Imagine a still camera that can shoot 16.5 stops dynamic range at 19 megapixels. It's also modular, which means it's infinitely customizable via proprietary and third party accessories. It can also use lenses by Canon, Nikon, and an huge library of PL mount cinema lenses. In addition, it can also shoot up to 6K RAW video files at the frame rates of 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 47.96, 48, 50, and 59.94. It would also have a similar form factor and size to popular digital medium format still camera systems. Sounds amazing right? When does it come out you say? It's out NOW.

http://fstoppers.com/editorial/exclusive-red-has-big-plans-be-your-still-camera-maker-34469

Panasonic revived technics brand starting making top end amplifiers.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/technics-coming-back/?ncid=rss_truncated

Olympus Imaging Corporation has been providing Worldwide warranty for digital cameras and accessories since April 1, 2004, except for some countries and regions.

However, the time has come to stop providing Worldwide warranty because of regulation by laws and differences in the infrastructure of the repair facilities in individual countries.

Please kindly be informed that Worldwide warranty will not be provided with most of our Micro Four Thirds System and compact digital camera products shipped after September of 2014.

The Worldwide warranty card you have, is currently still valid as long as it meets the conditions required for warranty repair. Also, the Worldwide warranty card enclosed with the new products which you purchase from now, is also valid. Local warranty card is valid only in the country where you purchase the product and all repairs undertaken in other countries will be a chargeable service.

http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/info/info20140828.cfm

Yoshiaki Sugiyama has worked on the design of Canon SLR systems since 1978, including the T90 (1986), the EOS 650/620 (1987) and the EOS-1 (1989) cameras. CPN spoke to him about the history and development of EOS-1 series SLR designs.

CPN: When you design a camera, what user criteria do you take into account?

YS: “The base user for each category differs. The standard for the EOS-1 [series] is the professional photographer. These are people who have mastered functions and can intuitively handle the camera. In line with this, the weight balance is also thoroughly considered, taking into account telephoto lenses. Additionally, because the market in recent years also includes more women and beginners, designers are at the core of development, and we use user needs surveys to collect information that can be used in product development.”

CPN: How have materials – for example, plastic, magnesium alloy and rubber – and their use influenced the way you design a DSLR?

YS: “As designers, we focus more on functions that will satisfy users rather than materials. The EOS-1 category is heavily focused on functionality. We almost never choose components simply for cosmetic purposes. With regards to plastic and magnesium alloy, which make up the main construction of the camera exterior, recent advances in production methods allow for a virtually difference-free form for both. However, there are vastly more choices for exterior processing when plastic materials are involved.”

Read rest at http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/developing_the_eos_1_series_design.do

• 3.1μm pixels
• 4K output at 60fps

http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/140820-a.html

PV is looking for organizers (including people who already organized PV meetings, of course) in LA, New York, London, Paris, Barcelona etc

Fujitsu has decided to withdraw from semiconductor manufacturing and will sell two facilities over the next several years, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. The company plans to sell its Mie plant that handles operations such as system chips for image processing to United Microelectronics (UMC) and Fujitsu has entered the final stages of talks to sell its facility that makes microcomputers for automobiles and other devices to ON Semiconductor.

Fujitsu Ltd plans to transfer its main Mie semiconductor plant in central Japan to a joint venture it will set up with Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Fujitsu has sought to cut its exposure to semiconductors.

Several Japanese companies have sold off or reduced their exposure to semiconductor operations in recent years.

Panasonic Corp transferred three domestic chip plants to a joint venture majority owned by Israeli foundry TowerJazz Semiconductor Ltd, while the Renesas deal with Sony was part of a restructuring drive to focus on the auto sector.

Elpida Memory, which had consolidated the PC memory chip operations of Japan's big electronics companies, was bought by Micron Technology Inc after it filed for bankruptcy.

http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/IC-Suppliers-Shift-Strategies-To-Counter-Decline-In-Digital-Still-Cameras/

Frame.io acts as a home base for all your creative projects. It replaces the hodgepodge of using Vimeo, Dropbox, and Gmail to work with media files online. We solve cloud storage, client review, transcoding, and light asset management into one seamless app. We have great tools for video like time based comments and annotation so you can draw directly on video frames. We have version control and comparison tools built in so you can see what’s changed over time. Frame.io is social too. Every action performed is tied to an individual user and tracked so you get notifications about what’s going on. It’s built for teams from the ground up so you can create a private workspace for each project you’re working on and decide who has access to what.

http://frame.io/

Intel Corporation today announced that it has entered into a manufacturing agreement with Panasonic Corporation's System LSI Business Division. Intel's custom foundry business will manufacture future Panasonic system-on-chips (SoCs) using Intel's 14nm low-power manufacturing process.

Panasonic's next-generation SoCs will target audio visual-based equipment markets, and will enable higher levels of performance, power and viewing experience for consumers.

