As far as mirrorless cameras go, Sony has been a leader in innovation and in my opinion, has managed to stay ahead of the pack with its new releases. About a week ago, Sony continued that trend with the announcement of the Alpha a7 III Mirrorless Digital Camera. This camera features a 24MP Full-Frame sensor, UHD 4K video, a 3” tilting LCD touch screen, 5-axis stabilization, 10 fps continuous shooting, built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, Bluetooth and dual SD card slots. Of course, utilizing their proprietary Memory Stick Pro is a foregone conclusion. Sony has also included a USB Type-C port along with the usual HDMI mini port, and USB 2.0 Micro-B port for great connectivity. What is not included is a built-in flash, which will not likely be a deal breaker, since most photographers will likely prefer to use their own Hot Shoe flash. Sony’s more evolved Fast Hybrid AF System should improve the speed and reliability of the autofocus and tracking.
Sony, Canon, and Nikon have been long-standing rivals in the development of cameras and the associated technology. Although I am a Canon fan, I must concede that Sony also does a great job with their DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Just recently, Canon released their mirrorless M50 camera, with comparable specifications to the Sony Alpha a7 III, albeit that Canon uses an APS-C crop sensor. If I get the opportunity to take them both out for a test drive, I will follow up with a more detailed comparison and opinion.
You can pre-order the Sony Alpha a7 III Mirrorless camera at B&H Photo Video for a starting price of $1998 (Body Only).
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If you feel compelled to take your phone out of your pocket to snap pictures and record videos throughout your day, a device like the FrontRow camera might save you a lot of time because this camera automatically records your adventures so you can leave your phone in your pocket.
What is it?
FrontRow is a camera that you wear around your neck that can capture snapshots and video either manually or automatically throughout your day to create condensed time-lapse videos called stories. The camera can also be used to live stream to Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Hardware specs
Main camera: 8MP, f2.2, 1080P, 30fps, optical image stabilization
Back camera: 5MP, f2.0, 1080P, 30fps, optical image stabilization
Display: color touch screen, 640 x 572 resolution
Memory: RAM 2GB, Storage 32GB
Battery: Standby 50hrs, live streaming 1hr 45min – 1hr 55min, recording 1hr 50min – 2hr, fast charging via USB TYPE-C
Connectivity: Bluetooth and Wifi
What’s in the box?
FrontRow camera
Magnetic clip
USB cable with adapter
Adjustable lanyard
Microfiber cloth
Quick start guide
FrontRow logo sticker
Design and features
The FrontRow camera looks like a stopwatch that a coach might wear around their neck.
It comes in black and will also soon be available in white with rose gold. The camera has a premium look and feel due to the metal casing and a glass touchscreen display. The display faces against your body when it’s being worn. Above the display is a 5MP reverse camera which has an 85-degree viewing angle and below the display is the home button.
The front of the FrontRow camera has the FrontRow logo and the main 8MP camera which has a 147.5-degree wide-angle lens.
On one side of the camera is a small media button and a longer power button. On the opposite side (not shown), is a speaker and a tiny status LED that blinks in blue while charging, is solid blue when fully charged, and blinks red while video is being recorded.
On the bottom edge of the FrontRow camera is a USB Type-C port and to the left of the charging port is a microphone.
The top of the FrontRow is designed with a detachable clip. The camera comes with a lanyard clip and a magnetic stand clip.
The clips are made of metal with hooks that latch securely into the top of the FrontRow camera.
The magnetic clip can be used to attach the FrontRow to a metal surface. Be aware that the magnet isn’t very strong, so I would be wary of using it to hold the camera high above the ground.
Other mounting options in the future may include a car mount so you can use the FrontRow camera as a dash cam.
Setting up the FrontRow
The first thing you will need to do before you can start using the FrontRow camera is to charge it using the included USB Type-C cable. While the camera is charging, you can install the iOS or Android FrontRow app on your mobile device.
