beautiful, are pictures of snowflakes that are exceedingly rare,” said University of Utah atmospheric scientist Tim Garrett. Most snowflakes in nature are complex clumps of many flakes stuck to each other; putting one of those on a slide to photograph would destroy it.

The images could be used to better understand snowfall and create a more accurate model of winter storms. One of the things weather simulations are not currently good at is predicting snowfall accurately. "The reason they do so badly is because they don't represent snowflakes very well, because they are based on measurements of snowflakes that were done, painstakingly, by hand in the 1970s,” Garrett explained. “They were able to collect maybe a few thousand snowflakes. I knew the guy who did it and he felt he needed to get glasses because of this project."

In contrast, MASC can photograph and measure tens of thousands of snowflakes in a single night, Garrett said. Already, two MASC cameras in use at the Alta Ski Area are generating results that suggests wind and snow interact differently than weather models predict.

Garrett and Cale Fallgatter have formed a spin-off company to sell MASCs to interested parties. Fallgatter Technologies, officially spun-off six months ago, has already sold a camera to the U.S. Army, which is using it to improve avalanche prediction.

Besides being useful, the camera is also just plain fun to use. "It's very exciting to be able to look at the snowflakes every day as they're falling. I saw some fog up in the mountains, and wondered what kind of snowflakes this fog would produce," Garrett said.

Then he logged on to Alta's live feed and found out. While that day the snow was producing very regular, six-sided snowflakes, "the range is tremendous," he said. "When people say no two snowflakes are alike, that is very true. They are dissimilar in ways that I did not imagine prior to starting this project. The range of possibilities is immense." ( LiveScience.com )

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This is a gigapixel camera

This is a gigapixel camera — Supercameras Could Capture Never-Before-Seen Detail — A supercamera that can take gigapixel pictures — that's 1,000 megapixels — has now been unveiled.

Researchers say these supercameras could have military, commercial and civilian applications, and that handheld gigapixel cameras may one day be possible.

The gigapixel camera uses 98 identical microcameras in unison, each armed with its own set of optics and a 14-megapixel sensor. These microcameras, in turn, all peer through a single large spherical lens to collectively see the scene the system aims to capture. Since the optics of the microcameras are small, they are relatively easy and cheap to fabricate.

 

This is a gigapixel camera

A specially designed electronic processing unit stitches together all the partial images each microcamera takes into a giant, one-gigapixel image. In comparison, film can have a resolution of about 25 to 800 megapixels, depending on the kind of film used.

"In the near-term, gigapixel cameras will be used for wide-area security, large-scale event capture — for example, sport events and concerts — and wide-area multiple-user scene surveillance — for example, wildlife refuges, natural wonders, tourist attractions," said researcher David Brady, an imaging researcher at Duke University in Durham, N.C., told InnovationNewsDaily. "As an example, a gigapixel camera mounted over the Grand Canyon or Times Square will enable arbitrarily large numbers of users to simultaneously log on and explore the scene via telepresence with much greater resolution than they could if they were physically present."

Gigapixel cameras may have scientific value. For instance, a gigapixel snapshot of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge allowed details such as the number of tundra swans on the lake or in the distant sky at that precise moment to be seen, allowing researchers to track individual birds and analyze behavior across the flock. Very wide-field surveillance of the sky is possible as well, enabling analysis of events such as meteor showers.

"I believe that the need to store, manage and mine these data streams will be the definitive application of supercomputers," Brady said.

The gigapixel device currently delivers one-gigapixel images at a speed of about three frames per minute. It actually captures images in less than a tenth of a second — it just takes 18 seconds to transfer the full image from the microcamera array to the camera's memory.

The camera also currently only takes black-and-white images, since color pictures are more difficult to analyze. "Next-generation systems will be color cameras," Brady said.

In addition, the camera is quite large, measuring 29.5 by 29.5 by 19.6 inches (75 by 75 by 50 centimeters), a size required by the space currently needed to cool its electronics and keep them from overheating. The researchers hope that as more efficient and compact electronics get developed, handheld gigapixel cameras might one day emerge, similar in size to current handheld single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.

"Of course, it is not possible for a person to hold a camera steady enough to capture the full resolution of a gigapixel camera, so it may be desirable to mount the camera on a tripod," Brady said. "On the other hand, motion compensation strategies may overcome this challenge."

The researchers are also working on more powerful cameras. They have currently built a two-gigapixel prototype camera that possesses 226 microcameras, and are in the manufacturing phase for a 10-gigapixel system. Ten- to 100-gigapixel cameras "will remain more backpack-size rather than handheld," Brady said. ( LiveScience.com )

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Sony unveils $1000 NEX-6 mirrorless camera with Wi-Fi sharing and apps

Sony unveils $1000 NEX-6 mirrorless camera with Wi-Fi sharing and apps - If there is one company that knows how to make lust-worthy mirrorless cameras without skimping on image quality, it’s Sony (SNE). Since the launch of the NEX-5 in 2010, Sony has seen somewhat of a renaissance with its camera business. The company once crowded out by the likes of Canon (CAJ) and Nikon (NINOY) has refined its APS-C sensor-based mirrorless cameras again and again. On Wednesday, Sony announced the Wi-Fi and app-equipped NEX-6, a cross between the recently announced NEX-5R and last year’s flagship NEX-7.

Striking a balance between size, function and price is never an easy task. The NEX-6 has virtually all of the hallmarks of a mirrorless camera that will grow with amateur photographers and feel at home for seasoned pros.

