Samsung Introduces the Galaxy K zoom, a New Camera Specialized-Smartphone

April 29, 2014

The Galaxy K zoom incorporates industry-leading camera features with the Samsung Galaxy mobile experience

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Camera

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Camera

SINGAPORE – April 29, 2014 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, today announced the new camera specialized smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy K zoom. The Galaxy K zoom is a new smartphone that blends advanced digital camera technology with Samsung’s industry-leading Galaxy experience. It features effortless capturing ability, real optics, and a premium design, offering users the mobile solutions they need with the ability to create professional-quality visual content in a fun, easy–to-use device.

“With the introduction of the Galaxy K zoom, Samsung continues to demonstrate our commitment to creating products that meet the diverse demands of our consumers,” said Sun Hong Lim, Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “The new Galaxy K zoom empowers users to effortlessly capture and share their most important everyday moments in stunning clarity, with the convenience and connectedness of a Galaxy smartphone, for a unique, all-in-one mobile experience.”

As a camera-specialized smartphone, the Galaxy K zoom offers an advanced technical camera system designed to offer the control and functionality of a professional camera, ensuring that the important moments are never missed and always captured with complete clarity. The Galaxy K zoom is equipped with new retracting lens technology that provides 10x optical zoom in a remarkably slim and chic body. Other notable features include the 20.7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor for ultra-clear, ultra-detailed images. It excels in low light conditions, and provides Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) to reduce blur caused by movement. These specifications ensure the device delivers pictures and video (Full HD) that are crisp and sharp, even when zoomed and in low light. In addition, the device’s Xenon Flash provides a brighter light than LEDs to improve the quality of the image with natural brilliance.

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Camera

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Camera

The new device also integrates the most advanced camera usability features and functions, including AF/AE Separation(Auto Focus/ Auto Exposure Separation) for the precise balance of light and clarity, next-generation Pro Suggest mode which offers 5 optimized filter settings, Selfie Alarm that allows users to take timed selfies with ease, and object tracing for a clear, focused shot of a moving subject. Each feature comes with a simple User Interface, allowing users to easily capture photos and videos with groundbreaking quality, in any situation.

The compact and highly portable Galaxy K zoom features an ergonomic grip and sleek, stylish lines that feel soft and comfortable in the hand. Additionally, the Galaxy K zoom offers all the features that consumers want in a flagship Galaxy smartphone, such as Ultra Power Saving Mode for minimizing the battery consumption, S Health Lite for personalized fitness and lifestyle coaching, and a Studio app to allow users to easily edit their pictures and videos.

Samsung Galaxy K zoom Product Specifications

Network

LTE

Cat4, HSPA+ 42Mbps
LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600
HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100
EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900

3G

5-band HSPA+ 42Mbps
HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100
EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900

Display

4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED Display (1280×720)

AP

Hexa core: 1.3GHz Quad-Core + 1.7GHz Dual-Core Processor

OS

Android 4.4 (Kitkat)

Camera

Main(Rear): 20.7 Mega pixel 1/2.3 BSI CMOS Sensor, 10x Optical Zoom, OIS,
24-240mm, F3.1-6.3
AF Assist LED
Sub(Front): 2.0 Mega pixel

ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Continuous Shot: 3fps MAX with AF
Format: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WBMP, BMP, AGIF
Xenon Flash,
SMART Mode, Expert Mode(P/M), My Mode

Video

Recording   Playback: Full HD (1920×1080 /60p)
Codec : H.263, H.264(AVC), MPEG4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, MP43, WMV7, WMV8, VP8
Format: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

Audio

Codec : MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC +/eAAC+, WMA, OGG (Vorbis), FLAC
Format : MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA

Value-Added Features

SMART Mode(28): Auto, Pro Suggest, Program, Beauty face, Shot   more, Panorama, Virtual tour, Rich tone, Night, Continuous shot, Selfie alarm, Manual, Kids shot, Landscape, Dawn, Snow, Macro, Food, Party/Indoor, Action freeze, Waterfall, Animated photo, Sound   shot, Surround shot, Silhouette, Sunset, Fireworks, Light race

AF/AE Separation, Object tracking, Studio, Smile/ Blink detection

Ultra Power Saving Mode

Kids mode

S Health Lite

Google Mobile Services

Chrome, Drive, Photos, Gmail, Google, Google+, Google Settings, Hangouts, Maps, Play Books, Play Games, Play Newsstand, Play Movie&TV, Play Music, Play Store, Voice Search, YouTube

Connectivity

Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz, HT40,
Bluetooth®: 4.0 BLE
USB: USB 2.0
NFC
A-GPS + GLONASS

Sensor

Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor

Memory

RAM: 2GB
Internal Memory: 8GB
microSD slot: micro SDSC (up to 2GB guaranteed), micro SDHC (up to 32GB guaranteed), micro SDXC (up to 64GB guaranteed)

*User memory space may be less than the total memory space due to system files. User memory may differ by region, carrier, and supporting language, and may change after software upgrade.

