camera

the definitive guide to photograph it with your smartphone without ruining the camera

by

The experience of seeing a solar eclipse is something unique; given that, unless we decide to travel the world in search of itWe have very few opportunities in life. Therefore, it is not strange that everyone wants to photograph it. In the past, it was something that was only in the hands of a few scientists and astrophotography experts. However, with the widespread use of mobile phones, today we all carry a camera constantly in our pockets. It is the reason why many people will want photograph the solar eclipse this August 12 with their smartphones. It may seem like something simple. You take your cell phone, point it at the sky and take the photo. However, it is a much more complex process, requiring both security measures and basic knowledge about photography. And also, if possible, some gadgets that will make the process much easier. Therefore, if you are considering photographing the solar eclipse with your mobile phone, pay attention to this small guide. Maybe it’s not a good idea Before mentioning how you should photograph a solar eclipse with your mobile phone, it is important to keep in mind that most experts recommend don’t do it. Neither with the cell phone nor with a professional camera. The total eclipse on August 12 will last a couple of minutes at best. The longest eclipses in history They have not extended much beyond 7 minutesand yet they are scarce. They are usually very short.. Therefore, if we spend those few minutes behind the lens of a camera, we may not enjoy the experience. Experts often recommend enjoying the first eclipse by looking directly at it. Then, if you see more, you might consider taking photos. Now, if you are clear that images are going to be an important part of the experience for you, there is nothing wrong with taking them. As long as you do it with caution. The solar eclipse can damage your eyes and your phone! At this point, everyone (or almost everyone) We are clear about the importance of using approved glasses to look at the sun during a solar eclipse. However, we can make the mistake of thinking that if we look through a lens, our sight is protected. This is not true, in fact, if it expands our vision of the sun, it can also magnify the damage to our eyes. That’s why, it is important to use filters Suitable for the objectives and lenses of telescopes, cameras and binoculars. Now, if what we want is to photograph the solar eclipse with our mobile phone, our eyes are not in the same danger. If we look at the Sun on the mobile screen, there is no risk, since we are not looking directly through the lens and the screen does not emit a harmful glare. However, The image sensors of the mobile camera can deteriorate. This is because these cameras are prepared to take images of the sun in the background of a landscape or directly at times of weak lighting, such as sunrise or sunset. However, their sensors are not adapted to the illumination they receive when landing directly on the Sun at a time of higher illumination, especially if it is done for a long time. And of course, to take a good photo of the Sun, a good exposure is important. A quick click is not enough. Tips for photographing the solar eclipse with your mobile phone We have already seen that the first thing we must do to photograph the solar eclipse with our mobile phone is protect the camera. There are specific filterswhich are a very good option. Now, if we don’t want to spend money, we can opt for something more rudimentary, such as placing approved glasses directly in front of the lens. You can even cut one of the two lenses of glasses and glue it in front of the lens. The result will not be as good as with a specific fultro, but we will be able to get by. Most experts recommend that you just watch the eclipse, you don’t always have to take photos of everything Once the sensors are protected (and our eyes if we look through a lens), we must take into account the parameters at which it is best to take the photograph. From NASA recommend use a fixed aperture of f/8 to f/16 and try shutter speeds between 1/1000 and 1/4 second to find the optimal setting. That would be for the partial phases of the eclipse. On the other hand, during totality, the corona has a wide range of brightness, so they recommend using a fixed aperture and an exposure range that goes from approximately 1/1000 to 1 second. Of course, during totality the Sun is completely covered, so the camera filter can now be removed. It can and it should, since if we don’t do it we won’t see the solar corona well. However, the colleagues of Xataka Mobile They clarify that this is useful for cameras, but not for mobile phones. In case we are clear that we want to take the photo with our mobile phone, the best option is to do it automatically and follow some basic tips. Shoot at full resolution: Many current mobile phones have sensors of 50 and even 200 megapixels and manufacturers usually offer a shooting mode to take photos at maximum resolution. If your mobile phone has it, activate it since you will be able to have a huge image from which you can take a crop with very good quality Use optical zoom: Find out what the optical zoom of your mobile phone is and don’t go beyond that. If the maximum zoom is 3x, then shoot at 3x. This way you ensure that the quality will not worsen when using digital zoom. What are the best gadgets? We can try to see the eclipse directly and take photos at the same time. For this, it can be … Read more

The camera that watches you while you drive is already mandatory in new cars. And no one guarantees what happens with that data.