Sony unveils $1000 NEX-6 mirrorless camera with Wi-Fi sharing and apps

The NEX-6 sports a 16.1-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, a dedicated PASM and secondary wheel dial (features missing from the lower-end NEX-5R and higher-end NEX-7), ISO 100 to 25,600, 2359k dot OLED electronic viewfinder, 3-inch tilt-able touchscreen for autofocusing and taking shots, 1080p HD video recording, pop-up flash, SD card Memory Stick Duo slot and of course, built-in 802.11 Wi-Fi and Sony’s curated PlayMemories camera apps.

While anyone can take great photos with the NEX-6 thanks to the DSLR-sized sensor and quality Sony lenses, the most alluring features are the Wi-Fi and camera apps. Armed with the knowledge that transferring photos off the memory card and onto smartphones and tablets can be a major hassle, Sony equipped the NEX-6 with Wi-Fi Sharing. While the NEX-6 won’t be able to share any photos directly to Facebook (FB) or Flickr as on the Samsung (005930) NX1000 Smart Camera, Sony’s new mirrorless cam does have the ability to download photo editing apps that allow for Instagram-like filters and effects.

Sure, a high-end smartphone could probably out-feature the NEX-6 when it comes to instant sharing over 3G/4G LTE or photo app editing selection, but let’s be honest: Photos from a phone won’t be nearly as crisp as photos from an interchangeable lens camera.

Look for the NEX-6 to hit stores in mid-November for about $1,000. Sony’s press release follows below.

New Sony α NEX-6 Camera Delivers Full DSLR Experience in Pocket-Sized Package

Compact System Camera Features 16.1 MP APS-C Sensor, Fast Hybrid AF, OLED Viewfinder, Enhanced Control, Expandability and Wi-Fi® Capabilities

SAN DIEGO, Sept 12, 2012 – With a brand new, sleek design and enhanced control capabilities, the new Sony NEX-6 camera packs all the imaging power, shooting responsiveness, handling and operability of a DSLR into a pocket-sized mirrorless camera.

The newest addition to Sony’s acclaimed E-mount camera line-up includes Fast Hybrid AF, Wi-Fi capabilities and the Play Memories Camera Apps™ platform recently introduced on Sony’s new NEX-5R model, as well as the same high-resolution XGA OLED Tru-Finder™ viewfinder found on the flagship NEX-7 model. Additionally, the NEX-6 adds a standard DSLR-style mode dial for fast, simple navigation between settings.

“Put simply, we are revolutionizing the world of compact system cameras,” said Mike Kahn, director of the alpha camera business at Sony Electronics. “With the NEX-6, we’ve brought a full DSLR experience – fast focus, enhanced control and an “eye-level” shooting style – to consumers at a fraction of the size and weight. Add the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity and our innovative Play Memories Camera Apps platform, and it becomes a truly compelling product unlike anything else in market today. It’s the perfect balance of size, performance quality.”

The camera’s large Exmor® APS HD CMOS sensor offers 16.1 effective megapixels for true DSLR-quality images and detail-packed Full HD video. It’s teamed with a powerful BIONZ® image processor that ensures flawless, low-noise images at extended sensitivity settings up to ISO 25600.

The innovative Fast Hybrid AF system* combines phase- and contrast-detect AF methods. It uses 99 phase-detection AF points arrayed on the image sensor to detect a subject’s distance and direction to quickly lock focus on it, and then utilizes contrast-detection AF to confirm extremely fine focus detail. In Speed Priority Continuous shooting mode, the camera automatically switches to phase detection tracking AF to track fast-moving action accurately in each frame at up to 10 frames per second.

As with the flagship NEX-7 camera, the NEX-6 model features an XGA OLED Tru-Finder™ EVF for precision framing and focusing. This 2.36 million dot electronic viewfinder gives a bright, detail-packed, high contrast view of still images and video, with 100% frame coverage and a wide field of view to rival pro-grade optical viewfinders. On-screen grid lines and a digital level gauge can be displayed to assist with accurate framing.

The high-quality OLED Tru-Finder™ EVF is complemented by a 3.0” Xtra Fine LCD™ display that can be angled up to 90° up or 45° down (approx.) for easy viewing in virtually any shooting position. The LCD screen ensures superb detail and contrast with significantly reduced on-screen reflections, aiding composition when shooting outdoors or in direct light.

New for the NEX-6 camera is a strategically-positioned mode dial on its top, similar to those found on traditional DSLR cameras, giving photographers easy access to commonly used shooting modes including P/A/S/M and Sweep Panorama™ mode. The camera also has mode-dependent control dial (located underneath the mode dial) plus a separate control wheel on the camera back for fine adjustments of exposure, ISO, white balance and other settings.

Also inherited from high-end A-mount cameras, a “Function” key and pro-focused Quick Navi interface allows fingertip adjustment of settings without taking the viewfinder away from the shooter’s eye. Alongside a handy pop-up flash, there’s a versatile new Multi Interface Shoe that’s capable of ‘intelligent’ linkage with various accessories.

Full HD movie shooting is enhanced on the NEX-6 camera with a new Auto Slow Shutter feature that adds extra detail to low-light clips. The camera detects dim interiors and night scenes and automatically selects a slower shutter speed to brighten footage.

