Texas Improper Photography Law Deemed Unconstitutional
Vague, unclear wording in a Texan photography law caused it to be deemed unconstitutional recently. Texas' "anti-upskirting" law is meant for photographers to not be able to take photos of another person without their consent to "arouse or gratify the sexual desire of another person." Sounds pretty clear, right? However, the Appeals Court shut down the law because, objectively, any photograph (or anything, for that matter) can cause arousal for somebody. For example, if I were to take a photo of somebody walking their dog and somebody who has a dog walking fetish saw my photos and began distributing that in their dog walking fetish forums, I could legally go to jail because of the innocent photo.
Judge Sharon Keller explains the court's reasoning behind shutting down the law:
Protecting someone who appears in public from being the object of sexual thoughts seems to be the sort of ‘paternalistic interest in regulating the defendant’s mind’ that the First Amendment was designed to guard against.
We all agree that taking photos of people in a sexual nature without their consent is morally (and legally) wrong. However, as the bill currently stands, it's too unclear to ratify. All that's necessary is to rewrite the wording of the bill to pinpoint the exact problem.
[via PetaPixel]
Photokina Highlights Brand New Canon 7D Mark II
Photo by Canon USA
Every two years Canon's Photokina, the world's leading imaging fair, brings together camera enthusiasts from around the world to showcase all the latest in photo and video goods for the industry to see. This year, they highlighted their brand new and highly anticipated EOS 7D Mark II, their newest crop-sensor digital SLR, and a big improvement from the now 5-year-old 7D.
The new Mark II is based around a ton of new features including a 20.2-megapixel sensor, films in 1080p 60p, and has a new 65-point autofocus system. It also inherits some of the more sophisticated features from its full-frame siblings like the EOS-1D X and 5D Mark III. The only feature that seems to be missing in this camera is built-in wifi. Although this isn't necessarily needed for professional shoots, most new cameras always seem to have this new aged feature, but let us know what you think.
The Canon EOS 7D Mark II will arrive in stores in November for $1,800 (body only) or bundled with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens for $2,150. You can already pre-order the body only or kit at B&H Photo. You'll find some photos below, but you can also check out a more in-depth overview, and video examples of the new camera here.
[Via Digital Camera World]
SanDisk is Making a 512GB SD Card
While I'm usually on top of clearing my SD card after every time I shoot, there have been a few times where I'll just upload photos to my computer, but then forget to clear them out before the next event. Of course, I'll be a few photos in before I realize that I'm near capacity. Sure, I bring back-up SD cards, but they're all of different sizes and speeds and not very practical ways of shooting photos... but I digress. The fact of the matter at hand is this: SD cards can get ridiculously pricey for storage options that aren't even all that much when taking into account shooting RAW photos and videos. Especially with the growth and ease of creating video content, the typical 256GB card isn't gonna cut a full day of photo and video.
SanDisk understands the struggle and will be releasing a 512GB SD card very shortly. The new cards also boast a faster upload speed, topping out at 95 MB/s, making file transfer just that much faster when you're on the go. With SD cards having a theoretical capacity of 2TB, 512GB brings us a quarter of the way to that limit. Unfortunately, the new cards will retail for roughly $800.
[via PetaPixel]
Apple Officially Announces Apple Watch
Apple confirmed rumors today by officially announcing the existence of the Apple Watch. Much like similar wearable tech gadgets like Samsung's Galaxy Gear, the Apple Watch must be synced to an iPhone to work. As just announced, it'll be compatible with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but also with the last generation of iPhones (iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C). The Apple Watch will start at $349 and will be available in early 2015.
As stated, the Apple Watch will work as a complementary device to users' iPhones. The Apple Watch has a built-in gyroscope to help with GPS and movement detection, a heart rate sensor for fitness fans, and a new "Taptic Engine" that will allow the watch face to read gestures, allow movement through screens and menus, and more (such as drawing quick doodles to send to friends).
The watch itself comes in two different sizes, three different finishes, and six different straps to further customize the device for users (some of which can be seen in the gallery below). Honestly, I see no point in wearable tech that are required to sync to phones; why not just pull your phone out of your pocket? Granted, using your watch to do things is pretty cool and secret agent-like, but really... is it worth the extra $350 on top of the $200+ you're spending on a new iPhone 6? We'll be hearing more about the Apple Watch from now until the device's release in early 2015.