Dimension

137.5X70.8X16.6(20.2)mm, 200g

Battery

2,430mAh

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 286,000 people across 80 countries with annual sales of US$216.7 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

Why Buy a Digital Camera When You Can Rent?

By: Lauren Goode. April 21, 2014 (http://recode.net)

It’s a well-reported trend: The digital camera market is getting hit hard by smartphones.

And yet, after looking at another set of dim, noisy smartphone photos from a wedding reception last weekend, I can’t help but think there are still situations in which a digital camera — or at the least, a more powerful sensor — is a good thing.

It’s those scenarios that Lumoid wants to capitalize on. Lumoid is a new camera-rental company that’s targeting wedding-goers, new parents, vacationers and photo hobbyists. Its prices range from $5 to $25 per day per item, except for accessories, which are listed for purchase.

Full article at the source>

The New Lytro Illum Camera (Trailer)

 

http://youtu.be/P5q8XdhBAZg

By: lytro

Originally Uploaded on Apr 21, 2014

With LYTRO ILLUM, experience breakthrough photography with the first high-end camera that lets you capture and harness the power of light field, allowing you to create living pictures. Explore focus, perspective, and depth of field in a single picture. Lytro software lets you transform those pictures into cinematic animations that can be experienced on desktop and mobile devices and turned into 3D at the touch of a button.

 

New Google Camera App available for Android Kitcat 4.4+

Google has just released the new standalone Google Camera App for Android 4.4+ (Kitcat) devices (Nexus 7, 10 Tablets and Nexus 5 Phone)

From their description:
Google Camera snaps quick and easy photos and videos, and has creative picture modes like Photo Sphere, Lens Blur and Panorama.Features
• Photo Spheres for immersive 360º views
• Lens Blur mode for SLR-like photos with shallow depth of field
• Panorama mode with high resolution
• 100% viewfinder for getting the maximum resolution from the sensor (no dropped pixels)
• Updated UI that gets out of your way and is centered on an extra large capture button
• Works on phones and tablets running Android 4.4+ KitKat. If you have any of the compatible devices it is well worth checking out.

Here’s a link to a post by: Carlos Hernández at the Google research blog, explaining the lens blur feature. Really cool stuff. Check it out!.

Renowned photographer Royce Bair to host nightscape star shooting seminar

03-29-2014 (http://www.suindependent.com/)

Photographers with DSLR cameras can become proficient in shooting the night sky more easily and quickly than they might think.

Because of the recent advanced technology of our digital cameras, professional photographers or enthusiastic amateurs can now capture the Milky Way and the constellations, which are usually barely visible to the naked eye. Making the image even more interesting is the addition of foreground features to place the sky in context, and photographers can learn to do this with light painting. All this is available through the DSLR’s low-light sensitivity. Photographers just need to become familiar with using and adjusting the camera’s manual features such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance, and have the correct wide angle lens.

Click Photography Club of St. George will host a technical seminar on the art of star shooting, which will be presented by Royce Bair of Nightscape Meetup. The seminar will take place on Thursday, April 10 from 8-10:30 p.m. and is open to both Click members and nonmembers. Pre-event discounts are offered at http://BIT.LY/PTX4V7.

Full article at the source>

Buying a camera: everything you need to know

By: By David Pierce and Vlad Savov (www.theverge.com)

Cameras are everywhere. There’s one in your laptop, two in your phone, and probably a pair in your tablet that you’ve never used. There’s maybe one in your doorbell, even, or strapped to your head while you bomb the slopes. We’re taking more pictures in more ways and sharing them in more places than ever. Yet most of us use our cameras with the bare minimum of knowledge, just pointing and shooting and hoping for an Instagrammable moment. And even if you’re buying a camera because you’re ready to move beyond your iPhone and take pictures you’ll want to save forever, it’s hard to know what to do.

Camera companies don’t exactly make life easy, either. Spec sheets are laden with alien terms like ISO and f-numbers, and once you manage to get a grasp on what they mean, you’re still confronted with a spectacular variety of options. So we’ve put together this guide to help you navigate the quagmire of excess information, acronyms, and jargon. It’ll enlighten you about which specs are important when, and what cameras are suitable for whom. Sound good? Then read on!

Full article at the source>