The app and the camera itself have an easy to use interface that provides access to images, video, and stories that have been captured with the camera as well as an interface to change settings and initiate recordings and live streaming events.
Almost everything that you can do through the app, you can also do right from the camera. This includes manually capturing video from either the main or reverse cameras.
You can also view images and watch videos right on the FrontRow’s color touchscreen display which by the way is crisp, clear, and vibrant. It’s also surprisingly fingerprint resistant.
In addition to taking snapshots with the FrontRow camera, capturing video, making time-lapse videos, and live streaming to social sites like Facebook, the FrontRow camera has a few other interesting features like a stopwatch, language translator, and a Spotify player.
Using the FrontRow as a camera
To take a snapshot with the FrontRow, you just click the media button once. If the FrontRow’s display is on and the camera is not in story mode, you’ll hear a shutter sound to let you know that an image was just captured.
If the screen is off and the camera is not in story mode, you’ll feel three vibrations with the last vibration signifying that the image was just captured.
If the FrontRow camera is in story mode, you can still snap images by pressing the media button and you will feel one vibration to let you know that the image was just captured.
Click the example images above to see the image quality. You’ll notice that the first three images are a little blurred and that part of my jacket was in the way of the lens for one of the shots. Only the selfie was sharp and clear. I noticed the blurring issue with most of the images that I manually captured. Due to the problem with blurring, I wouldn’t want to use the FrontRow as my only camera. As a live streaming camera, video camera, and time-lapse camera, it does a good job, but as a stand-alone snapshot camera, I prefer my phone.
Using the FrontRow camera to capture video and create live streaming sessions
The FrontRow camera has both optical (OIS) and electrical (EIS) image stabilization which is supposed to keep your action videos looking smooth instead of choppy. But these stabilization features won’t help if you’re wearing the camera around your neck and are walking or running around while you’re trying to capture video. Here’s a quick example of me wearing the camera around my neck while walking normally around my house.
Not very smooth is it? It’s not the fault of the FrontRow though. I don’t think any amount of OIS or EIS can help smooth out video when the camera is swinging from your neck as it’s recording. FYI: The video sample was saved in SD (720p) quality and the weird audio is due to it being a really breezy day.
Live streaming video quality works very well as long as you have a WiFi or good connection to the net through your phone. The first time I tried to do a live stream was in my car and it would not work. It kept asking me to connect to WiFi. When I asked FrontRow about this issue, they responded with:
The Facebook livestream API requires speeds greater than 50kbps. If speeds do not meet this requirement Facebook will end the stream (or not allow a stream to begin until speeds meet the required level). FrontRow suggesting to connect to a wi-fi networks is a result of needing to satisfy these speed requirements.
Here’s an example of a live stream to Facebook while my phone was connected to my home WiFi.
Note that copies of your live-streamed videos are NOT saved on the FrontRow camera or on your phone.
Using the FrontRow to capture time-lapse “stories”
Live streaming is cool, but my favorite feature of the FrontRow camera is the story feature. Stories are a group of clips that are condensed and turned into time-lapse video recordings of your day or special events. By default, stories don’t include audio, but you can add background music using the FrontRow app.
Stories are a fun way to relive your day without having to manually record a video yourself. Just put the FrontRow around your neck turn on story mode and it will do the rest.
You can customise the video clip capture length from fast to slow. The exreme left side of the slider = 3sec/clip, bicycle symbol = 5sec/clip, walking symbol = 8sec/clip, cloud symbol = 10sec/clip, extreme right side of the slider = 20sec/clip.
I decided that using the FrontRow to capture a day at Turkey Run State Park would be a worthy test. I set the camera to the walking symbol, put it around my neck, started the story mode, and we went about our day at the park. You can check out the 14-minute video below.
