Category Archives: Camera

Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra adds high quality video live streams @ CES 2023



Razer Kiyo Pro UltraThe world lives on the internet today, even more so than even just a few years ago. Many types of work have moved from living in an office to working from home or on a hybrid schedule. Gamers spend their time playing games and sharing that gameplay with friends, family, and subscribers on services like Twitch. Even teachers have begun creating content for platforms like YouTube and Rumble showing off their skills. All of this requires a couple of things, but most importantly a solid-quality camera, and the new Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra is designed to improve all of these environments.

What is the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra?

The Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra is the latest entry in Razer’s line of high-end webcams. Don’t think of these as a standard webcam, however, as they are designed not just for use on Teams and Slack calls (though they certainly can be) but are also high enough quality to be used by content creators. This is because the whole line places a focus on video quality.

The Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra offers an adjustable resolution of up to 4K Ultra HD. While this is not the first 4K webcam, it separates itself from the crowd in several important ways. Most importantly, the camera is capable of producing not just a 4K video resolution, but it’s able to produce full uncompressed 4K video at 24 FPS. The uncompressed video is a benefit because it gives your streaming system the ability to process the video in the way that it needs without having a quality drop ahead of your software.

A virtual director included

If you’re looking for your camera to do a lot of the camera work for you, then the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra offers a collection of features to make your recording and streaming process easier. You can use the camera as a virtual director, with automated zoom, pan, tilt, shutter speed, ISO settings, and a whole lot more. These settings come to light using the company’s Razer Synapse software, which gives you fine-grained control over your camera or allows you to allow the camera to do the work for you.

Imagine if you will that you’re a solo content producer. You’ve got a big product that you want to stream a live unboxing for, but you’ve only got a single camera. Your choices are either to have a single shot that’s too wide to get good detail of the product during the unboxing, or you can crop yourself out to get detail of the product. With the settings within Synapse, you can have it both ways, and more. You can have the camera’s focus and viewport shift to keep you properly centered in the frame, and the system will recognize when you place the product in the foreground that it should become the focus instead of you. This makes it possible to stream the event live without having a production team to oversee your broadcast.

Summary

The Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra is available for pre-order now for $299. To learn more about the product or to pre-order one for yourself, head over to the company’s website.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.

Sponsored by:
Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy.
Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more.
The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.


Zhiyun Tech makes professional quality gimbals affordable @ CES 2021



Zhiyun Tech camera gimbalsPhotography and videography have become more popular pastimes over the past year. But, most of the new products that have come out in support of the content creator community have been focused on the static shot, intended to help improve the experience of streamers. But, Zhiyun Tech has a collection of camera gimbals for content creators ranging from home users to professional production rigs.

When filming motion, the only way to get great, smooth video is with a gimbal. These devices attach to your camera and give you more control over the picture. For all cameras, they offer a gyroscopic stabilization system that helps to keep the lens of the camera pointed in the same direction, despite the motion of the camera itself. So, if your arm moves around or shakes a bit, the stabilization system will help to keep the picture as steady as possible. Large motions, like tripping, will not maintain a steady shot but will produce a smooth downward motion.

For larger cameras, an added bonus is additional points of contact. You can use a larger rig with two hands, separated from one another for added stability and less strain on your arm muscles. With really big rigs, you can lean them into your chest, providing a third point of contact. The style of gimbal you need will depend on the type of camera work, the size of the camera, and the length of the shot.

In addition to the gimbals, the company also offers a video transmission technology for live broadcast, streaming, and camera previewing. Simply plug it into the video out on your camera and you can get up to 100 meters of transmission with only 60 milliseconds of latency.

To learn more about the products available, you can check out the Zhiyun Tech website.

Interview by Christopher Jordan of The Talking Sound.

Sponsored by:
Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy.
Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more.
The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.


CL360 is a bright lighting idea for 360 photos and videos @ CES 2021



CL360 Camera LightOne of the growing trends in digital photography and videography is 360. There are a lot of ways to take advantage of this medium, but it also produces a number of unique challenges. The biggest issue has been in lighting. You can’t set up a whole big room or yard full of lighting in order to light your photos correctly, so what do you do? The CL360 Camera Light is the solution to this problem.

If you have used a 360 camera, you know that they generally sit on a tripod or monopod. They then produce their 360 photos or videos, editing out the very bottom of the frame, thus eliminating the majority of the mounting hardware. That is exactly where the CL360 Camera Light finds itself – under the camera. It takes its place between the camera and the mounting solution and produces a very bright wash light in all directions. It can be used as an always-on solution for video, or as a flash for still photos.

The idea here, of course, is to make the quality of your projects better. There is nothing worse than a photo or video that is too dark to be seen. It is even worse when the media is being used in a professional or production setting. For example, anyone who has looked to purchase a house has seen a 360 photo of the rooms in the home that are absolutely dreadful. Besides being placed in the wrong positions, which can only be fixed by training, they are also dark. It makes sense since the houses usually have no power, but adding proper lighting can make the experience better. The same holds true when looking at videos in VR that are produced in a darker environment, such as outside at night.

The CL360 Camera Light is currently in final testing and is hoped to be on the market by mid 2021. For more information and to get updates on production, check out the company website.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.

Sponsored by:
Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy.
Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more.
The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.


Wonder Painter – Tech Podcasts Network Best of CES 2020 Award



Wonder PainterThe Tech Podcasts Network team awards its TPN Best of CES 2020 Award to Wonder Painter.

As a kid, almost everyone imagined themselves as the protagonist in their favorite stories. Heck, most adults do it when they read. However, those picture books never actually feature your face, right? Wonder Painter has created a technology that can directly bring any drawing or photo to life. The technology can allow publishers to use the reader’s drawing or photo as an integral part of their storytelling experience.

Imagine a story about two kids going on an adventure – it’s a fairly standard kids book concept. However, using Wonder Painter’s technology, that story can feature you and your best friend as the kids going on said adventure. During the story, the two of you need a horse to get across a large field. Simply draw your own horse and the drawing comes to life as your transportation. This is nearly every kid’s dream scenario and it is now a possibility.

The company has published a few demo apps to the Apple App Store to show off the basics of what their technology can do. While these demos are a ton of fun, the really important part is the technology. It is available in a platform-agnostic way, making it possible to build for the web, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, macOS, and more. The company licenses this technology to content creators to allow them to make their own products and services more interactive. They are currently working with LG, Baidu, Alibaba, and more to make interactive applications a reality.

If you want to see the technology in action, check out the Wonder Painter apps in the App Store or the company’s website. You can also learn about the SDK, Cloud service, and ask for a private demo of the development tech.

Sponsored by:
Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy.
Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more.
The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.