Wi-Fi Sharing and New Camera Apps

Shared with the NEX-5R model, integrated Wi-Fi on the NEX-6 camera allows photos to be transferred wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet running Sony’s free PlayMemories Mobile™ app (free of charge), available on both Android™ and Apple iOS platforms. Additionally, content can be directly uploaded from the camera to Facebook® using a Wi-Fi connection and the new “Direct Upload” application, part of Sony’s new PlayMemories Camera Apps™ platform.

The PlayMemories Camera Apps platform is the world’s first application download service in an interchangeable lens camera that allows consumers to install new functions on demand, tailoring their cameras to fit personal shooting needs. The service can be accessed over Wi-Fi or when the camera is connected directly to a PC via USB.**

Available apps at launch, outside of “Direct Upload”, will include “Picture Effect+”, “Multi Frame NR” and “Smart Remote Control.” A variety of other apps including “Bracket Pro”, “Photo Retouch”, “Time-Lapse” and “Cinematic Photo” are also planned for future release.

New Interchangeable Lenses for α E-mount Cameras

Sony has also introduced three new lenses for its E-mount line of interchangeable lens cameras, adding to the system’s flexibility.

The new SELP1650 lens is an extremely light, compact 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 powered zoom model that measures only 29.9 mm thick (when fully retracted) and contains built-in Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization for clearer handheld images. Additionally, it features a dual-function ring that controls both power zoom and manual focus, depending on the camera’s focus mode. With the camera set to AF the control ring adjusts smooth, high-speed zoom with small hand movements. With the camera in MF mode, the ring controls manual focus. A smooth power zoom dial makes the lens particularly useful for shooting video.

The new SEL35F18 lens is a wide aperture 35mm focal length model with a bright maximum aperture of f/1.8 and built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. It offers excellent optical sharpness, clarity, and background defocus in both still images and HD video, and is exceptionally light and easy to carry.

The new SEL1018 lens is a super-wide angle zoom with a maximum aperture of f/4.0 across its range of 10-18mm and built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. Adopting the super ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass which reduces color aberration, the lens is capable of producing dramatic perspective effects and is ideal for shooting landscapes and interiors.

New accessories for NEX-6

The new stylish, leather LCS-ELC6 Soft Carrying Case is designed exclusively for use with the NEX-6 camera and attached SELP1650 or SEL16F28 lens. While attached, the case still allows use of a tripod as well as the camera’s LCD screen to be tilted.

The new LCS-EJA Soft Carrying Case can be used for all α E-mount cameras, and is ideal for use with the new SELP1650 or SEL16F28 lens attached. It has internal pockets for storage of the lens cap as well as a spare memory card.

Pricing and Availability

The NEX-6 compact system camera will be available this November in a kit with the SELP1650 power zoom lens for about $1,000. It will also be offered as body-only for about $850.

The SELP1650 power zoom lens will be sold separately in January for about $350, and the SEL35F18 prime and SEL1018 wide angle lenses will be available this November for about $450 and $850, respectively.

The LCS-ELC6 and LCS-EJA soft carrying cases will be available this November for about $100 and $40, respectively.

The new camera, lenses and all compatible accessories will be available at Sony retail stores (www.store.sony.com) and other authorized dealers nationwide.

Please visit www.blog.sony.com/nex6 for a full video preview of the new NEX-6 compact system camera and follow #SonyNEX on Twitter for the latest α NEX camera news. ( BGR News )

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Kodak to shutter camera business

Kodak to shutter camera business - Eastman Kodak Co , the inventor of the digital camera, plans to get out of that business in the first half of the year as the bankrupt company looks to cut costs.

The decision to stop selling digital cameras along with pocket video cameras and digital picture frames marks the end of an era for Kodak, which also invented the handheld camera.

Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said on Thursday that getting out of cameras would result in "significant" job losses. Most of the 400 people in that business are based in Rochester, New York, and work in research and development and marketing.

The news comes as Kodak meets obstacles in another cost cutting move tied to its illustrious past. The company will be unable to end its 20-year sponsorship of the Hollywood Theater that hosts the Academy Awards before this year's Oscars.

A Kodak Retina camera is seen in a photo store in London January 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Along with its reputation for making easy-to-use cameras for consumers, Kodak is also famous for its camera and photographic film contributions in movies.

Now, instead of designing its own cameras, Kodak will try to license its brand to other camera makers, several of which have already expressed "significant interest," said spokesman Christopher Veronda.

Kodak, which as recently as 2006 was one of the top three digital camera makers in the world, will stick with its desktop printer business, on which it has focused more recently.

"The printer initiative took over (in the last decade), and they took their eye off the ball in the camera and camcorder space," said IDC analyst Christopher Chute.

However, even in printers, Kodak is far from the top of the pile. It still lags in sixth place in the U.S. market despite being the only brand to grow in the double-digit percentage range in the last two years, according to NPD Group research. The U.S. printer market is led by HP , Epson and Canon.

Kodak, which opened for business in 1880, also invented digital cameras with Wi-Fi connections and touch-screens as well as docking stations that made it easy to transfer photos to computers, according to IDC's Chute.

These were among the products that gave Kodak a 10 percent market share in 2006, behind Canon <7751.T> and Sony Corp <6758.T>. By 2010 it had dropped to seventh place behind rivals like Nikon <7731.T> and Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS>, according to IDC.

But as the quality of digital cameras in cellphones improved, stand-alone cameras' relevance became somewhat limited to the higher-end market, where Kodak did not compete in recent years.

