Turn iPhone Photos into Polaroids
Before mobile phones and Instagram, Polaroids were it as far as instant photography cameras. Although the corporation made the decision, in February 2008, to cease all production in favor of digital photography products, the Impossible Project has succeeded in reviving authentic Polaroid-style instant camera prints. What started as a Kickstarter fund last year, turned into a successful project that produced their unique iPhone polaroid printer, The Impossible Instant Lab, available for sale to the general public.
In case you haven't heard of this before, The Impossible Instant lab is a savvy kit that allows you to print a real Polaroid instant photo from your iPhone. Unlike other smartphone photo printers, the Impossible Lab doesn't connect to your smartphone using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Instead, it's literally a lightbox you place your phone in, which then takes a real Polaroid picture of the screen and prints it out. It also includes a free app that overrides your iPhone's brightness and color balance settings, guaranteeing a perfect exposure at all times. Clever.
Pricing from $299, it's not the most affordable printing device, but definitely worth it's value in the long run. Check out the following photos and see it in action with their vimeo video here.
[Via ThisIsColossal]
Paul Walker To Be Replaced By Body Doubles and CGI
The death of Paul Walker is one that saddened fans all over the world. The Fast and Furious franchise has a huge following, and the loss of this great actor left many devastated. As depressed as fans were though, many couldn't help but wonder what will happen for the next Fast and Furious installment, Fast and Furious 7.
The film already pushed its release date in December to April 10, 2015 after the death of Walker. After setting this new release date, Universal suggested that Paul Walker will still appear in the upcoming film, regardless of his untimely fate. “They have hired four actors with bodies very similar to Paul’s physique and they will be used for movement and as a base,” said a source to the New York Daily News. "Paul's face and voice will be on top using CGI." Walker is known for playing cop Brian O'Conner in all of the Fast and Furious installments except for Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. Because he is the star in the upcoming film alongside costar Vin Diesel, this may be a task that is difficult to pull off.
James Wan is to direct this next chapter in the widely successful series, and Vin Diesel and Neal H. Moritz are returning to produce it as well. The filming was delayed after 40-year-old Walker died in a car crash on November 30 in Valencia, California, just outside of Los Angeles. The cast and crew was about halfway done with production of the next film in the series when the tragedy struck, with Walker's performance unfinished. Vin Diesel is now determined to make this the best one in the series, and I could only hope that they're all brought to even more success after his loss.
[via Variety]
[Video] New Concept Art for The Avengers: Age of Ultron Revealed
Yesterday, Marvel revealed some behind the scenes concept art for their upcoming 2015 blockbuster, The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The first looks at the designs for Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) are the most promising, as Disney is adapting their character designs in a significantly better way than Fox is with their out of touch, techno take on Quicksilver for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Also revealed in the video is art of The Hulk and Black Widow, plus Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor. Sounds like an Iron Man vs. The Hulk fight is being set and prepped for Age of Ultron; it might not be able to top the funny Thor vs. The Hulk fight from The Avengers, but anytime Iron Man has to bust out the Hulkbuster armor is no laughing matter.
You can watch the video grab below, as well as a better look at the aforementioned concept art of The Hulk, Black Widow, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch.
[via /Film]
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Calumet Photographic abruptly shuts down, files Chapter 7
Calumet Photographic's tag line reads "Where the pros go," and now it seems that only the photography pros in Europe will still continue to be able to visit their stores. In a rather shocking move, Calumet Photographic has shut down all of its American stores and has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. What's even more shocking is that as of right now, there is no official statement from the company but rather a short statement on their Facebook page. By reading some of the comments on the Facebook post, it also seems like some of their employees had no word of the impending shutdown and now remain jobless.
[Via Chicago Tribune]
Nikon Is Awarded $14.5 Million From Sigma In VR Patent Lawsuit
It looks like Nikon has finally won its lawsuit against Sigma for its patented VR image stabilization technology dating back as far as May 2011. Recently, Sigma was ordered by the Tokyo District Court to fork over 1.5 billion JPY or roughly around $14.5 million as compensation for the company deemed by the judge for using Nikon's technology in their lenses. As of right now, there is no telling what the future holds for Sigma as they move forward in producing new lenses, but it's unrealistic to think that they will stop making optically-stabilized lenses. Depending on the decisions they make, it may result in Sigma raising their prices on future lenses. They may be forced to develop new technology or perhaps reach a deal with Nikon and continue to use their technology by paying a royalty. Either way, each alternative is costly, so we'll have to wait and see.