by

Since yesterday, July 7, no new car can be registered in the European Union without the ADDW system (Advanced Driver Distraction Warning or Advanced Driver Distraction Warning), the final phase of the General Safety Regulation. We already had recently What does this system technically consist of? and why the car is going to beep at us more now than before. The melon that we had not yet fully opened was about what happens to the images captured by that camera that looks at your face while you drive. About what goes the regulations. He text of the regulation requires ADDW to function as a warning tool, not a recording tool. It analyzes the driver’s image in real time, decides whether or not the driver’s gaze is on the road and generates only a binary signal: attentive or distracted. In theory, the raw video never leaves the vehicle. Article 6(3) of the General Security Regulation itself establishes that the system must not record or retain data beyond what is strictly necessary to fulfill its function. The problem is what the standard does not say. “The regulations do not mandate any independent audit mechanism to verify that installed ADDW systems actually operate in a closed loop,” account the specialized media All About Cookies. It also does not define precisely what is considered “necessary” or how long that information can be retained before being deleted. In practice, the guarantee that your biometric data does not leave the car depends, today, on the manufacturer’s word. It is not the first time that word fails. The recent history of the sector does not help to generate confidence. An investigation by The New York Times revealed in 2024 that “several manufacturers, including General Motors, shared information about their drivers’ behavior with data brokers such as LexisNexis, which in turn they transferred it to insurance companies”, which came to translate into premium increases for drivers who did not even know they were being evaluated. For its part, a special investigation by Reuters documented that, between 2019 and 2022, “Tesla employees privately shared, through an internal messaging system, especially sensitive videos and images recorded by their customers’ car cameras,” including scenes of accidents, traffic fights and intimate moments captured in garages individuals. Neither case is directly related to ADDW nor did it occur in the European Union, but both perfectly show what can happen when an automaker accumulates sensitive data under vague rules. The road safety argument. On June 16, the Swedish data protection authority (IMY) ruled that the company Securitas Sverige had violated the GDPR by installing cameras with artificial intelligence that continuously analyzed the behavior of its drivers. ”The security argument alone is not enough to legally justify this type of behavioral surveillance,” they shared in Tech Times. Although this case is not specifically about ADDW, but rather about corporate fleet cameras, it also sets an uncomfortable precedent just when that same argument, that of road safety, is the legal basis of the entire European regulation. The other system, the black box. The EDR (Event Data Recorder), mandatory since July 2024 and of which we already detailed more in depthis only activated in the event of a collision, saves just a few seconds of technical data (speed, braking, steering wheel angle) and cannot be transmitted wirelessly, since it is necessary to physically connect to the OBD port of the vehicle to extract it. Its own design, designed to investigate accidents, is so limited that the road safety think tank ETSC came to complain that, by not being able to record location or time, the device is almost useless for investigators studying the causes of accidents. In other words, one falls short due to excess caution and the ADDW falls short in guarantees. And now what. The European Commission has already announced that it will continue developing the ADDW until 2027, incorporating the detection of cognitive and not just visual distractions, which implies even more sophisticated sensors pointing inside the cabin. For our part, we can review the manufacturer’s actual privacy policy (not the commercial website) to check how long the eye-tracking data is retained, if it is shared with insurers or third parties, and if the system ever leaves the vehicle itself. The law requires that the data not leave the car. Now, that it is fulfilled, it is a matter of trust. Cover image | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | Waymo has not confirmed that it will arrive in Spain. But your documentation says things

There is a physical limit to what a cell phone camera can do. OPPO is pushing that limit further than anyone else