The company will take a charge of about $30 million to leave the business. It expects the exit to generate more than $100 million in annual operating savings.

The charge does not include additional costs that Kodak expects to incur for actions such as ending manufacturing contracts with overseas companies that make its products, Veronda said.

Kodak -- which once employed more than 60,000 people -- has not disclosed its employee numbers since the end of 2010, when it announced that it had a work force of 18,800. Today's employee base is smaller than that, according to Veronda, who said the company would update the number soon.

FROM HOLLYWOOD TO INKJETS

Kodak came under pressure from investors because margins are higher for products such as photography film and printer ink cartridges, which consumers buy far more frequently than cameras.

"As a business entity, their focus was always on consumable businesses, and rethinking how you sell (camera) hardware that only sells every few years is a very different kind of business," NPD analyst Stephen Baker said.

"Getting out of a market that's declining rapidly ... is probably a good idea," said Baker who estimated that U.S. camera sales had fallen about 20 percent in 2011 from 2010.

Before the digital age, Kodak cameras included the Brownie -- launched in 1900 with a $1 price tag -- and the Instamatic, which was launched in 1963.

A Kodak camera was used on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, according to the company. And NASA said that a Kodak camera was used by the astronauts to film lunar soil from only inches away.

Kodak film has been used on 80 movies that have won Best Picture Oscars, according to the company.

In a stark move away from its more glamorous past however, Kodak recently had to ask for permission to end its 20-year Hollywood Theater sponsorship, worth $72 million. However, it was told in a filing late Wednesday that it could not get out of the deal ahead of the Feb 26. Oscars ceremony.

"The invitations and advertisements for the 2012 Academy Awards show are out. They cannot be recalled," CIM Group, the owner of the theater said in a court filing.

Kodak said on Thursday that the move out of cameras was the "logical extension" of its recent plan to improve margins in the camera business by narrowing its product portfolio, geographies and retail outlets.

The company, which depends on digital technology for three-quarters of its revenue, plans to continue to offer online and retail photo printing as well as desktop printers.

Remaining consumer services will also include retail-based photo kiosks and dry lab systems. Kodak said it has more than 100,000 kiosks and order stations for dry lab systems around the world.

Besides its consumer businesses segment, Kodak has a commercial business that includes enterprise services, graphics, entertainment and commercial films units.

The company promised to honor all related product warranties, and provide technical support and service for its cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames. ( Reuters )

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Ailing Kodak shutters its camera operations

Ailing Kodak shutters its camera operations - Eastman Kodak, whose cheap Brownie camera brought photography to the masses a century ago, said Thursday it would stop producing cameras altogether as its struggles through bankruptcy.

Kodak said it would close down its "capture devices business" -- digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames -- and focus its efforts on photo printing and printers.

But it could license out its brand for other producers of cameras.

"Kodak's strategy has been to improve margins in the capture device business by narrowing our participation in terms of product portfolio, geographies and retail outlets," said Kodak consumer businesses president Pradeep Jotwani.

Undated portrait of George Eastman (1854-1932), inventor of the roll film and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company.

"Today's announcement is the logical extension of that process, given our analysis of the industry trends," he said in a statement.

Kodak, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered a restructuring program last month, dominated the US photography business for decades but failed to keep pace with the boom in digital cameras in the mid-1990s.

Phasing out its cameras will save Kodak more than $100 million in operating costs, it said.

The iconic New York state-based company faces the daunting challenge of adapting to a film-free world in which people increasingly rely on smartphones for snapping pictures.

Kodak shares were trading at less than a dollar a share when the company filed for bankruptcy.

In its heyday, Kodak shares topped $80 in 1996 -- just at the outset of the digital photo revolution that eventually replaced the need for consumers to buy Kodak film, once a virtual monopoly in the US market.

The company had pinned its survival hopes on selling off patents to raise money.

That could bring substantial cash and buy time, though the threat of bankruptcy will make such sales more difficult.

"When one is a desperate seller, the buyers have no interest in rushing because it will be cheaper when Kodak is completely on the floor," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Capital Markets.

Kodak's books have been awash with red ink for years. The last time it reported a net profit was a small gain in 2007.

Its decline was already marked when it was dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 top US companies in 2004.

Founded in 1892 by inventor George Eastman, Kodak developed handheld "Brownie" cameras that were sold at popular prices, and furnished the film that would keep consumers pumping profits into the country for decades.

Three generations of Americans and many in other countries learned to snap photos with Brownies.

And "Kodak Moment," the company's advertising catchphrase for its film, was embedded deep into the vernacular.

The company meanwhile was lauded as one of the country's top technology innovators -- the Apple or Google of its time.

NASA lunar orbiters in the 1960s brought back some of the earliest images of the moon's surface on Kodak film, and the first astronauts to walk on the moon documented their historic expedition with a shoe box-sized Kodak camera.

Kodak also furnished the film for countless Hollywood movies, including 80 Oscar-winning "Best Pictures," according to the firm's website, which said it had won nine Academy Awards of its own for scientific and technical excellence.

Ironically, Kodak pioneered research into digital photography beginning in the mid-1970s.

But it was Asian electronics manufacturers that stole a march in that market in the 1990s as Kodak failed to see the need to break from its old business lines.

"They were the ones who invented the digital camera, but they didn't believe in it," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Capital Markets.

