iPhone 16 and 16 Pro Q&A

This week, Apple announced its new lineup of iPhones with the 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. The phones feature a smattering of new camera tech, along with a new button to control it all.

When we asked on Instagram if people had any questions about the new phones, there was a flood of responses. Thankfully, Gear Patrol‘s Tucker Bowe was on the scene in Cupertino, and has been able to gather some hands-on impressions, which should help us provide some answers.

Does the camera button actually improve the photo taking experience?

With the new iPhones, Apple introduced its ‘Camera Control’ button, which you can press to launch the camera. Once in the camera app, you can press the button to change a picture, and swipe across it to adjust parameters like zoom, which lens you’re using, photographic style, and more. The button also features haptic feedback, and Apple says Pro phone users will be able to half press it to lock exposure and focus in the future, similar to how the shutter button on most dedicated cameras work.

With that said, we’ll have to do further testing further to determine whether it actually makes much of a difference it’ll make in the real world. In theory it should, but we’ll see.

Aside from battery is there any difference between the 16 Pro and the 16 Pro Max?

Last year, the 5x pentaprism lens was exclusive to the larger of the pro phones. This year, however, Apple has brought it down to the regular Pro as well, which means the cameras on them appear to be identical.

Obviously, the Pro Max has a larger body and screen, but from a photography perspective there’s no pressing reason to go with the Max if you prefer a smaller phone.

Do the new iPhones feel a lot bigger in the hands? Can you feel the difference from the 15 Pro Max?

The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max feature larger screens than their predecessors, which comes with larger and heavier bodies.

Tucker, who has handled the phones, said: To be honest, all iPhones are pretty big these days. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are basically the exact same size as their iPhone 15 counterparts. But both Pros do slightly bigger screens than last year’s models. It’s not a night-and-day difference, but when you hold an iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro (or 15 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max) side by side, you can definitely see the difference.

Does it have manual camera controls?

In short, no, not really. You can manually control “depth” (i.e., F-stop) using the Camera Control button, but if you want to adjust shutter speed and ISO you’ll need to download a third-party app. The camera app does include a few new tricks, though, such as the ability to adjust the playback speed of slow-motion footage.

Has the macro lens’ focusing improved?

Apple has upgraded the sensor for the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultrawide camera, which is the one used for macro. However, the company didn’t mention any improved autofocus performance with the resolution.

The focusing should be much improved on the regular iPhone 16 versus the 15, as the ultrawide camera now supports autofocus, in addition to having a faster aperture. The camera also appears to have a larger sensor, though we’ll likely need to get a bit more information before we can confirm its actual size.

Finally…

iPhone 16 Pro versus Pixel 9 Pro?

Stay tuned…

Source link

MiNT Camera, a company specializing in instant cameras and accessories, has announced that it is accepting pre-orders for its new film camera, the Rollei 35AF. The company announced its plans to develop a film camera two years ago, with regular progress updates on its blog. It recently announced that it would begin accepting pre-orders on September 10.

Update: The company has announced that pre-orders will close on September 12, 2024, at 3:00 am GMT.

The Rollei 35AF is based on the classic Rollei 35 series of compact film cameras, first introduced at Photokina in 1966. At its introduction, it was the smallest 35mm film camera available, and over two million were made.

The Rollei 35AF is built around a fixed 35mm F2.8 lens with a 5-element design, an aperture range of F2.8-16, and a close focusing distance of 70cm (28″). Original Rollei 35 models typically had 40mm F2.8 or F3.5 Zeiss lenses. As its name implies, the Rollei 35AF also includes autofocus (using LiDAR), as opposed to manual (zone) focus on the originals.

Writing about the lens in a blog post, MiNT Camera described the philosophy behind the design, saying, “What we tried to achieve with this lens is to recreate a slightly nostalgic 1980-90s feel. It’s a combination of balancing the contrast, sharpness, and color rendition to evoke that classic aesthetic, while still delivering modern performance.”

It also addressed its reasons for not using the original Rollei 35 lens design, stating, “The back focus is too long, it wasn’t designed for autofocus, and the closest focusing distance is too long.”

The camera includes an optical viewfinder with 0.5x magnification and 90% coverage, an OLED display for the film counter, film speed selection and a battery indicator. It has both manual and auto-exposure modes, with auto modes supporting ±2 stops of exposure compensation. Shutter speed ranges from 1/500 sec to 60 sec, and the camera has a 10-second timer.

Other features include a film speed selector, which the company says doubles as a control for exposure compensation, a DX code reader with an ISO range of 25-3200, manual film advance and rewind, and a flash rated for a range of 3.5m (11.5ft.) at F2.8. It includes a tripod mount. The camera uses a CR2 lithium battery.

Price and availability

The Rollei 35AF is available in either chrome or black and includes a two-year warranty. The chrome model costs $799, and the black model costs $828. According to the company, deliveries are expected to start later this year, and orders will be fulfilled chronologically according to the waitlist.

If the experience of owning and shooting a Rollei 35 is high on your list, you might also consider buying an original on the used market, though depending on what model you’re looking at and the condition, it might cost as much (or more) than the modern version.

Pre-order now:

Source link

Hasselblad has announced the XCD 20-35mm F3.2-4.5 E, equivalent to 16-27mm in full-frame terms. It’s the company’s first ultra-wide zoom lens, and Hasselblad says it should deliver the same level of image quality as its XCD prime lenses.

Formally branded the XCD 3,2-4,5/20-35E, it’s also the first lens in the company’s new XCD E series. According to Hasselblad, ‘E’ stands for Excellence and represents the top level of optical performance in the XCD series.

The new lens has the widest field of view and the largest aperture in Hasselblad’s medium format system. Optically, the internally focusing lens is comprised of 16 elements in 12 groups, and includes three aspherical elements. It has a minimum focus distance of 0.32m (13″) and maintains its widest f3.2 aperture all the way to 24mm.

The lens is housed in an all-metal ring with a matching metal lens hood and features a focus and control (aperture) ring. Its leaf shutter supports flash sync speeds of up to 1/2000 sec., and autofocus is driven by a stepper motor for quiet movement. Physically, the lens is 117mm (4.6″) long with a diameter of 81mm (3.2″) and weighs 805g (1.8lbs). It has a 77m filter thread.

The XCD 3,2-4,5/20-35E has a suggested retail price of $5,929 in the US and €6,729 in Europe.

Hasselblad XCD 20-35mm F3.2-4.5 E specifications

Source link