by

Standing out in the mobile showcase is a war that is fought on many fronts at the same time and mobile photography is the most decisive, especially when we enter the super high range with mobile phones that easily exceed 1,000 euros. Until recently, the fight was between the iPhone, the Pixel and the current Galaxy, but things have changed a lot and Chinese companies have advanced to the right. One of those companies is OPPO with its OPPO Find X9 Ultraone of those who is undoubtedly a candidate for the throne of mobile photography. We were in China for the launch of its new flagship, where we were able to visit its new campus in Shenzhen and speak with Jie Liu, Senior Imaging Product Manager at OPPO, who told us more details about the camera. Taking good photos is no longer enough, we want versatility We are at a point where any mobile phone in this price range takes excellent photos. Quality is presupposed, that’s why the battle has shifted to versatility: offer from an ultra wide angle to a superzoom, maintaining uniform quality throughout the range. The OPPO Find X9 Ultra has a 200 megapixel main sensor that allows us, through cropping, to simulate a 2x zoom. It is accompanied by a telephoto lens of another 200 megapixels that is equivalent to a 3x zoom and, again, by cropping it allows us to simulate a 6x. And the big news: a third 50 megapixel sensor equivalent to a 10x optical zoom or 230 millimeters. Of course you can’t miss the ultra wide angle (0.6x), which also in this generation increases the size of the sensor to improve quality. Left: 1x main sensor. Right: 10x telephoto One of the things that caught our attention is how they have integrated a telephoto with that focal length into the body of a mobile phone since, although the camera module protrudes quite a bit from the chassis, it is still not enough for such a long zoom. Jie told us that “to make the module small enough we used a telescope structure, with a new technology called quintuple reflection. This configuration reduces the physical length of the system while maintaining the focal length.” This is the structure of the 10x telephoto. Image: OPPO It is a structure of different prisms that reflects light five times until it reaches the sensor. The problem with this is that the light must travel a longer distance, which results in images with more noise and lower luminosity (the aperture is equivalent to f/3.5). “We have used technologies to reduce the noise caused by these multiple reflections, such as a layer of air between the prisms that reduces noise and loss.” The Teleconverter Claim OPPO has already started the path of teleconverters with the OPPO Find X9 Pro and raise the bar with the Ultra model. This is a photography kit that is sold separately and includes a 300 millimeter objective which attaches to the mobile phone thanks to a special case that also has a handle. It is a strategy copied from the one that Vivo has followed, first with the Vivo X300 Pro and then with him Vivo X300 Ultra (both companies belong to the same parent company, BBK Electronics). When we attach the teleconverter, we can take spectacular photos from very far away, with stunning bokeh that we can only achieve with a lens of these characteristics. This lens is attached to the 200 megapixel telephoto lens, so we can do the cropping “trick” again to achieve a 30x zoom, equivalent to 690 millimeters. The results speak for themselves: Photo with the teleconverter at 690mm or 30x At the moment, OPPO has launched two teleconverters, 200 millimeters in the Pro model and 300 millimeters in the Ultra, two fixed focals. The problem is that they only work with the model with which they were launched, meaning that we cannot use the 200 millimeter teleconverter of the Pro in the Ultra. During the meeting, we asked Jie Liu if the brand has considered launching more lenses in order to expand the range of available focal lengths, and even if there is the possibility of launching a lens with a variable focal length, for example a 200-400 millimeters: “It is a good suggestion and it is our direction of evolution, but this entails many technical obstacles. The solution we have now is temporary to ensure image quality, adding new focal lengths is a consideration for the future.” Teleconverter 300 mm or 13x OPPO wants to replicate in a mobile phone the focal versatility that any camera user takes for granted. The problem is that, although they have managed to integrate a 10x telephoto, the chassis of a phone has physical limits and there comes a point where no more optics can fit inside; andThe natural step is to complement with accessories. While its competition continues to depend exclusively on the integrated sensor, OPPO is already building that ecosystem, although still quite timidly. The photographic kit works more as an attraction, a “look what we know how to do”, and not so much as an accessory for the general public. The OPPO Find look what we know how to doand not so much as an accessory for the general public. The soul of photography Until recently, many Chinese phones suffered from overly aggressive and artificial image processing, but that is changing. One of the things I liked most about the OPPO Find X9 Ultra camera is the image processing, quite natural and realistic in general. Of course, there is AI processing, but Jie told us that it is applied in a controlled manner “always seeking coherent aesthetic results. It is applied to correct unfavorable lighting conditions, reducing artifacts and noise, improving exposure and dynamic range in complex situations.” AI is also used to improve the results of the 10x zoom “to optimize detail and stability.” Portraits are incredible, even at night (taken with 200MP telephoto, 6x). … Read more