"Intel's 14nm Tri-Gate process technology is very important to develop the next- generation SoCs," said Yoshifumi Okamoto, director, Panasonic Corporation SLSI Business Division. "We will deliver highly improved performance and power advantages with next-generation SoCs by leveraging Intel's 14nm Tri-Gate process technology through our collaboration."

Intel's leading-edge 14nm low-power process technology, which includes the second generation of Tri-Gate transistors, is optimized for low-power applications. This will enable Panasonic's SoCs to achieve high levels of performance and functionality at lower power levels than was possible with planar transistors.

http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2014/07/07/intels-custom-foundry-will-manufacture-future-panasonic-system-on-chips-using-intels-14nm-low-power-process

Very good news.

http://lumixgtheone.panasonic.co.uk/

We are asking you to tell about your neighborhood, people and nature places you love, passion you have with your friends.

Terms

1. You can submit ONE video clip per month, made by you personally using any camera. Just post it in this topic.
2. Clip must reside on vimeo or youtube video hostings and must have "personal-view contest" and link to contest page (for contest time).
3. Clip must be no shorter than 2 minutes and no longer than 10 minutes in length (for any exception with length you must PM me).
4. Only new videos are accepted. Do not submit your one year old video.
5. Video must have story to tell, must have interview part and part showing nature, must be interesting.
6. Deadline - end of each month, each month will bring new winner. Whole contest length - until September 1st.
   Prizes for winners will be announced each month.

We are waiting for your videos.

http://photorumors.com/2013/05/18/the-code-of-the-samsung-nx200-and-nx300-mirrorless-cameras-is-now-available-as-open-source/

Some folks might find this interesting.

Both digital song sales and album sales volume are down, year-to-date. 120.9 million albums have been sold in 2014 -- down 15 percent versus the 142 million sold a year ago. In terms of digital song sales, 593.6 million have been sold, down 13 percent compared to the 682.2 million last year at the mid-way point.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6143254/frozen-pharrell-williams-lead-mid-year-soundscan-charts-2014

I switched to Apple because I was asked to join a media company and they all used Mac's. So at that time I asked the guy well what is so special about Apple computers because I wasn't impressed. He said watch this he opened up a whole bunch of large photoshop files, video files etc etc and the computer did not crash. I was sold and 2 weeks later purchased my first Mac Pro.

That was then and this is now. Since that time slowly but surely Apple seems to be abandoning the professional market, they are more concerned about selling iPhones/Ipads then catering to the professional community. This makes a lot of sense from a business perspective, but they are also alienating themselves at the same time from the professional community.

I have Final Cut Pro X and Adobe CC on my computer. I prefer Final Cut Pro X because it is faster for me to edit with then Adobe Premiere Pro. However in light of recent events I feel that I should just stop using Final Cut Pro X and switch over to Adobe Premiere Pro. I have a feeling that Apple will do the same exact thing to Aperture cut it and leave everybody high and dry. I won't even get into the changes from Final Cut Pro to Final Cut Pro X lets just say that I wasn't happy about it.

Then the Icing on the cake is the new trash can Mac Pro with the what you see is what you get mindset from Apple, because don't forget Apple knows whats best for you whether you know it or not. LOL... Ok so I am going to spend at minimum $3000 + for the trash can computer but yet the graphics card is not upgradable? I don't think so! I don't mind spending $3000.00 on a Retina MacBook Pro and realize that what you see is what you get but not a desktop workstation.

Note: I really don't want to switch back to PC's I purchased Apple computers for my whole family along with iPhones/iPads, Apple TV's, Airport Extremes the whole bit so we are all in with the Apple ecosystem. However the righting is on the wall so I might as well jump ship before it sinks rather then get caught with my pants down.

Let the flames begin ;-)

It'll have only fully controlled touch oriented mode. And you won't be able to run your old apps or application developed for desktop mode. And could only install signed applications from Windows Store.

It seems like decision is based on rising popularity of small Windows tablets and sad facts that instead of buying things from Windows Store people just get them at developers sites and install themselves.

Android 5.0 adds a huge list of features to the API that will enable developers build richer applications than before. The improvements in Camera API allow developers to achieve full Manual control over each camera parameter.

Android would now support DNG (or RAW) images out of the box. What this means is upcoming Android camera apps would be able to create RAW image along with PNG, JPEG for each shot.

The Camera 2 API delivers full resolution images in Realtime (i.e. same line speed of the camera), enabled by a fully synchronized pipeline. In layman’s terms, it can take the best out of the camera hardware, despite what OEM might set limits for in software. e.g. Nexus 5 can capture photos at 30 FPS, at it’s hardware maximum resolution of 8 megapixels.

Full Manual control

http://geeknizer.com/android-5-0-l-supports-pro-photography/

Pioneer Corp has agreed to sell its audio-video operations to Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia and Pioneer's Japanese rival Onkyo Corp.