The company said it had sufficient liquidity to continue operating normally and paying employees during the bankruptcy process. Its foreign subsidiaries were not subject to the proceedings, it added.

The company is operating with the aid of a $950 million credit facility from Citigroup, aiming to emerge in a more competitive position during 2013.

But the bankruptcy placed the jobs of Kodak's 19,000 remaining employees in question. ( AFP )

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Kodak wants name off LA home of Oscars broadcast

Kodak wants name off LA home of Oscars broadcast — Eastman Kodak Co. wants to end its contract for naming rights to the glamorous Los Angeles theater that hosts the Academy Awards as it tries to improve its financial position enough to move out of bankruptcy.

The photography pioneer's financial advisers say the benefits of having the company's name on the 3,300-seat Kodak Theatre aren't worth the contract's cost, according to a motion filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week.

Under the contract with CIM Group of Los Angeles, details of which were not disclosed in the court filing, Kodak "pays a significant annual amount for, among other things, the naming rights related to the Kodak Theatre," which opened in 2001.

The theater's website describes a "20-year marketing partnership" that "was one of the most significant non-sports corporate sponsorships in history."

"Kodak is proud of its important role in the entertainment industry, and our long-standing relationship with film makers," said a statement from Rochester-based Kodak, on whose film more than seven decades of the Oscars' "Best Pictures" were printed. "Our motion today reflects our commitment to ensure that we are maximizing value for our entertainment customers, creditors and other stakeholders."

The 132-year-old company filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 19 after years of cost-cutting and turnaround efforts.

The Kodak Theatre, with its five-level lobby, contains a George Eastman Room — named after Kodak's founder — which displays one of the nine Oscar statuettes that Kodak has been awarded through the years for its scientific and technical achievements and contributions to the industry, according to the theater's website.

The theater been owned by real estate investment firm CIM Group since 1994. The firm didn't immediately comment when contacted Thursday by The Associated Press.

Kodak is required under its bankruptcy financing terms to produce a reorganization plan by Feb. 15, 2013. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper in New York has given the company permission to borrow an initial $650 million from Citigroup Inc. He also set a June 30 deadline for Kodak to seek his approval of bidding procedures for the sale of 1,100 patents that analysts estimate could fetch at least $2 billion. ( Associated Press )

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Kodak employee sues company directors over stock

Kodak employee sues company directors over stock - An Eastman Kodak employee filed a civil lawsuit against Kodak's board members and other fiduciaries of the photography companies' retirement plans, saying they breached their duties as the company was spiraling toward bankruptcy.

Mark Gedek, who continues to work at Kodak, said in the lawsuit that he is a participant in the Kodak Employees Savings and Investment Plan as well as the Kodak Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The board members and directors of those plans continued to sell shares to employees and invest in them ahead of the bankruptcy, he said.

"Kodak believes the suit is without merit, and we will vigorously defend against it," Kodak spokesman Christopher Veronda said in an emailed statement.

Kodak filed for bankruptcy in mid-January, saying it would use the bankruptcy court process to try to sell patents and shed other assets to bring costs and revenue in line. Typically in bankruptcy, shareholders' equity is worth nothing.

A Kodak sign for film and cameras is pictured on the now closed Morgan Camera Shop along Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California January 12, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser

Kodak shares, which trade for 34 cents on the pink sheets, were trading at 55 cents on January 18 before the company filed for bankruptcy.

Gedek said in the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, that the directors and officials did not disclose to stock-plan participants complete information about Kodak's dire financial condition and kept its investments in the company's equity when it was no longer prudent.

In the suit, Gedek said the company should have known it was suffering from a dying technology; was unable to bring new, profitable products to the market quickly enough; could not generate enough cash from patent lawsuits and was suffering from a liquidity crisis.

He also claims that those factors caused the stock price to collapse and caused significant losses to the plans and the plans' participants.

Among those named in the lawsuit as defendants are Kodak Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez, members of the company's board of directors, the chairpeople for the savings and investment plan and the plan administrator.

Separately, a group of Kodak debtholders disclosed their stakes in the company in a court filing late on Monday. Among the three biggest investors that make up the group - which had been pushing Kodak for change in the months before the bankruptcy - are the Blackstone Group's GSO Capital Partners, D.E. Shaw and JPMorgan Chase.

The case is Mark Gedek v Antonio Perez et al, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester, No. 12-06051.

The bankruptcy case is in re: Eastman Kodak Co et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-10202. ( Reuters )

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Kodak sues Samsung over image patents in latest lawsuit

Kodak sues Samsung over image patents in latest lawsuit - Eastman Kodak is suing Samsung over claims its patents have been infringed.

The US camera and printer maker said the complaint relates to five of its digital imaging technologies.

It is the latest in a series of patent lawsuits filed by the firm since the start of the year.

Kodak said on Wednesday that it was seeking bankruptcy protection. That followed an announcement in July that it was looking to sell or license about 1,100 digital imaging patents.

The latest alleged infringements include technology to make an electronic camera capable of "automatically transmitting images... to a service provider using a network configuration file," and having a "communications interface for selectively transmitting images over a cellular phone network and a wireless LAN network to a destination".

The ability of Samsung's cameras to upload pictures to remote servers may infringe Kodak's patents

Samsung launched its AllShare Play cloud storage service, which allows its cameras to upload pictures to remote servers after they are taken, earlier in the month.

The South Korean firm could not be reached for comment.

