We used to see major improvements in smartphone cameras year after year, but this seems to have changed recently. Manufacturers are now struggling to create and integrate cameras on smartphones that produce higher quality photos from last year’s model. The main reason for this deceleration in the smartphone camera evolution, is due to hardware limitations. Built-in cameras need to be small and compact, leaving them lacking in comparison to DSLRs with large and interchangeable lenses. For this reason, smartphone cameras will never be able to catch up with the quality of DSLRs. Or will they?

Smartphone manufacturers are well aware of these hardware limitations. Companies like Google have turned their focus on improving their camera quality through the use of software. The results of their efforts are astonishing and can be seen on their latest phone, the Pixel 2. Despite being the best smartphone camera in the market so far, Pixel 2 falls behind even the lowest quality DSLRs.

Does this mean there’s no hope for smartphone cameras afterall? Well..no.

A research team has created a tool that helps you capture photos with quality comparable to that of a DSLR. They achieved this by using deep convolutional neural networks to train a model that is able to recreate missing details on photos taken from smartphones. This neural network is trained on a dataset of images captured by state of the art DSLRs as well as smartphones. This way, it is able to tell what pieces of information are missing from the photos taken on smartphones and therefore recreated those details and add them to the low quality photos. The final images produced by the algorithms have quality comparable to that of an original photo taken from a DSLR camera.

You can test this yourself by uploading your own photo on their website. If you’re interested in finding out more about this research, you can do so by reading their paper, which is available for free on their website.

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Having a strong Drone-desire?

Tired of not having a drone? Do you still think that drones are too expensive? We’ve listed 5 of the most common and low cost drones along with some of their key features, just for you! If you know any additional good and low cost drone that we haven’t inluded, please feel free to suggest it right down in the comments!

TOZO® Q2020 Drone RC Quadcopter

• Altitude Hold Function. You can release the throttle stick and the drone will keep the current height. Super simple control. Excellent drone for beginners and hobby users
• 360 Degree Flips & Rolls. One key 3D rolling special effects. Flip in 4-Ways Flip(left,right,forward,backward). Continuous roll for perfect action and wonderful performance.
• Headless Security Mode. When eyes can’t identify the orientation of the drone, the Headless Mode can help to control easier and prevent from losing the direction.
• Equipped with the latest 6-axis Gyro flight control systems, small and portable, provide better and safer using experience.
• Range: About 30-45 Meters. Flight Tim: About 5-7 Minutes. Charging Time: About 60 Minutes

Recon Observation Drone with Camera – with 4GB SD Card (Black)

• Full 4-channel movement, 2.4G and gyro-stabilisation means the Recon Drone is simple to set up and fly, making it ideal for beginners.
• On-board camera records video and takes photos, saving them to a micro SD card. Transfer videos and images to your laptop or computer using the USB SD card reader (card and reader included).
• Rapid 60 minute charge time with included USB charging cable.
• Speed up and slow down on demand with the one touch switch that toggles between three different speed settings.
• Easily perform flips in the air thanks to the simple stunt button that handles all of the precision for you, ensuring you remain in control at all times.

Syma X5C-1 2.4G HD Camera RC Quadcopter RTF RC Helicopter with 2.0MP Camera

• 2.4 technology adopted for anti-interference.even more than one quadcopter is flying at the same time they will not interfere with each other.
• Syma X5C With HD Camera,high revolution 200W pixels ; Syma X5 Does not include the 2.0MP Camera .
• 6-Axis gyro quad-rotorcraft flight, strong stability,can easily implement various flight movements, stronger wind resistance, easier to control.
• The transmitter has build-in two modes,Mode1 and Mode 2.
• The 6-axis system allows the quad to be hand launched.

JJRC H36 MINI Drone 2.4G 4CH 6Axis Gyro Headless Mode CF Mode One Key Return RC Quadcopter RTF (Blue)

• H36 can be said that it has all features of four-axis aircraft in your heart: 2.4 G remote control technology,High/Low speed-shift, stunt flying skills and outstanding modeling design, so it is a flying explorer who dares to roll.
• One key course reverysal: When starting the function of one-key returning without other operations, the aircraft will automatically come back to you. CF MODE: The aircraft will change its flight direction with the change of the direction of remote control.
• 2.4GHz REMOTE CONTROL: It adopts 2.4 GHz remote control technology, so it can be controlled more precisely, its remote control distance is father, and the response is more sensitive. HIGH/LOW SPEED-SHIFT: You can choose the gears according to your operation proficiency.
• 360°ROLL-OVER: The simple flying of WSAD is too boring, and the new 3D rolling special effects surprise all people.
• LED NIGHL LIGHTS: The outside of four-axis stabilizer blade is installed with for colorful LED lights. When flying in the night sky, they are like the stars which blink and indicate the direction.

