Music Biz Drops Concert Camera Bans

Spy pens, 3-D cameras and new lens technologies on display

(NEWSER) - The biggest photography-gear expo on the globe, Photokina, got under way this week in Germany as manufacturers rolled out everything from state-of-the-art lenses to geotagging devices. Wired takes a look:

1. Fuji’s FinePix Real 3D System incorporates dual lenses that capture separate images, then meshes them into a single 3-D file.

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»

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."

Concert booking fees might surprise you

(NEWSER) - In the world of concert bookings, you probably wouldn’t be shocked to hear KISS commands a $500,000 fee. You might be surprised, however, by who comes in ahead of KISS. The Smoking Gun runs down contracts from the 2010 US summer concert season:

• Rascal Flatts: $702,500
• KISS: $500,000

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»