Baring will own a 51 percent stake in Pioneer Home Electronics Corp, which makes and sells DVD players, digital photo frames and other audio equipment. The three parties will decide who will own the rest, Pioneer and Onkyo said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The news, first reported by the Nikkei business daily, sent Pioneer shares up 4 percent to close at 229 yen on Tuesday. Shares in Onkyo surged as much as 12.6 percent to 168 yen.

The three parties aim to close the deal by the end of August with details, said a Tokyo-based spokesman for Baring Private Equity.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/24/pioneer-offer-baring-idUSL4N0P51MY20140624

Nikon Corp said it has set aside 200 billion yen ($1.96 billion) for mergers and acquisitions in medical and other growth fields.

It also would assign 220 billion yen for research and development over three years including the current business year to March 2015. Of that, 50 billion yen will be directed to fields such as medical equipment. Nikon said it was aiming for 130 billion yen in sales from its medical business by the year ending March 2017,

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/17/us-nikon-plans-idUKKBN0ES0MI20140617

So, we're starting up fresh, with the big questions: when and where?

Last year we did Santa Monica and downtown, so I'm (selfishly) rooting for Pasadena. What's everyone else think?

If you want to get up to speed on what the earlier ones were like, check out our old thread at http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/7157/meetup-los-angeles-area/p1

Worldwide graphics card shipments are expected to decline 30-40% sequentially in the second quarter as vendors are suffering from excessive inventories, according to sources from graphics card players.

Graphics card sales have been significantly impacted by Bitcoin's dropping demand recently, the sources said.

Graphics card players and channel retailers have suggested AMD and Nvidia cut prices to boost demand, but both GPU makers have instead focused on reducing their new GPU shipments to maintain profits and a balance between inventory and new shipments.

Trapped by existing inventories, most players' graphics card sales have been impacted since April, the sources noted.

Btw, miners are good source of used cards :-) Btw, it is mostly mining of other coins, not Bitcoin lately. But if you wantch around you can get good card and good discount.

A curved CMOS sensor has a few advantages over a planar sensor. Because of the geometry, it can be paired with a flatter lens and a larger aperture, which lets in more light. Photodiodes at the periphery of a sensor array will be bent toward the center, which means light rays will hit them straight on instead of obliquely. What's more, the strain induced on a CMOS sensor by bending it alters the band gap of the silicon devices in the sensor region, lowering the noise created by "dark current" — the current that flows through a pixel even when it is receiving no external light.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/devices/sony-creates-curved-cmos-sensors-that-mimic-the-eye

ON Semiconductor today signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aptina Imaging, a leading provider of high-performance CMOS image sensors for automotive and industrial markets, which are the key areas of strategic focus for ON Semiconductor. Other markets addressed by Aptina’s products include cameras, mobile devices, and computing and gaming platforms.

The acquisition of Aptina vastly expands ON Semiconductor’s image-sensor business and establishes the company as a leader in the fast growing segment of image sensors in automotive and industrial semiconductor market. According to TSR, an independent market research firm, the worldwide demand for image sensors for automotive and industrial applications is expected to grow at annual compound rate of 16 percent between 2013 and 2016.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140609006455/en/Semiconductor-Acquire-Aptina-Imaging#.U5avE02KCUl

http://euanmearns.com/china-the-coal-monster/

SEL Semiconductor Energy Laborator and AFD Advanced Film Device showcased in co-operation with Sharp a 13.3 inch AMOLED DIsplay with a 8K resolution (7,680×4320 pixel).

That means that this OLED Panel reach 664 pixel per inch, the companies reached that unbelievable resolution by combining white-light OLEDs with three kinds of microcavities to narrow wavelengths down to those of red, green and blue lights and applying color filters to them. Today most OLED panels reach the standard color gamut on NTSC on about 100 percent. This panel has a low red color reproduciblity and reach 84 percent.

http://news.oled-display.net/sharp-and-sel-showcase-a-13-3-inch-8k-oled-panel/

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced that it has** successfully achieved the industry’s first 10Gbps Wi-Fi service in laboratory trials** at Huawei’s campus in Shenzhen. This important milestone, which delivered data over Wi-Fi 10 times faster than the fastest existing Wi-Fi capability commercially available today, will enable a new era of big data applications by using ultra-fast Wi-Fi technology based on advanced next generation architecture to boost data rates to 10Gbps.

The 10Gbps Wi-Fi prototype achieved a record transmission data rate of 10.53Gbps on 5GHz frequency bands. The success of this prototype development, and the ten folds increase in spectrum efficiency that made it possible, paves the way for the validation of technologies needed to support the creation of next generation Wi-Fi. Huawei believes that ultrafast Wi-Fi could become commercially available from 2018 pending the agreement of global standards requirements and sufficient chipset availability.

http://www.huawei.com/ilink/en/about-huawei/newsroom/press-release/HW_341651

http://petapixel.com/2010/08/05/the-worlds-first-digital-camera-by-kodak-and-steve-sasson/

Harold House