Drone with HD Camera, Potensic® F181H 2.4G 4CH 6Axis RC Quadcopter Drone RTF Altitude Hold with Newest Hover and 3D Flips Function, HD Camera – Blue

• No FAA Registration: This quadcopter does not require any registration with the FAA, it’s ready to fly out of the box.
• Hover / Barometer Set Height Function: Built in ALTITUDE-HOLD Technology: The Air pressure sensor helps to hold the flight stably at a certain height, so you can get high quality stable videos and photos, it’s great for the beginner to intermediate flyers.
• HD Camera: features HD camera, sharing them with families and friends.
• One key take off and landing: The quadcopter is equipped with one key take off and landing, which makes the drone easier to fly and better to control for any level of flyer.
• What You Get: Potensic 1-Year Limited Warranty, Potensic F181H RC Quadcopter, 2.4 GHz Transmitter, HD Camera, 2 x 3.7V 750mAh Batteries, 1 USB Battery Charging cord, 4 Extra Blades, User Manual.

The post These are the best 5 budget drones you can find appeared first on BadFive.

Have you recently asked your gear-geek friend this question?

There are so many characteristics that can make you buy a specific DSLR model. Depending on how “professionally” you will use your new camera, more details will definitely matter for you. However, there are some basic features you should have a general knowledge about before buying your first DSLR camera. Check these 7+1 pieces of information below!

ISO

ISO is like the glasses of photography that make you see better in dark; the higher the ISO, the stronger the glasses. In both cases there is a cost and in photography it’s called “noise”. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to have the chance for a bigger ISO choice! Find a camera with minimum ISO 6400 and have in mind that normally you have the choice to extend it.

Sensor

There are two types of sensors on DSLRs: CCD and CMOS. The first one produces photos of better quality with larger number of pixels and less noise, although it uses a lot more power. On the other hand, CMOS is cheaper and preserves the battery life, but its photos’ quality is lower and noise is more common. Of course you are not going to look for a camera based on its sensor, but it’s good to know about the two different types.

Megapixels

This might be the biggest myth around photography equipment. Comparing cameras by their number of megapixels is not representative, since what matters is the sensor size. DSLR cameras have bigger sensors than the point and shoot ones for example, which means their photo quality will be better even if they have the same megapixels value.

Weight & Screen

Usually the physical characteristics are not of high priority, but sometimes they are still important. Everyone wants to hold a light DSLR body, since adding the lens directly means adding more weight, you should have a second though about giving attention to its weight.

However, if the screen will be touch or articulated is not very high on the list – even though the last characteristic can let you take shots from more “weird” angles. Depending on the use of your new gear, set the priority of this extra little detail. 

Flash Options

The build-in flash is found in all DSLR models nowadays. What you should check is the range it covers, while using it. A “hot shoe” on your camera gives you the option to connect a remote or not external flash, for better results. Besides, photography is all about light and perspective.

Storage & Connectivity

SD/SDHC card is the standard storage type for a DSLR camera. Connectivity with a device through cable is also offered as an option for viewing photos and videos on another screen or just transferring them on a different device.

Yet, for the more demanding and the impatient ones, the quicker way of accessing your photos and videos is using Wi-Fi. Of course for now that’s a “luxury”, since not all DSLR bodies accommodate it and especially the entry level ones. 

Other Specifications

When looking at the specifications of a DSLR model you can find a lot of details. Some of them shouldn’t affect you since many models have similar functionality about specific features. Here are some of the characteristics and numbers you should pay attention to:

• Frame rate, expressing the speed of video/continuous shooting (fps, frames per second)
• Auto focus choices, number of focus points and related assistance
• Stereo microphone, for stereo sound in videos
• Shutter speed range, minimum is usually 1/4000 sec
• Movie size, usual maximum dimensions are 1920 x 1080

Some extra features available are the following:

• RAW+JPEG simultaneous recording
• Sensor cleaning/dust removal functionality
• Image stabilization

Last Piece of Advice

After doing a market research you will come across with the phrase “kit lens”. That’s the lens you can get while buying a DSLR body. Apart from the features of the latter, you should also choose a smart kit and leave the standard 18-55mm lens behind. Choose a different kit lens if you have a choice – one with bigger zoom or two different kit lenses as a package, as it will be cheaper than if you buy the lens on its own. 

Hopefully, now you are a little bit wiser about the DSLR features that are around and what you should have in mind. So, make the best choice for you and let the shooting begin!

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