That said, the idea looks cool, and if we’re reading that little schematic there right, it looks like the projector would bounce the image from up inside the prism back out through the lens. That sounds awesome.

Anyway, you can read the whole thing online if you jump through some crazy hoops, but we’ll let the post over at Engadget explain how to do that, since we learned it from them.

This new CMOS is apparently being made from a 12″ wafer, and the final usable area still measures at about 8″ square. It’s really kind of huge. Canon is also saying it works in situations with 1/100th the light as a DSLR can operate in. Can you say ‘yowza’?

Like Canon’s other bit of silicon bragging recently, no word when or even if this’ll ever see use, more or less in what. For now, we just get to respect their mad-tinkering ways. Go go engineers!

It's The Big One, Obviously.

If you own any modern smartphone, and we’re guessing at least a few of you must, than you’re already familiar with accelerometers, those things in your phone that let it decide which way it’s moving and operate everything from games to the simple act of auto-rotating the screen. Well, the news is that Microsoft is developing an algorithm that reads all the accelerometer and gyroscope data from when a picture was taken and uses it to know exactly how you were moving, and can use that to fairly accurately cancel out blur. For real.

Obviously the initial implication is maybe we ca finally get better images from our cameraphones (where installing optical lens or sensor shift stabilization is difficult, to say the least), but there’s no reason so far this technology couldn’t come to affect cameras of every variety, so long as there’s room for a few accelerometers.

They’ve got a few demos of this, including the image of the cans of Coke there (click it to see the full size which cycles between before and after. And, that’s the worst demo they have. That’s as bad as it gets, and boy it gets a lot better), so, why not hop over to Engadget’s write-up on it to see more?

Want to take photos like this? We offer IR Conversion services...

Roberts is proud to offer IR conversion for point and shoot, APS-C, and full frame digital cameras. Why-fore would you want to convert your camera to the IR spectrum? Here’s a list (because I like lists):

• You want more dramatic black and white photos
• You want the Wood Effect
• You want to capture dreamy, fantastical colored landscapes
• You work in Law Enforcement / Forensics
• You’re involved in certain types of scientific research
• You have a specific assignment requiring the use of IR

Obviously the desire for ethereal coloring is the best reason for dropping a few bills on the conversion, now there are two types of conversion -

1.) 715nm: Suitable for B&W and low saturation color images. Camera will be sensitive to wavelengths higher than 715nm.

2.) 665nm: Suitable for both B&W and Color. Primarily used for color due to higher color saturation (vs. 715nm). B&W images can be produced in post processing. See a chart with the differences after the jump.

You get to pick one because, well, the fine folks at Precision Camera are going to remove with surgical precision your camera’s IR filter and feed it to the crows. Ok, I don’t know about the birds, but they’re taking that thing off and replacing it with one of the correct sensitivity.

Comparing the two frequencies of IR conversion

Getting it done will go something like a repair. You ship the camera to us, it goes out to Precision Camera where they do the highly technical voodoo that they do, and they send it back to us. We send it back to you, and it’s ready to go. It’s recommended that you send the lens you’re going to use most frequently with the camera. The lens won’t be modified at all, but the camera will be optimized for use with that lens and focal length indicated.
You really also ought to consider the following before you purchase an IR Conversion:

• Cameras converted to Infrared become permanently modified and unable to produce photographs utilizing the visible spectrum. Cameras converted to infrared may be converted back to manufacturer specifications as a separate service and conversion charges will apply.
• Depending on the digital camera model being converted, results will vary. Certain models require exposure compensation to be set in order for the exposure to be accurate due to the filtration of visible light. This is a common and minor adjustment, especially with DSLR cameras.
• Images produced with an Infrared camera will have a deep red cast to them. [See above] To remove the red cast either a custom white balance may be set in the camera, or images will have to be corrected in post processing. Converted Infrared cameras will be more susceptible to lens flare due to the lack of the manufacturer’s short pass filter, especially if bright objects are in the scene.
• Conversions that are performed on cameras are done so as modifications to the manufacturer’s specifications and therefore will void the manufacturer’s warranty. Warranty for conversions is strictly 90 days and is offered by Precision Camera without any affiliations with the manufacturers. Precision Camera’s warranty covers only the conversion performed and may be voided if damages such as liquid, corrosion, sand, surge, impact, and customer abuse are found on the unit.
• Limitations of the conversion such as minor exposure and focus shifts, as well as the limited infrared spectrum sensitivity of the imaging sensor will not be considered malfunctions and therefore no warranty work may be performed on them if the camera is found to be within Precision Camera’s specifications.

The meat and potatoes of it? We’ll convert a Point and Shoot for $179.00 + Shipping and Handling, APS-C sized DSLRs for $299 + Shipping and Handling, ad Full Frame DSLRs for $349.00 + Shipping and Handling.

Well, because if everyone’s reading it right, it would allow a camera to perform pixel-level HDR calibration by firing a test shot, evaluating each pixel against some heuristic, then re-firing the shot, adjusting the EV at each pixel site to adjust for any over- or under-exposure.

That’s friggin’ cool.

For those of you new to things, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a general term covering a lot of solutions to one common problem: digital sensors can’t record as much dynamic range as the human eye can see. If you’ve ever wondered why skies and highlights look washed out, or shadows seem too dark and lurking, that’s why. The goal of HDR in any form is to keep highlights from blowing out and still keep fine detail in shadows. Taken to an extreme, especially with a process called tone-mapping, and you can end up with photos with detail and color that the human eye physically couldn’t perceive, and that’s where the raging debate about “HDR” photos being photographs or photo illustrations or outright garbage stems from.

Aaaanyway…

Back to that patent, there might be something about being to adjust just show drastic an adjustment the camera makes when firing the second shot? Something like that. All-and-all, a very intriguing patent app, and should it ever see the light of day and materialize in a real-world device it has the potential to be a game-changer. Will that happen? Who knows? Patent apps are fuzzy things at best, and it’s anyone’s bet if they ever see actual implementation, but at least we know Canon’s engineer’s are rubbing their sexy brain-lobes over the problem, yeah?