raw power, outstanding camera and large capacity battery

by

If you were waiting for the moment to make the jump to a high-end mobile phone, now is a good time to do it thanks to this offer that Amazon has. He Xiaomi 17 (the latest flagship launched by the Chinese manufacturer) has dropped in price and has gone from costing 1,099.90 euros to 899.99 euros. Although yes, it is a flash offer, so it will be available for a limited time. XIAOMI 17 – 12+512GB Smartphone The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A mobile phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor that offers plenty of power The heart of this Xiaomi 17 is he Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (accompanied by 12 GB RAM and 512 GB of internal storage). In addition to being 30% faster than its predecessor, it has made a giant leap in thermal efficiency thanks to the 3D IceLoop system. Although it is true that his older brother (the Xiaomi 17 Ultra) takes the 200 MP sensor, this standard Xiaomi 17 is not far behind. Incorporates a 50 MP main camera with a one-inch sensor and refined with LOFIC HDR technology, to control high lights in night scenes. Another of its surprising features is its battery. This has a capacity of 6,330 mAh, a capacity which is surprising in a body of just 8 mm. In addition, it supports fast charging at 100 W, so it is perfect if you want to charge your phone in the morning, while you have breakfast, before going to work. In real practice, it is a mobile phone that lasts a day and a half perfectly without going through the plug. If you want a compact high-end mobile (its screen is 6.3 inches), flat and extremely powerful, this Xiaomi is a good purchase option. In this new Xiaomi 17 family, you could say that this terminal has stopped being the “little brother” to become a very balanced option for the general public. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: offer for the xiaomi 17 today ✅ THE BEST Leica cameras: The Xiaomi 17 takes photos with organic texture and dynamic range (thanks to the LOFIC sensor) that look like they were taken from a professional camera rather than a smartphone. Battery: It seems like magic to integrate 6,330 mAh in such a thin design. In addition, its autonomy is enough for a full day (and then some). ❌ THE WORST The price… Xiaomi is no longer the affordable mobile phone brand that we were used to. This terminal fully enters the 1,000 euro barrier, competing head to head with Samsung and Apple. Secondary cameras… Although the main lens is superb, the wide-angle lens can be a step behind in low light situations, making the jump in quality between sensors noticeable. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are an avid photographer and value the natural color and manual control that Leica optics offer. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Your budget is tight, since a Xiaomi T series or a high-end Poco can give you a similar (although not the same) experience at 70-80% but at half the price. Some accessories that may interest you for this mobile Olgary Case for Xiaomi 17 6.3″ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links XIAOMI Buds 5 – Wireless headphones The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Xiaomi In Xataka | Xiaomi 17 vs Xiaomi 17 Ultra: two similar brothers focused on very different audiences In Xataka | The new Xiaomi 17 versus the Samsung Galaxy S26: we compare the five models that will fight for the best Android of the year

This is how your AI camera system works

by

The new DéporTienda, the same as Deportivo de la Coruña, is not a simple store merchandising with a facelift. It is a case study of how spatial analytics, computer vision and predictive models can impact the retail sports. And a club from, for now, the Second Division has done it. RC Deportivo celebrates its 120th anniversary immersed in a modernization operation that goes beyond what happens on the pitch: museum, hospitalitysports city… But there is a project that says more about the direction the club wants to take than any signing or renovation of the stands. It’s your store. La DéporTienda has just reopened in its historic location next to the Abanca-Riazor stadium after two months of works. And more than just the furniture or decoration has changed. The nervous system of space has changed: it is now monitored, analyzed and, according to those responsible, it is capable of anticipating decisions before they are made. The cameras watch The project started with an observation phase of at least four months in the old store. The company responsible for the technological layer is Noumena Group, a Barcelona company founded in 2011 and specialized in spatial analytics with computer vision and Machine Learning. Its CEO, Aldo Sollazzoexplains that the system they have implemented in Riazor has the same