camera

Best photo apps for iPhone

Camera+ (99 cents) Camera+ is a solid image-editing tool that makes creating cool-looking shots easy, and all the upgrades since its release mean it has tons of useful tweaks. You can use digital-camera-like scenes to apply common camera effects in specific situations like simulated flash, sunset, backlit images, and portraits. You also can crop your images to your specs or select from several standard sizes.

When you want to add filters and effects, Camera+ makes it easy with a gridlike layout you can touch to see nuanced or drastic changes to your original image. The filters are organized by category … Read more

Take cartoon-style pictures with Cartoon Camera

Some of the most trending photo effects are cartoon-style effects. Cartoon Camera applies a cartoon effect to pictures taken through the application's user interface. This app is very limited, however, and might not appeal to many users.

Cartoon Camera offers an easy setup and is easy to use. The application is quite limited, though. Once it is opened, the screen instantly turns into a viewfinder. The image shown is through a cartoon-like filter. The resolution is turned down and the edges of objects are outlined in dark black as though they were drawn into the scene. The only options … Read more

LG's flagship LED TV with onboard camera

LG announced a pair of five-figure TVs already, one OLED and another 4K, but among models mortals can afford, its flagship 2013 series of LED-based LCD TVs is the LA8600.

Unlike last year's LM9600 flagship, the LA8600 will forgo a full-array local dimming backlight in favor of an edge-lit variety. While that seems disappointing from a videophile perspective, it's worth noting that the LM9600 was among the worst-performing full-array LED TVs we'd ever tested.

Available in a 60- and 55-inch size, it will feature all of the latest tricks including an onboard, retractable camera. LG initially told … Read more

Add an old-school camera viewfinder to your iPhone

The good: Your iPhone has a pretty decent camera. Better than decent, in fact, if it's an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5.

The bad: Not everybody likes using the iPhone's screen to frame their shots, especially outdoors, where the ambient light can wash out the display. What's more, anyone accustomed to old-school, SLR-style photography no doubt misses their old-school, SLR-style viewfinder.

To the rescue comes the Photojojo iPhone Viewfinder, which combines hardware and software to give you a more traditional camera experience.

The kit consists of a round, black eyepiece that uses a suction cup to affix … Read more

This iPhone app will make your kid smile before every picture

It's always a bit frustrating when you're trying to get your child to pose for a photo and they won't even look at your iPhone, let alone smile for it. In the past I covered GroupShot, an iOS app that combines multiple photos to ensure everyone is looking at the camera in the final shot. A great app, but it doesn't solve the problem of actually getting your child to smile.

Instead of jumping around, making noises and embarrassing yourself, let the iPhone app Picasound make animal sounds for you.

Using the app is very easy:… Read more

Create, share photo albums using Dropbox for Android

Last week Dropbox released an update to its Android app. The update brought with it the ability for users to create and share photo albums from directly within the app. You'll need to have the Camera Upload feature enabled if you want to take advantage of the new albums.

To begin, make sure you have the latest version of the Dropbox Android app installed on your device. Once you have the app updated, make sure you have the photo tab selected along the top. Then tap on the box with a check mark in it to begin selecting photos. … Read more

Cameras not entirely out of the picture at CES 2013

LAS VEGAS--It's been an exceptionally busy and newsworthy past 12 months for cameras -- budget full-frame models, 4K action cameras and cinema cameras, full-frame compacts. Unfortunately for CES 2013, most of that happened at Photokina this past fall. So while this show brought a few nice, potentially ownworthy updates to existing product lines, none of it really stands out as particularly whizzy.

In advanced cameras, the most common update has been to autofocus systems, with combo phase-detection/contrast AF starting to take over in camera lines that have traditionally had rather slow performance -- new models like the Fujifilm X100S … Read more

Turn your phone into a picture-taking beast

The vanilla camera app on the iPhone and iPad does a decent job at capturing those special moments but sometime the occasion may calls for more. With Camera+ you can turn that little camera into something that will give most dedicated point-and-shoot a run for their money.

Packed with a ton of features, Camera+ will bring that dinky phone/tablet camera to the next level. With burst mode those fast-paced sports shots are now within your reach. Timer function will set free you from another self-portrait with the lower quality front-facing cam. Finally, the featured Stabilizer mode is available for … Read more

Xbox IllumiRoom concept goes beyond the screen

Microsoft has offered a glimpse into what the future of gaming may look like. The company's Research team has detailed on its Web site a visual IllumiRoom system that combines the virtual and physical worlds using a Kinect camera.

The system can alter the appearance of a room, trigger apparent motion, and extend a field of view, all in the name of enabling new gameplay experiences. … Read more