[Images via Mashable]
iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus Ship on September 19
During Apple's keynote speech today, they officially announced the upcoming iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as the successors to last year's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. With a proper numerical upgrade, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are Apple's best iPhones to date. The biggest change to the iPhones are the sizes. Whereas the iPhone 5S had a 4" screen, the iPhone 6 features a 4.7" screen, with the iPhone 6 Plus going even bigger with a full 5.5" screen. The new iPhones are also thinner than ever, going from the 5s's 7.6mm to the iPhone 6's 6.9mm and iPhone 6 Plus's 7.1mm. The new iPhones also feature stronger cameras with 8 megapixels, 2.2 apertures, and new sensors that allow better focusing.
The iPhone 6 starts at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 64GB, and $399 for 128GB with a two-year contract; the iPhone 6 Plus starts at $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB, and $499 for 128GB with a two-year contract. We'll be back for more from Apple's speech today, including their official reveal of the Apple Watch.
[Images via Mashable]
Kevin Smith's Tusk Has a Medical Marijuana Promotional Tie-In
This might be a first. Kevin Smith's upcoming horror film, Tusk, will have a branded medical marijuana tie-in to promote the film. Tusk's distributors, A24, has teamed up with the Los Angeles-based medical marijuana dispensary Buds & Roses to create two new strains of marijuana, the aptly titled "Mr. Tusk" and "White Walrus." In addition to teaming up with Buds & Roses, A24 has also teamed up with The World's Best Ever to create packaging to further promote the film. The limited edition strains and packaging will only be available until September 26th. The World's Best Ever will also have a contest starting tomorrow for patients to show off their best "walrus breath" photos on Instagram. You can find more details on that on their website.
As off as the promotion sounds, it kind of fits, given Smith's long-lasting support of weed. With acceptance of marijuana growing more and more popular, it was only a matter of time before film studios began reaching out to dispensaries to promote their films, especially those that are heavily associated with the drug. Remember, you only have a few short weeks before Mr. Tusk and White Walrus go up in smoke, so get on it, smokers.
Amazon Acquires Video Game Streaming Service, Twitch, for Almost $1 Billion
Back in May, Google engaged in talks with Twitch to acquire the video game streaming site for over $1 billion. Over the past three months, however, those talks died down enough to where Amazon was able to swoop in and purchase the site themselves for an all-cash buyout of $970 million. For those unfamiliar with Twitch, the website offers video game streaming service in which gamers can stream their gameplay to a live audience while offering commentary, insight, jokes, etc.
With the native implementation of Twitch to the PlayStation 4, the service experienced a huge boost in traffic and new members as PS4 fans wanted to share their gaming videos with their friends and the world. As of January 2014, PS4 users made up 20% of Twitch's channels alone, which is a stunning number considering how many pre-established channels had been created since the site's launch back in 2011.
Twitch CEO Emmett Shear had this to say about the Amazon acquisition:
Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Amazon. We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.
The future's looking bright for Twitch, especially with last week's news that Sony has sold more than 10 million PlayStation 4s since last November, the install base of Twitch users is only going to continue to grow. Side note: Twitch is also available on the Xbox One, but who really cares about that?
[via Destructoid]
Here's How to Easily Create GIFs from YouTube Videos
GIFs are the greatest thing on the internet next to free porn and memes. For some, GIF creation comes easy; for others, we rely on GIF creating services. When it comes to creating GIFs out of videos, it's a whole other story if you don't have the source file. Thankfully, one website allows aspiring GIF artists to create endless loops from their favorite YouTube videos.
gifYouTube allows users to easily create GIFs by simply taking the URL of any YouTube, adding a "gif" before the link, and setting the start time and duration of the clip. For example, I took Ruby Hornet favorite ShowYouSuck's "Homies Help Homies" video, which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw3OakY9bvc, add "gif" to the beginning of the URL so it reads https://www.gifyoutube.com/watch?v=iw3OakY9bvc, then begin creating your very own GIFs!
There's no telling how long the service will be up, so make as many as you can while it's available! Below, you can find two GIFs I made from the aforementioned "Homies Help Homies" video and Auggie the 9th and Supa Bwe's video for "Mahjik."
[via Wired]