DNA as the one they developed for Barcelona City Council in the analysis of Superapples and the green axles: cameras that process images to understand how people move through a space. Material for sale, and in the background, the wave made of PETG. Image provided. “It works through cameras connected to a brain based on edge computing“explains Sollazzo. “Each camera converts the input visual in a string text that guarantees anonymity and complies with the GDPR and the European AI law. We do not store images: we store spatial data,” he explains to Xataka by phone call. The system maps movement flows within the store, segments visitors by estimated age ranges and gender, generates heat maps and cross-references all this with product distribution and sales data. So far, descriptive analytics. What Noumena proposes as differential is the predictive layer. Predict before moving a shelf “The difference with other systems is that our data are not numbers disconnected from space,” says Sollazzo. “They are linked to the built environment. And that allows us to train models to predict what would happen if we redistribute the product, move the furniture or relocate the payment points.” In practice, this translates into decisions such as estimating whether an alternative display arrangement maximizes product exposure. Or whether relocating cash registers based on traffic reduces queues on busy days. Or calculate how many staff the store will need for a specific event. All this without the need for trial and error in the field. Heat maps on the store floor (top-down view). They represent the distribution of visitor flows in three different scenarios or moments, probably different furniture configurations or different temporal moments (normal day, match day, special event…). The most intense areas indicate a greater concentration of people, the dark areas are cold areas where few people pass through. It is clearly seen how the traffic distribution changes depending on the scenario: in some configurations there are obvious bottlenecks at the entrance and next to certain exhibitors, while in others the flow is distributed more homogeneously. The numbered white elements are the furniture and display modules. Image provided. Three-dimensional visualization of the same flow data as in the previous image. Instead of a flat heat map, occupancy data is represented as volumetric columns that “grow” from the floor: the higher the column height, the higher the traffic density at that point. The isometric perspective allows you to see the store as a built space (you can sense the walls, the modules) with superimposed spatial data. It is the representation that connects analytics with architecture, which is the point that Sollazzo emphasizes as differential: the data is not abstract, it is anchored to the physical environment. Image provided. Panel with a comparison of key indicators: net sales, visitors, items sold, conversion rate, average ticket… All within the framework of an event day, with a specific anniversary that drives attendance and purchase. Image provided. This tab crosses spatial data with sales data by product. The graphs show the ranking of suppliers, where Kappa logically dominates as it is the technical brand of the club; the interactions by exhibitor or the comparison of interest versus sales by supplier, where it is seen that Kappa generates a lot of interest and many sales, while Soricastel and Texprint (merchandising, not technical clothing) generate interest but convert less. This type of data is what allows us to decide if a supplier needs a better location, better price or less space. Image provided. Thanks to this research, the club has increased its working square meters by 10% and enhanced product exposure by 15%. For a football club store next to a stadium, where on match days the footfall can multiply by twenty (a figure declared by the club), those margins matter a lot. The system, furthermore, cross internal data with external variables: weather forecast, events in the city or at the stadium, mobility data in the surrounding area… “In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the League We had 250% more occupancy compared to a normal day,” recalls Sollazzo. “Without this technology it would be impossible to anticipate how much stocks “Do you need, how much workforce, how to redistribute the points of sale so that the queue does not block the flow of the store.” What is measured and what must be demonstrated The KPIs that the club will monitor are those expected in any serious operation of retail: average ticket, conversion rate, average stay time, number of visits, distribution of flows by module and visitor profile. The return on investment, according to Sollazzo, is expected in one year. The idea, in theory, is to sell more, of course, but also to make better, … Read more

