Flash! Here's What's New in Photo Gear

New low-light sensor could snap flagging company out of slump

(NEWSER) - Kodak showed off a new technology today that enables digital cameras to capture clearer pictures in low light—without a flash. Kodak revealed the innovation just as the enduring photography company finishes up its long and costly transformation to digital and begins to tap into its valuable portfolio of patents. More»

Bands give up trying to control images

(NEWSER) - As camera phones held aloft become as common as lighters in the air used to be at rock-and-roll concerts, the music industry is starting to give in to reality and drop camera bans. Most bands are allowed to choose their own photo policy, and a growing number are letting fans capture gigs with any kind of camera they want. Others, including U2, allow point-and-shoot cameras only, and reserve digital SLRs for the professionals, reports CNET News. More»

Lytro reviewers impressed, but you might not want to buy it yet

(NEWSER) - The company behind the Lytro camera calls its technology "the first major change in photography since photography was invented," and reviewers seem to agree. By analyzing and storing all the points of light in any given photo, the Lytro allows users to refocus the subject, or focus on an entirely new subject in the frame—after you've taken the picture. An 8GB model, which holds 350 pictures, will run you $399; for 16GB or 750 pictures, you'll spend $499. A sample of the reviews:

• Light field photography, the new tech behind the Lytro, is "hard to explain, but it’s amazing," writes Joshua Topolsky in the Washington Post . "Being able to refocus an image after it’s been uploaded to your computer will irrevocably alter your perception of what a photo is," and when he first saw a demo, he was "awestruck." It's not perfect—its shape and size are particularly irksome, and there's no flash—but it's definitely a "game-changer."

The photos had a sort of poetry about them

(NEWSER) - The last frames of Kodachrome film have largely been developed, yet another milestone in the transition from analog to digital, but this is no cause for celebration for Matt Zoller Seitz. Kodachrome photos had "something truly special" about them, he writes at Salon . "The dyes and emulsions produced an effect comparable to Technicolor motion picture film." The resulting photos were "luminous and warm but not garish; in some inexpressible way, they seemed to capture the sensation of remembering the past, fixing nostalgia along with people and places." More»

'Project Icarus' sends camera to the stratosphere for under $150

(NEWSER) - A trio of MIT students managed to take photographs from the edge of space for less than $150, the Guardian reports. The students sent a digital camera and a GPS-equipped mobile phone in a coolbox into the stratosphere by attaching the kit to a helium balloon. They retrieved the photos and equipment when the balloon popped and they returned to earth via parachute. The photos from the highest point of the camera's journey show the blackness of space and the earth's curvature. More»