Tag Archives: Camera

Taking pictures in the dark – How to capture 2023 on your phone

Brits are being given tips on how to capture the perfect memories on their mobile phones during 2023!

Photography experts at ParrotPrint.com have named the seven top tips for taking the best low-light pictures as the clock strikes midnight.  

The right lighting is key to a good photograph so it can be challenging to capture memories when it’s dark.

By keeping the phone steady, making use of nearby light sources and getting acquainted with some of the smarter mobile phone features, anyone can get closer to capturing the perfect picture going in 2023

A spokesperson from Parrot Print said: “Everyone celebrating the New Year, whether at a party or watching the fireworks or just spending time with loved ones at home, wants to capture that memory on camera – the last second of 2022 and the first memory of 2023.  

“Taking a photo on a phone in the dark can be difficult and often leaves us feeling like we can’t quite capture the beautiful moment in front of us. 

“It can be hard to take a great picture at night or in darker locations as mobile phone cameras have smaller sensors than traditional cameras leading to blurry or pixelated photos.  

“The good news is you don’t necessarily need a professional camera to take great pictures at night. A lot of smartphones these days have features to help us all take better pictures as long as we know where to look.  

“You can also make use of the environment around you and set the phone up so it is as steady as you can make it before capturing that perfect nighttime picture.”  

Tips for capturing memories on New Year’s Eve:  

1. Keep your phone stable  

It doesn’t take much for a photo to appear blurry, especially if it’s taken at night so you’ll want to ensure your camera is as stable as possible. You could either invest in a handheld tripod or hold your phone with a tight grip in both hands.     

2. Download long-exposure apps   

Professional photographers tend to use longer exposure when taking pictures at night. This means the shutter speed of the camera is slower and can capture blurring motions too whilst still getting a sharp and crisp image. Although you can’t physically do this to your phone’s camera settings, you can download an app to help  

3. The flash isn’t always the solution  

When taking a picture at night or in the dark, a lot of people assume the flash will solve all their problems. Whilst this does do the trick sometimes, it’s not always the answer and can sometimes ruin the picture.   

4. Use night mode  

The majority of the latest smartphones have night mode to help enhance the pictures we take. Night mode takes several frames and then combines different elements of each to create a crisper image.  

 5. Adjust the ISO  

ISO determines how sensitive to light your camera is and essentially helps brighten or darken an image. Not all phones allow you to change the ISO but it is an option on some. The higher the ISO, the brighter the image will be.  

 6. Make use of light around you  

Depending on where you are and what you’re trying to capture you may be able to use the light around you like a lamppost or a candle. Making clever use of these light sources in a dark setting can create the perfect moody image. 

 7. Consider using editing apps  

If you feel like you still can’t capture the perfect image then there is the option to use an editing app to enhance different elements of the picture to get the result you want.  

NextBase 422GW Dash Cam with Emergency Service Notification and Alexa

Dash Cams have become a hugely popular and important piece of in-car technology. Not only do they act as an independent witness in court by recording everything that happens both in front of your car as well as behind (if you have a rear-view camera), in fact, Tesla has recently updated their vehicles to support ‘Sentry’ mode to monitor all around the car using their multiple cameras.

422GW Dash Cam
422GW Dash Cam

The increase in Dash Cam use has by recognised by insurance companies and police as an extremely helpful accessory in the event of both accidents and other investigations where individuals have gone missing and have been picked up on dashcam.

In the UK, the law states that a Dash Cam must NOT distract the driver or obscure the view of the road. If you decide to share the footage, faces and number plates should be blurred and unrecognisable. so bear this in mind if you decide to upload some footage to Facebook or YouTube.

422GW Dash Cam
422GW Dash Cam

NextBase 422GW with the rear camera module.

I have spent the last couple of weeks reviewing the NextBase 422GW a dashcam bursting with so many features, it would be impossible to list everything here!