The landing of the first OPPO Ultra in Spain begins with a huge camera

by

Sometimes it is enough to look at a device for a few seconds to understand where a brand is going, and that is exactly what happened to me with the OPPO Find X9 Ultra. On paper, its size and the volume of the photographic module could make you think of a cumbersome mobile phone, and it is, but in the hand it also feels light, comfortable and clearly premium. Furthermore, it is a device that does not try to hide its photographic ambition, but rather makes it a central part of its identity. OPPO summoned us to a meeting to calmly explain a product to which it gives special weight within its catalogue, and it is not difficult to understand why. This is the first Ultra that the brand officially puts on the table in Spain and Europe, a move with which it wants to reinforce its position in the highest range. In fact, we will go into more depth about this topic in an interview we had with Kevin Cho, CEO of OPPO in Spain. Oppo Find X9 Ultra technical sheet oppo find x9 ULTRA Dimensions and weight Tundra Umber: 163.16 × 76.97 × 9.10 mm 236g Canyon Orange: 163.16 × 76.97 × 8.65mm 235g screen 6.82 inch AMOLED QHD+ 2K resolution Screen-to-body ratio: 94.60% Refresh Rate: Maximum 144 Hz Brightness: HBM 1800 nits processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 memory 12GB storage 512GB battery 7,500 mAh (silicon-carbon) 100W SUPERVOOC 50W AIRVOOC rear cameras 200 MP f/1.5 main, OIS 50 MP f/2.0 Ultra Wide Angle 200 MP f/3.5 3x telephoto, OIS 50 MP f/2.2 10x telephoto, OIS front camera 50MP f/2.0 connectivity 5G Dual SIM NFC Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BDS operating system ColorOS 16 others IP69 certification Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor price 1,699 euros The camera is not an addition, it is the starting point Where this intention is most noticeable is in the design language itself. OPPO explained to us that it has been inspired by the Hasselblad X2Dand that reference is not just an aesthetic wink, but in a very specific way of building the terminal. The camera module, with that Master Lens design on a hexagonal piece, dominates the rear and does not try to go unnoticed. On the contrary, what we see here is a deliberate decision: to take that protuberance as part of the product’s character and turn it into a way of telling us that the camera is not an add-on, but the center of everything. That idea is also transferred to the materials and the way the phone seeks to fit in the hand. We have seen two very different finishes. Tundra Umber is committed to ecological vegan leather, with dark tones and brown nuances, and it is the one that best expresses that search for a firmer grip and a feeling closer to that of a camera. Canyon Orange, on the other hand, offers a more striking proposal, with a matte finish and the use of aeronautical fiber to reinforce resistance. If we go down from the brand narrative to the terrain of the technical sheet, the Find X9 Ultra also wants to make it clear where it is placed. OPPO equips it with a 6.8-inch 144 Hz screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 accompanied by a steam chamber to improve cooling and a 7,050 mAh carbon silicon battery. The company also ups the ante on charging, with 100 W wired SuperVOOC and 50 W wireless AirVOOC, and tops off the set with IP69 certification. It is a very serious technical basis for a phone that aspires to compete without complexes at the top. As we have been seeing from the beginning, the discourse of the Find X9 Ultra revolves again and again around photography. At this point, it is reasonable to look at the whole before going down to detail. And what the brand proposes is a rear system made up of four main cameras and a new True Color Camera, with which it aspires to cover everything from ultra-wide angle to long-distance optical zoom without giving up a clearly ambitious proposal. In this section there is one fact that immediately stands out: here we do not have a single 200 MP sensor, but two. The first occupies the 200 MP main camera, with 23 mm equivalent; The second appears in the 3x telephoto lens, also 200 MP and designed for portrait and distance. Added to this is a 50 MP ultra wide angle that reinforces the base of the set. And then there is the piece with which OPPO finishes stretching its proposal into unusual territory for a mobile phone. The Find X9 Ultra adds a 50 MP 10x optical telephoto lens, with a 230 mm equivalent focal length, and the brand also talks about optical quality up to 20xa figure that helps to understand how far he wants to push the scope of the set. Added to this block is a 300 mm teleconverter that reminds us of the strategy of Live with your X300 Ultra. Here’s an interesting fact: both Vivo and OPPO are part of the Chinese conglomerate BBK Electronics. The partnership with Hasselblad enters its fifth year and continues to take center stage in the product narrative, especially around Master Mode. There, one of the most striking messages they gave us was that there is no generative AI, “zero AI in Master Mode”, an idea designed for those looking for a more faithful image of what is in front of them. Added to this are options such as JPG Max and 16-bit RAW Max, clearly aimed at users who want more margin for work. The alliance with Hasselblad enters its fifth year and continues to occupy a central place in the product discourse. Although photography monopolizes almost all the focus, OPPO also wanted to extend this proposal in video and in the general user experience. The Find X9 Ultra promises 4K recording at 60 fps with Dolby Vision in all … Read more

In 1957, Walt Disney was concerned that his cartoons lacked depth. So he invented the multiplane camera

by

In 1957 Walt Disney was fed up with his animated films being so flat. He needed to make his characters go from 2D to 3D, and he and his engineers created something prodigious: the multiplane camera. The system. Its operation went beyond traditional method of animated film productionand divided each frame into several planes so that landscapes and characters gave the sensation of being represented in three dimensions. The result, as you can see in this video, is amazing. Walt Disney himself explained in a masterful way how an invention worked that solved a fundamental problem: cartoons had no depth, and they needed to evolve to have it. The difficulty. That was not easy in the 50s, of course. Today’s technology has made 3D movies almost child’s play for an industry that embraced them as the next big revolution and then killed them. defenestration of these contents almost in its entirety. The animation process they followed at Disney made it completely handmade, and each second of animation involved enormous work that required each of the 24 frames to be photographed (the number varied depending on the formats) manually with cameras that would then produce those frames to join them into the final footage. Solving. The problem was that this made it almost impossible to add that depth effect: if you zoomed in on a landscape, everything increased at the same time wherever you were. That was unreal, and for example it caused the moon to increase in size in a night landscape scene at the same time and in the same proportion as a tree close to the viewer’s position. In order to correct this and other problems and produce those 3D frames, Disney and its engineers came up with the idea of ​​creating a multiplane camera that was used in certain scenes by dividing the planes of the scene. In the case of zoom, some shots approached faster than others, which gave this global zoom an amazing realism for the time. and the solution. The same thing happened when this technique was used when creating characters for these films that suddenly gained that depth that made them able to rotate, move forward or backward in the shot and all of this was reflected in the perspective. In the first video it is Mickey who demonstrates it, but this second video with Bambi as the protagonist also reveals the wonderful operation of a simply brilliant technique. In Xataka | The new sequel to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ exists, but it is not from Disney: this is how the legal ecosystem of fan films works In Xataka | There is an open dispute over the meaning of “the stork” from ‘The Lion King’. One worth 27 million dollars

