Latest news with #computationalphotography
The Verge
2 days ago
- The Verge
Adobe launches a new ‘computational photography' camera app for iPhones
Adobe has a new computational photography camera app for iPhones – and one of its creators, Marc Levoy, helped make the impressive computational photography features that made some of Google's earlier Pixel cameras shine. The new app, called Project Indigo, was released last week by Adobe Labs. It's free and available for the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and all iPhone 14 models and above. (Though Adobe recommends using an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.) It also doesn't require logging into an Adobe account to use. 'Instead of capturing a single photo, Indigo captures a burst of photos and combines them together to produce a high-quality photo with lower noise and higher dynamic range,' according to the app's description. Indigo tries to produce a natural, 'SLR-like' look for photos, and it also offers a bunch of manual controls like focus, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. To really understand what's going on under the hood of Project Indigo, though, I highly recommend reading a detailed blog post from Levoy, now an Adobe Fellow who joined the company in 2020 to build a 'universal camera app,' and Florian Kainz, a senior scientist. The post covers things like why smartphone cameras are good, how its computational photography works, how it creates the natural look for its photos, and some details about its image processing pipeline. It is here I must confess that I am not a camera expert by any means. But even I found the post pretty interesting and informative. The photos in the post do look great, and Adobe has an album of photos you can browse, too. In the post, Levoy and Kainz say that Project Indigo will also be a testbed for technologies that might get added to other flagship products, like a button to remove reflections. And down the line, the team plans to build things like an Android version, a portrait mode, and even video recording. 'This is the beginning of a journey for Adobe – towards an integrated mobile camera and editing experience that takes advantage of the latest advances in computational photography and AI,' according to Levoy and Kainz. 'Our hope is that Indigo will appeal to casual mobile photographers who want a natural SLR-like look for their photos, including when viewed on large screens; to advanced photographers who want manual control and the highest possible image quality; and to anyone – casual or serious – who enjoys playing with new photographic experiences.'
Phone Arena
18-05-2025
- Phone Arena
Pixel 6a explodes and catches on fire. The one clue to look for that can give you an early warning
Many users just love the mid-range Pixel "a-series" which started with 2019's Pixel 3a. The big attraction for buyers was the ability of Pixel's cheaper "a-series" phones to take great pictures rivaling those snapped with a flagship Pixel model. Google was able to achieve this using its outstanding computational photography system. Google has refined its mid-range Pixels allowing them to be more than just a lower-priced camera. If you do own a Pixel a handset, beware. Lately, there have been some battery issues involving the Pixel 6a, and the Pixel 7a. Back in February, we told you about a swollen battery that pushed out the body of a Pixel 6a, turning the phone into a ticking time bomb. Some Pixel 7a models have also been damaged by swollen batteries. and Google said that some device owners "may be eligible for a battery replacement repair at no charge or another form of appeasement option from Google." Swollen batteries on the Pixel 6a and Pixel 7a are one thing, but now there is a report that a Pixel 6a model exploded and caught on fire. A swollen battery that is not replaced can cause a phone to explode and catch on fire. This Pixel 6a had a swollen battery and exploded in the middle of the night. | Image credit-Zach Raulston -zaliver, Pixel 6a owner The Pixel 6a owner had a case on the phone while it was charging, but more importantly, he was using a third-party charger. Even though that can be risky, zaliver said that he had been using the same charger for as long as two years. He says that the fire started in the phone as he tried to shift the blame from using what he called "not a 'Pixel brand' charger." For their own safety, Pixel owners should try to stick with an official Pixel charger or use one that belongs to the Made for Google program and has been tested by the company. Note how the sides were separated on this Pixel 6a by a swollen battery. | Image credit-Zach Raulston There were some interesting responses to the post. The most important replies came from a few Redditors who pointed out that the battery was probably swelling well before it exploded. The point is that if you start to see something that doesn't look right about your Pixel, such as the casing expanding, or the body of the phone feeling swollen, you need to turn off the phone and bring it in for repairs ASAP. Make sure to contact Google; depending on the situation, you might be entitled to a free battery replacement.