Samsung settled a previous dispute in 2010 after its Blackjack II camera was accused of infringing Kodak patents. It agreed to a cross-licensing deal which involved it paying royalties to its rival. Further financial details were not disclosed.

Kodak has also filed lawsuits against Apple and HTC involving the same five patents.

In addition it is suing Fujifilm over a separate, but overlapping, set of claimed infringements. Kodak alleged that the Japanese company had made use of its technologies including the "quick review of last captured image" and "user selectable image record size".
Lawsuits mount

Kodak's actions add to an upswing in legal activity between the tech firms after December's holidays.

Over the past fortnight:

• The Spanish tablet maker NT-K filed claims against Apple accusing the US firm of "extortion"; this followed NT-K's successful defence of claims that it had infringed an Apple design
• LG and Microsoft agreed a patent licensing deal that allows LG to use technologies involved in Google's Android system that Microsoft claims to own
• Oracle offered to drop patent infringement claims against Google if US courts agreed to speed up its copyright claim against the search firm
• Apple brought two new design lawsuits against Samsung in Germany relating to tablet computers and smartphones
• Microsoft and Motorola Mobility asked the International Trade Commission to review its preliminary ruling that Motorola's Android devices infringed four Microsoft patents

One patent expert linked the lawsuits to economic problems.

"In a time of recession people are looking for more marketshare, and one way of dealing with your competition is to use your patent portfolio to muscle them out of the market," said Vicki Salmon, a member of the UK's Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys who does not represent any of the mentioned companies.

"In times of plenty there is enough to go round and you do not need to be worried so much about who is infringing on your patch."

However another lawyer, who asked not to be named because his firm represents several of the firms involved, disputed this analysis.

He said launching patent and design right litigation was increasingly seen as "business as usual" and was used to secure first mover advantage - a means to delay or prevent rivals bringing competing products to market. ( bbc.co.uk )

READ MORE - Kodak sues Samsung over image patents in latest lawsuit

The camera that can capture 1 trillion frames a second - fast enough for slow-motion video of light particles

The camera that can capture 1 trillion frames a second - fast enough for slow-motion video of light particles - The first stunning images of moving bullets appeared around 50 years ago – now a team of snap happy scientists have trumped that achievement by photographing streaks of light.

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) needed some very specialised equipment to pull off the feat, as light travels around a million times faster than a bullet.

The team used a camera that collected the light beams at a rate of roughly one trillion frames per second - that's fast enough to produce a slow-motion video of a burst of light traveling the length of a one-litre bottle, bouncing off the cap and reflecting back to the bottle’s bottom.

‘We have built a virtual slow motion camera where were can see photons, or light particles, moving through space,’ explained Ramesh Raskar, Associate Professor of the MIT Media Lab.

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Fruitful research: The light is depicted as travelling in waves across the scene

Professor Raskar’s 'camera' was actually a single large lens working alongside an array of 500 sensors.

And instead of a regular flash, the researchers deployed a titanium sapphire laser pulse that lasts less than one trillionth of a second.

Media Lab postdoc Andreas Velten, one of the system’s developers, calls it the 'ultimate' in slow motion: 'There’s nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera,' he says.

A bullet can be captured in one shot, but to record the nippier light particles the laser is pulsed millions of times a second through a system of mirrors.

The mirrors are then gradually titled around so that the camera lens scans the entire ‘scene’.

The results are spectacular photographs that show how light travels in waves across space.

What’s more, Raskar explains that the technology he’s refining with his team could have several practical uses.

He adds: ‘Such a camera may be useful in medical imaging, in industrial or scientific use and in the future even for consumer photography.

‘In medical imaging now we can do ultrasounds with light, because we can see how light scatters volumetrically inside the body. And in industrial imaging one can use the scattered light to analyse defects in materials.’ ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - The camera that can capture 1 trillion frames a second - fast enough for slow-motion video of light particles

Tips to Take Great Adventure Travel Photos in the Winter

Tips to Take Great Adventure Travel Photos in the Winter - Are you back home looking with dismay at winter photos you took of ice climbers, a ski race or snowmobilers during your vacation because the sense of adventure doesn't show in the images? Here are eight tips from Olympus Visionary Jay Kinghorn, a rock climber, runner, and co-author of Perfect Digital Photography and an Adobe Photoshop Certified Expert. Follow these tips for shooting winter photos and next time you'll take great adventure travel photos when it's cold outside.

Ice climber challenging Fang near Vail, Colorado

1. Keep Your Camera Cold

It may be tempting to warm the camera's batteries by putting the entire camera inside your jacket. Don't. The warmth of the jacket combined with the humidity inside will fog your lenses and viewfinder as soon as they are again exposed to the cold. The same holds true for entering a ski lodge, warm tent or toasty car. If you keep your camera cold, the lens will stay fog-free and ready to use.

2. Bring Extra Batteries

Nothing kills your ability to photograph a winter wonderland faster than a dead battery. Cold saps power from batteries much faster than warm weather. To ensure you can shoot uninterrupted, keep a second battery in a jacket pocket, close to your body. As the battery in your camera begins to wane, swap the cold battery with the warm one from your jacket. As the cold battery re-warms next to your body, the power will return allowing you to continue shooting.