the battlefield is divided between camera yes or camera no

by

“Morons with a camera in their faces”, this is how Will Wang described the users of Ray-Ban Meta glasses during a interview with Financial Times. Who is this man and why does he say that? Wang is the CEO of Even Realities, a Shenzhen-based startup that (surprise!) also sells AI glasses, but with an important difference. No cameras. It is Even Realities’ commitment to differentiate itself in the emerging market for glasses with artificial intelligence. His glasses do not have a camera to avoid “social friction”, something he Meta’s glasses can’t boast so much. Furthermore, recently we learned that Ray-Ban Meta records when you take them off and everything recorded was viewed by contractors in Kenya. It is the perfect marketing campaign for Even Realities, which boasts that its glasses only collect essential data, they do not store data in the cloud unless the user explicitly consents, and when they do, the data is always encrypted and sensitive information is eliminated. Why is it important. If Even Realities’ proposal succeeds (and with the controversies that Meta is accumulating, it has options) we may be facing a division of the AI ​​glasses market into two categories: On the one hand, glasses with cameras, like the Ray-Ban Meta, which see and record what is happening around us. On the other hand, tubeless glasses like those from Even or Mijia that function more as an extra help for the user and that does not affect the rest of the people we come across in any way. Even G2. This is the name of the latest model of the Chinese brand. The Even G2 have microphones, speakers and a screen integrated into the glass so that only the user can see it, similar to that of Meta Displaybut in this case it is a panel of monochromatic (green) micro LEDs. Among its functions are real-time translation up to 35 languages, voice-controlled teleprompter, GPS navigation notifications with visual indications and a voice assistant with AI. The Even G2 now They can be purchased for 700 eurosmuch more expensive than the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 which costs 419 euros. Wang has an explanation for this price difference: “They are losing money (…) the only way it makes sense to them is if they can really benefit their model by collecting data,” he assured the Financial Times. This is what the internal screen of the Even G2 looks like. Image: Even Realities What does Meta say about all this? Regarding Even Realities they have limited themselves to describing it as a “Chinese competitor wannabe” and insists that the data does not come out of the glasses unless the user gives permission. What they do not say is that, by agreeing to use the AI ​​assistant, we are also agreeing to give up voice, text, image and video. That is, if you want to use Meta AI, you have to jump through the hoops and the fact that it is specified in its terms of use does not make it any less questionable. The market already has a leader (for now). Despite the controversies, Meta continues to lead this new category at a great distance from its adversaries. According to the consulting firm OmdiaMeta has 85% of the market and has already sold 7.4 million units of its glasses. There is an important fact and that is that the vast majority of glasses with AI are in the US, so perhaps the ranking could change if this product becomes popular in another country, especially China, which is already registering the fastest growth. Image | Even Realities, Meta. With own edition In Xataka | The Oakley Meta Vanguard promise to be the athlete’s glasses. Three weeks later, my nose has a different opinion

What is and how does the Google application work to take photos with filters from old camera rolls?

by

Let’s explain to you what it is and how to use Snapseed Camerathe new camera application created by Google. This is a Snapseed feature that has so far reached the iPhone first, and it remains to be seen how long it will take to also reach Android. We are going to start the article by explaining what exactly this application is, or rather this function within an application. Then, we will tell you step by step how you can use it to give your photos a touch of personality. What is Snapseed Snapseed is an application created by Google to edit your photos and to be able to improve them. It is one of the oldest applications there is for this function, to edit all aspects of the photo such as brightness, contrast, saturation, etc., and also to crop it. One of the features that has always made Snapseed popular is that it is designed for one-handed use, with all settings being accessible and very easy to use with just your thumb. But of course, we live in times in which the processing of photos in the camera applications of any mobile phone already improves them automatically, so this type of applications has had to innovate. First, Snapseed has introduced a feature to enhance photos with AI without having to do anything. The app is simply responsible for making all the settings. And then, Snapseed Camera has also arrived. What is Snapseed Camera Snapseed Camera a feature within Snapseed. Specifically, it is a function for take photos directly with the appso it tries to be an alternative to the camera application on your mobile. The main feature of this camera is that it has preset filters to take the photo with them. You choose a filter, you see the result in a real image, and you decide to take the photo with them. But Snapseed Camera goes beyond that, because offers vintage camera filtersthose old photo reels. It also has some presets with preset settings, and allows you to make changes to textures and other types of adjustments before taking the photo, as if it were a professional camera. How to use Snapseed Camera To use Snapseed Camera, you have to enter the Snapseed app. In it, At the top right you have a camera iconand when you click on it you will go to Snapseed Camera with its options for taking photos. Now you will go to a screen where you simply have to slide to the sides to explore the filters of different movies that you have available. Every time you select a new one you will see the changes on the screen. And that’s it. Once you have selected the filter, you just have to take the photo and it will be added to the application gallery. You can also activate a pro mode to make changes to zoom and other aspects. In Xataka Basics | ChatGPT Images: what it is and how to use it to create images with artificial intelligence from your photos