[Via Nikon Rumors]
Billy Ray to Script New Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill Film
Billy Ray is coming in fresh off an Oscar nomination for his latest work with writing the script for Captain Phillips. His efforts in depicting this real life drama were pretty fantastic, and now he is set to recreate the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing drama The Ballad of Richard Jewell based on Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article. Following the security guard who reported the bomb and cleared out bystanders, the security guard found himself a suspect of the terrorism plot.
Wolf of Wall Street's Oscar nominated duo Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill will be brought together once again for the film as well. They are the two biggest stars attached to the future script, with Hill set to play Jewell and DiCaprio the lawyer attempting to clear his name. However, both of the actors have a ton of projects going on. Hill has a good handful of films in post production, and DiCaprio was just announced to be producing the film A Boy and His Tiger. Because of this, there's no date set specifically when the film will begin its production. Fox is working right now to acquire rights to the story and hire Ray in an effort to show that the story is their major priority. Additionally, DiCaprio may be producing with Jennifer Davisson Killoran through his Appian Way banner. Hill is also set to produce along with Kevin Misher who resurrected the article.
Ray has had a lot of great credentials in the past few years with his work scripting The Hunger Games and an award from the Writers Guild of America for best adapted screenplay for Captain Phillips last month. With his work on those two films alone, I have no doubt that he will be able to capture the essence of this next film's terror.
[via Variety]
Hello Kitty Teams Up with Playboy for Limited Edition Leica
In the latest camera news, a surprising merchandise mash-up was released. Famed kid-friendly Japanese icon Hello Kitty,and French clothing store Colette have teamed up with Playboy, the American men's magazine brand, for a limited edition Leica C camera. The odd trio was brought together by Colette to create an item for the store’s Hello Kitty x Playboy collection. Apparently, this coincides with the 40th anniversary for Hello Kitty, the 60th anniversary for Playboy, the 100th anniversary for Leica. As Leica isn't the only feature in this rare collection, there are only ten of these cameras made, and each feature Hello Kitty, wearing bunny ears, taking a photo on the front of the camera's body.
The camera is priced at $1,264, which is almost double the price for what Leica C is regularly priced at ($699). Still, this is one of the most affordable Leica limited editions we've ever seen. Check out the following photos for a closer look, and check out more of the collection here.
[Via PetaPixel]
[Video] HUVr Tech Wants You to Believe Hoverboards Are Real
Ever since Back to the Future Part II was released in 1989 (and perhaps even before then), hoverboards have been a dream for both impressionable young men and science fiction fans. What's there NOT to love about skateboarding without wheels, to have the ability to float in-air with nothing but your own momentum to move you along? There have been many hoverboard announcements in the years since Marty McFly went back to the future, but never have any of them been real... until now.
...or not. Earlier today, a company called HUVr Tech released a video demonstrating their own version of the Back to the Future Part II hoverboard, complete with a star-studded cast testing the new tech out. Famous pro skateboarder Tony Hawk, former football star Terrell Owens, Schoolboy Q, actress Agnes Bruckner, Moby, and Doc Brown himself Christopher Lloyd are featured in the video, sharing laughter and excitement as they're taken off of the ground.
Of course, the video is fake, utilizing some clever CGI and editing techniques. However, the real question (and my main source of interest) remains: Exactly what is HUVr Tech advertising? With the heavy push of a mobile app ("coming soon" as seen on the HUVr Tech website), this admittedly interesting video has definitely made waves across the internet. My bet is on the promotion of Tony Hawk's new mobile-exclusive video game, which was announced last week. However, major entrepreneur Mark Cuban is also involved with the company, and a mobile game isn't exactly the type of stuff Cuban typically backs.
Honestly, I'm erring on the side of clever viral marketing, but in the very very slim chance that the HUVr Tech is, in fact, legitimate, I'll probably be one of the first people to pre-order. Watch the video below and find out for yourselves!
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