3. Know Your Camera

Quick quiz. Without looking at your camera. What are the steps you need to take to change your camera's ISO sensitivity? Spend extra time becoming familiar with all the controls on your camera at home, where it's nice and warm, before venturing out into the cold. In extreme situations, when you're using heavy gloves, it can be difficult to adjust your camera's settings. Knowing where all your camera's controls are located helps you work quickly should you need to take off your gloves to make an adjustment.

4. Photographing in Bad Weather

Photographing in inclement weather, or just as the weather changes adds ambiance, texture and intrigue to your photos. Often, photographing on the cusp of a storm, either just as it approaches, or as the storm is breaking yields interesting light perfect for dramatic photos.

5. Be Careful Where You Step

As you consider your composition, be aware of your footprints. You don't want to trammel your pristine photo of a snow bank with a pair of boot prints. As you approach a landscape you find interesting, walk in a wide circle around the photo until you find the best angle, best light and ultimate composition. You may also wish to shoot a wide shot first then get increasingly closer to your subject as you'll have undisturbed snow for each photo.

6. Boost ISO When Shooting Action

In the winter, the sun is lower in the sky and clouds often obscure direct sunlight. These factors limit the intensity of the light reaching your photo subjects. To stop action with winter sports, you'll need to boost your ISO or use "fast" lenses with a maximum aperture of 2.8 or wider. My favorite lens for shooting in lower light is the Olympus 35-100mm f2 lens. For partly cloudy days, you can use ISO 200 for good results, for high overcast boost your ISO to 400 and when your photographing in the midst of the winter storm you'll often need to boost your ISO to 800-1600.

7. Avoid the Sky

On high overcast days the sky is much brighter than the surrounding landscape. Even though your eye can see detail in the clouds, the camera will not be able to expose correctly for the foreground and the sky. Instead of interesting clouds, your sky will be a bright gray distracting attention from the foreground. Be careful to eliminate the sky from your compositions by selecting a high vantage or focusing on the details in the landscape. Save your expansive landscape compositions for another day with blue sky. Ideally when the storm breaks and clouds linger in the blue sky.

8. Invest in Good Gloves and Warm Boots

At the risk of stating the obvious, it's cold in the winter. If your fingers and toes are numb, teeth chattering and lips blue, you aren't going to be able to concentrate on taking pictures. Invest in good gloves and boots. Your extremities are the most susceptible to frostbite in cold conditions. You want boots that fit well so your foot doesn't move around excessively and cause blisters. You also need to avoid boots that are too tight as they prevent your body heat from circulating around your feet, keeping them warm. I like to bring at least three pairs of gloves whenever I venture out into the wilds. I usually have a thin pair for dexterity, a second for moderate warmth and a third pair of heavy-duty insulation for when it's really cold. Keep the thin pair in a jacket pocket so they're always pre-warmed when you need them. ( about.com )

READ MORE - Tips to Take Great Adventure Travel Photos in the Winter

Can Kodak Rescue Itself via A Patent Bonanza?

Can Kodak Rescue Itself via A Patent Bonanza? - Picture this: Kodak — the company that invented the first digital camera in 1975, and developed the photo technology inside most cellphones and digital devices — is in the midst of the worst crisis in its 131-year history.

Now, caught between ruin and revival, Eastman Kodak Co. is reaching ever more deeply into its intellectual treasure chest, betting that a big cash infusion from the sale of 1100 digital-imaging inventions will see it through a transition that has raised the specter of bankruptcy.

Kodak popularised photography over a century ago. It marketed the world's first flexible roll film in 1888 and transformed picture-taking into a mass commodity with the $US1 Brownie camera in 1900.

But for too long the world's biggest film manufacturer stayed firmly focused on its 20th-century cash cow, and failed to capitalize quickly on its new-wave know-how in digital photography.

As a result, Kodak has been playing catch-up. Pummeled by Wall Street over its dwindling cash reserves — and its stumbling attempts to reinvent itself as a profitable player in digital imaging and printing — Kodak has been hawking the digital patents since July. Many financial analysts foresee the portfolio fetching $US2 billion to $US3 billion.

Kodak will sell 1100 of their digital-imaging inventions

But others think Kodak can haul in far more than that — and carry it off within a few months. That's because patents have become highly valuable to digital device makers who want to protect themselves from intellectual property lawsuits.

In July, an alliance made up of Apple and Microsoft purchased a raft of patents from Nortel Networks for $US4.5 billion. A month later, Google bought Motorola Mobility for $US12.5 billion, in part, to gain hold of the company's 17,000 patents.

"The size of the (Kodak) deal could blow your socks off," predicts Los Angeles money manager Ken Luskin, whose Intrinsic Value Asset Management owns 3.8 million Kodak shares.

"It's pocket change for Google and Apple to go pay $US3-or-$US4-or-$US5 billion for these patents," concurs Christopher Marlett, chief executive of MDB Capital, an investment bank based in Santa Monica, Calif., that specialises in intellectual property.

"There is an all-out nuclear war right now for global dominance in smartphones, tablets and mobile devices, and Kodak has one of the largest cache of weapons sitting there." Marlett says he owns Kodak stock, but wouldn't disclose how much.

Even a hefty return, skeptics counter, won't solve Kodak's struggle to close out a nearly decade-long transformation and return to profitability in 2012 after running up losses in six of the last seven years.

"All the extra cash does is give you a lifeline for a short period. And then, poof, you're back in the same position without the assets to sell," says analyst Shannon Cross of Cross Research in Livingston, NJ "If you're burning cash and not finding a way to generate recurring earnings, it doesn't matter."