Out of the boxes, the main dashcam and the additional rear camera module are both solidly built devices with a comforting amount of weight about them that feels durable. I also had a NextBase MicroSD card to store my footage. You also receive a very long power cable with 12v connector and the option of using either suction or sticky mount to affix the camera to your windscreen.

422GW Dash Cam
Nextbase App connected to 422GW Dash Cam

The 422GW’s features rely heavily on the use of an iOS or Android App which connects over both Bluetooth for general communication and WiFi for downloading videos to your device. It also supports Alexa and Handsfree calling which was quite useful as it allows voice instructions to download the recorded video to your mobile device (if that’s your thing!). You can also enter emergency information into the app which allows the device to automatically contact the emergency services if it detects an accident. Don’t worry, it won’t do this immediately, you do get to intervene before Police or Ambulances are summoned.

The most obvious feature of a dashcam is the quality of the video that it takes. The 422GW packs a F1.3 sensor recording at 1440p at 30 FPS or 1080p at 60 FPS. The quality of the video is excellent even in low light and darkness, I was seriously impressed. If you (like I did) installed the additional rear camera, the unit records both videos at the same time and you can set the rear camera to either record inside the cockpit or the rear window. I was unsure how this would turn out, but again I was really impressed with the results.

422GW Dash Cam
422GW Dash Cam – what’s in the box

If you are looking for a dashcam with Crash Protection, Emergency Service Alert, Auto-Sync, Intelligent Parking Monitoring, Alexa and the tool for installing the cable in your vehicle, you won’t go far wrong with this device! At £129 it’s great value too.

Matt Porter
www.thegadgetman.org.uk

 

 

Gadget Man – Episode 116 – Digital Photo Overload

Twenty years ago, we all relied on photographic film when taking pictures of friends, family or interesting places and landmarks. We were always very careful how and when we took these photos as at the time exposures were limited to either 24 or 36, there was also the case of having the photos developed by the nearest lab. The entire process would take from days to weeks depending on whether we were to wait until our return from our holidays.

Oh, how things have changed! We can now snap away with abandon and anything and everything! There is now no limit to how many photos we take, the storage on our cameras or phones allowing for thousands. If we do begin to fill up our devices, we can push these photos to ‘the cloud’ and start again.

In this episode, I speak to BBC Radio Suffolk about how many photos we now store and how we can safely store them away for future generations. I also talk about the possibility of hardware failure which can result in the loss of our memories.

 

Moobox – The Easy to Setup, Wirefree Security Camera

I’ve setup and installed a few different IP cameras in the past and one of irritations of such devices are that although they are now generally WiFi enabled,  there is always some kind of wiring required to power them. This means that they have to be situated near a power outlet and moving them to another location can be troublesome.

So when the Moobox camera arrived here for review, I was intrigued to see how using an IP camera without wires would actually stack up.

Continue reading Moobox – The Easy to Setup, Wirefree Security Camera

DSLR Your iPhone with Pictar

cam front_whiteMost of us use our smartphones to take pictures instead of carrying around a camera. Miggo have spent over a year researching and developing Pictar – an iPhone grip enclosure that brings the control of a DSLR right to your fingertips. With features that marry a traditional DSLR with your iPhone, Pictar gives you the ability to take your iPhone photography to the next level.

cam all_whiteDesigned to replicate the familiar feeling of holding a camera, you can comfortably use Pictar to take photos with one hand without worrying about dropping your phone whilst taking a photo. It is coated with anti-slip material, and can be connected to either a wrist strap or neck strap. The Pictar has been designed to fit most existing models of the iPhone, and the expanding design means it should fit future models too.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mymiggo/pictar-probably-the-best-iphone-camera-grip-ever-b

Features include:

· Zoom ring – no longer do you need to pinch the screen to zoom in and out. Use the rotating zoom ring to zoom in and out with just one hand.
· Selfie button – switch between front and back camera
· Multi state shutter release – half press to lock focus and exposure, or full press for immediate shutter release
· Exposure Compensation Wheel – quickly and easily control the brightness level before taking a picture
· ‘Smart’ wheel – in default mode this control 7 preset modes to let users easily adjust the iPhone to any situation while focusing on taking the shot. Preset modes are auto, portrait mode, landscape mode, sport mode, snow mode, selfie mode and video mode. For the more advanced photographer you can choose between 3 advanced modes – shutter priority, ISO priority and manual.
· Virtual wheel – control different modes such as flash mode, shutter speed and more.
· Cold shoe mount to attach LED lights
Tripod attachment

The Gadget Man – Episode 79 – Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) from Three

This morning I talk to Mark about the Motorola Moto G (3 gen) handset. At £169 sim free it represents fantastic value for money with excellent build quality and specification. To hear more about the phone, listen in to the audio recorded today on BBC Radio Suffolk.

Thanks to Three for the loan of the device, they always go above and beyond the call!

The Gadget Man – Episode 78 – Fujifilm Finepix S9900W Bridge Camera

Matt Porter, the Gadget Man reviews the Fujifilm Finepix S9900W
Matt Porter, the Gadget Man reviews the Fujifilm Finepix S9900W

One of my favourite pastimes is photography, although very strictly on an amateur basis. I’ve have been very lucky indeed to have been able to test out a wide range of cameras from Fujifilm this year.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been testing the Fujifilm Finepix S9900W Bridge Camera. This is a true bridge camera and it ticks most of the boxes for me with it’s 50 times zoom lens and inclusion of viewfinder.  One thing I didn’t mention on the radio was it’s wireless compatibility which allows for almost instant uploading of photos and remote control from your smart phone.

Listen in to the stream and enjoy some of the photo’s I’ve been able to take with this lovely camera over the last few weeks.

Thank you to Jeannie at Fujifilm as ever!!!

The Gadget Man Episode 61 Toshiba Camileo X Sports Camera

Action cams are the big thing at the moment. They offer excellent filming quality but are rugged and waterproof giving opportunities to film in water and rain.

The Toshiba Camileo X Sports Camera is no exception, it packed masses of features in a great quality camera but at a much lower price that the competition.

Hear what I thought of the camera by listening to the stream, full review due soon!!

The Gadget Man – Episode 51 – Fujifilm X-A2 Mirrorless Compact Camera

Fujifilm X-A2 Compact Mirrorless Camera
Fujifilm X-A2 Compact Mirrorless Camera

This week, we chatted about the Fujifilm X-A2 Mirrorless Compact Camera. This is a camera that is aimed at the mid point of the market, but has the features of the ‘X’ series .

We have the camera for a few weeks and will be revisiting it shortly to find out if it lives up to it’s hype.

Thanks to Fuji for the loan of the camera, they have been extraordinarily helpful as ever.

The Gadget Man – Episode 48 -D-Link myhome – Smart Plug, Motion Sensor, Home Monitor and Music Everywhere

This week I talk to Mark about a bunch of amazing products supplied to me my D-Link. Specifically the myhome suite of products.

D-Link myhome Smart Plug
D-Link myhome Smart Plug

D-Link have taken a very intelligent view of home automation by not only providing a plug that can be controlled via a phone app from anywhere in the world, but also by adding sensible features to the product allowing you to monitor usage and also set switch on and cut off times via a schedule.

When used in conjunction with the Motion Sensor and Home Monitor, the smart plug can be programmed to switch on or off based on events triggered by motion (Motion Sensor and Home Monitor) and also sound (Home Monitor).

The Home Monitor is a very able HD streaming camera which as I have mentioned can be programmed to trigger other devices within your personal home network.

They are really very good devices and I would like to personally thank D-Link for sending the very helpful Robert to our offices to fully demonstrate their capabilities.

We will be fully reviewing the devices online shortly