Three Russians surrender on camera. A normal scene from wars, but science fiction in Ukraine because of the “soldier” who points guns at them

by

From dug trenches rush to heaven buzzing without restthe war in Ukraine has become a testing ground where the classic rules of combat have long since lost the battle. Every month scenes appear that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago and that force us to rethink what it means today to fight, resist or survive in a front dominated by unexpected technologies. The last example shows a surrender. The first time before a machine. Three Russian soldiers emerge from a building, one of them bloody, raise their hands and obey orders while a camera records everything. The scene would be routine in any war conflict in history, but in Ukraine it marks a breaking point: The one who points the gun at them is not an infant, but an armed robot. It’s not the first time we see such a surrenderbut it is the first to be documented on video and in front of an unmanned land vehicle, a scenario that symbolizes the extent to which the line between science fiction and real combat has been definitively erased in this conflict. From marginal experiment to centerpiece. It we have counted before. Ukrainian ground robots, known as robotic ground complexes, began the war as imported rarities and today are an industrial and military mainstay of their own. 99% of UGVs in use They are already manufactured in Ukrainewith more than 200 different models produced by dozens of local companies in ultra-fast design cycles, fine-tuned directly with feedback from the front. Small, cheap and assembled from commercial components, these robots have moved from transportation and evacuation to carry heavy machine gunslead assaults, hold defensive positions for weeks, and now, accept prisoners without any human soldiers having to expose themselves. Machines that do not bleed. The tactical value of these systems goes beyond firepower. Accepting a surrender with a robot eliminates the risk of ambushes, false capitulations or instant decisions between life and death, a recurring problem on the Ukrainian front. At the same time, the psychological impact It’s huge: fighting an enemy who doesn’t feel paindoes not die and can be replaced quickly erodes morale and makes the option of surrender more rational. Hence the image of confused soldierss surrendering to a machine summarizes that moral and human imbalance. Some of the varieties of Ukrainian ground drones The sky as a weapon. This qualitative leap on the ground fits with an even more overwhelming reality in the air. According to Zelenskymore than 80% of effective strikes against Russian forces are already carried out with drones, the vast majority manufactured locally. In 2025, Ukraine claims to have attacked about 820,000 targets with these systems, recording each impact on video within a points system that rewards units for each confirmed casualty and accelerates the acquisition of new material. In other words, war has become a closed loop of sensors, cameras, algorithms and rewards. An unprecedented cost. Almost four years after the invasion, Russia’s human toll in Ukraine reaches unprecedented figures since World War II: around 1.2 million soldiers dead, wounded or missing, according to the latest report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This massive attrition contrasts with very limited territorial advances, barely 12% more territory controlled since 2022, with daily progress that in some sectors is measured in meters and is even lower than that recorded in battles of the First World War. The Ukrainian defense-in-depth strategy, combining trenches, mines, obstacles, artillery and drones, has tipped the balance of casualties by a proportion clearly unfavorable for Moscow and questions the idea of ​​an inevitable Russian victory. The Russian rearguard. The impact of the conflict goes far beyond the front and is degrading Russia’s economic and strategic capacity, the same as the SCIS report already described as a second or third order power. The combination of inflation, labor shortages, industrial weakness and technological stagnation has left growth stunted and a committed futurewhile human losses exceed the recruitment and replacement capacity. In fact, compared to past conflicts, the figures are devastating. The war future. In short, between swarms of FPV drones, armed ground robots and electronic warfare systems, the war in Ukraine has advanced decades of military development in just a few years, while much more expensive and slow Western programs they stalled or were canceled. Therefore, the filmed surrender facing a robot is not an isolated anecdote, but a sign that modern combat no longer revolves only around the human soldier, but rather cheap, disposable and omnipresent machines. In Ukraine, the war of the future is no longer being imagined: it is being recorded in the first person. Image | UKRAINE MOD In Xataka | “They are under our feet”: Ukraine has entered an inexplicable phase, that of its drones attacking Russians at absurd distances In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine. Until Russia sent a soldier to the front that we had only seen in the movies

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.