Kodak's grim financial picture should become clearer when it reports third-quarter results on Thursday.

Agitated investors will likely focus on the company's latest borrowing activities and cash woes — it had $US957 million in cash in June, down from $US1.6 billion in January. They will also want to know what kind of progress Kodak made in the July-September period in building up a high-margin ink business to replace shriveling film sales.

Kodak has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into new lines of inkjet printers that are finally on the verge of turning a profit. Home photo printers, high-speed commercial inkjet presses, workflow software and packaging are viewed as the company's new core. Kodak projects that sales from those four businesses will double to nearly $US2 billion in revenue in 2013, accounting for 25 per cent of all sales.

In the meantime, Kodak needs to tap other sources of revenue before those areas have time to pay off — and mining its inventions has become indispensable.

Kodak's chief executive, Antonio Perez, has signed confidentiality agreements with potential buyers but hasn't given a time frame for a deal. The patents for capturing, storing, organising, editing and sharing digital images do not apply to the four core businesses, Kodak spokesman Gerard Meuchner says.

"One thing I would stress is: It is our intention to retain a license to any of the intellectual property we sell," Meuchner says. "It's like you sell the property but still get to live in the house."

A sale represents a sharp tactical shift. Kodak picked up just $US27 million in patent-licensing fees in the first half of 2011 after amassing nearly $US2 billion in the previous three years.

In the heated environment for patents, "it makes more sense for us to sell the portfolio than it does to license it company by company, which takes lots of time and expense and can involve litigation," Meuchner says.

Michael Fitzgerald, chief executive of Next Techs Technologies, a patent buying-and-selling intermediary in Houston, says that while the portfolio is valuable, "I just don't view it necessarily as a `strategic' acquisition that multiple players will fall all over themselves on."

Investor fears sent Kodak stock tumbling to an all-time closing low of 78 cents a share on September 30 after it hired Jones Day, a major restructuring law firm, as an adviser. Kodak insisted it had no intention of filing for bankruptcy protection.

Kodak is also involved in a royalty dispute with iPhone behemoth Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. The case centres on a 2001 patent now on the auction block — a method that enables a camera to preview low-resolution versions of a moving image while recording still images at higher resolutions.

The 21-month-old battle before the US International Trade Commission, a trade-dispute arbiter in Washington, DC, was due to be revisited on Monday, but was recently shelved until December 30.

Chief Executive Antonio Perez thinks a favourable ruling could enable Kodak to draw up to $US1 billion in fees from its deep-pocketed rivals. In 2009, the commission ruled that South Korean mobile phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics infringed the same patent, resulting in $US964 million in payouts. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Can Kodak Rescue Itself via A Patent Bonanza?

Ten Tips For Buying a Camera Tripod

Ten Tips For Buying a Camera Tripod - One of the most important investments you can make when buying accessories for a camera is a sturdy tripod.

Here are the top ten things you’ll want to know before investing in one:

Cost

Everyone wants to get the best deal they can but, a cheap tripod will not enhance your photography. The little $10.00 aluminum ones are good for nothing, unless you plan on taking all your photos while it’s set up on your coffee table.

For a point and shoot camera, you may get by spending under $50.00. If you have a DSLR, plan on spending at least $100.00. There’s always the option of buying a used tripod to save costs as long as you know what to look for.


Folded Height

For travel, you need to know how small you can fold your tripod. Will it fit in a suitcase, backpack or a carrying case that you can wear comfortably on your shoulder?

Make sure it’s not too large that you can’t carry it on a plane.


Weight

See how much it weighs; you’ll more than likely be carrying it a lot in your travels. The best tripods are wooden but they are extremely heavy. Aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber have made modern tripods much lighter. Just make sure whichever you buy, it is sturdy.


Maximum Height

This is as important as minimum height. With your camera mounted on it, make sure you can elevate the tripod to eye level. If not, you’ll be doing a lot of bending over.


Maximum Weight

This is the maximum weight the tripod was designed to support. If you have 10 lbs of camera and lenses to mount on a tripod designed for a maximum weight of 8 lbs, it will bend or break. At a minimum, it will be moving while you’re trying to shoot.


Quick Release

This is a feature that allows you to keep part of the hardware screwed to the bottom of the camera and easily press a lever to install or remove it from the tripod.

It’s a good idea to buy extra quick release shoes to mount on all your cameras, if you have more than one.


Ball Head

Some tripods come with this feature built-in, with others you have to invest in buying them separately. The ball head allows you to “pan” the camera (follow a moving subject) smoothly without creating more noise in your photos from camera shake.


Center Post

This is the pole that can be raised or lowered on the tripod. It should be reversible so you can get lower to the ground for flower and macro shots.

When it’s upright, look for a hole or hardware to attach weight to at the base of the center pole. Sometimes, when it’s windy, even the weight of a camera bag will help steady a tripod from swaying in the breeze.


Footing

Look at the tripod’s feet to see how much room you need to set it up and check for rubber boots to prevent scratching floors or sliding on smooth surfaces.

Some tripods have retractable metal spikes for steadying the camera when you’re on ice, soil or uneven terrain.


Position Locking

See how the leg sections and center pole are locked into position. There are knobs to turn, hand cranks or clamps you squeeze to raise or lower your tripod and secure it in position.

Make sure you check them all out and find which style works best for you and your camera. ( matadoru.com )

READ MORE - Ten Tips For Buying a Camera Tripod