As you can see from the video, sometimes the clips are a bit blurry. The idea isn’t to have a perfect video of your whole day but to be able to relive the memories of the day and I think FrontRow does that quite nicely.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the FrontRow is automatically capturing video snippets all the time and that after a short while, you’ll forget that you’re wearing it. That means that the camera might capture scenes that you might not want to see or have others see like when you’re in the restroom. That’s why you can pause the story anytime you like by double clicking the media button. When you’re ready to start capturing the story again, you just double-click the button again.
Your stories will also probably include a lot of boring parts that you can cut out using the editing features in the FrontRow app. You can also add background music to your stories using the included instrumental tracks from the app.
Stories use a LOT of storage. The 14-minute video above used more than 2.5GB of space on the camera which does not have expandable storage.
Battery life
The camera has good battery life but the recording time will depend on the resolution and the speed that you choose. The video sample I included above was set to the middle speed and was able to capture a time-lapse from 9:30 am – 5 pm which is pretty impressive.
The camera also has a fast charging feature, so you can semi-quickly charge it up for your next adventure and you can live stream while charging.
Final thoughts
The FrontRow camera is the type of product that most people won’t use every day and that makes the $400 price a bit steep. That said, it is a fun gadget to have for vacations, trips, and special events because you can wear it around your neck, start the story mode and enjoy the day or event without feeling like you have to take out your phone every few minutes to snap a picture or record a video.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by FrontRow. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.
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I’ve reviewed a couple wearable cameras like the Narrative Clip that are designed to automatically capture images so you can relive your daily adventures. Love the idea, but so far none of the cameras I’ve tried has really been that impressive. If looks count for anything, the Frontrow wearable hands-free live stream camera and watch has me drooling.
The Frontrow camera can be worn around your neck or clipped to a shirt, belt, etc. It features a touchscreen display on the front that can show the current time.
The device also both a front and rear camera. The front camera is an 8MP and the rear camera is 5MP. It also has a built-in microphone and speaker.
It has 16hrs of battery life per charge and refuels quickly via USB Type-C.
Want to know more about the Frontrow camera? Head over to www.frontrow.com or Amazon where you can buy one now for $399.99.
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There is no question that I, and probably many of you readers, take a lot of photographs on a cell phone. It is always on you, and the cameras on them are getting better and better. I purchased the iPhone 7 Plus because of the camera, and I was intrigued to find out that there are cases and lenses to try to make that camera better. One of them is the Bitplay Snap! 7 and their differing lenses, and I was given an opportunity to try a few out.
I was sent the Bitplay Snap! 7 case which includes the case, a hand grip, thumb rest, wrist strap, and user manual. Along with the case, I was sent two different lens sets to try out. Each lens had a macro lens included, as well as a cinch top bag to store them in. I ended up using one bag to store the accessories in the case and the other to store the lenses.
The case slips on like most standard cases, and it fit snugly on my phone. There is a lip on the front of the case to protect your screen, which is a must in my opinion, and the case itself is sturdy and I felt comfortable that it would protect my phone if dropped. The cutout for the camera does not interfere at all with taking pictures.
One of the things that make this a camera case is the extra button on the bottom right side to be used as a shutter button. Basically, it is a volume down switch moved to a new position. I used this when taking pictures, but after a few weeks of use, I still hit it accidentally when I am holding my phone and turn the volume down. It did work very well for taking pictures, however.
The bottom is left open, and I was able to plug in different sizes of Lightning cables without any problem at all. I prefer it this way, since my previous case only allowed for the official Apple cable to fit.
With the cutouts and holes for the camera accessories, the case itself is not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it performs its function well. It also is a little bulky, and I had a hard time fitting the already big phone into a few of my jacket pockets with the case on. Due to this, I don’t think I would use this daily, but instead, have it for vacations where I am going to use the camera features frequently.
Now let’s move on to the included accessories. A thumb rest and hand grip are included with the case, and they are definitely not for daily use. However, taking pictures using both of these with the case was very comfortable. The hand grip can easily be screwed and unscrewed with a built-in dial. Not once did it unscrew on its own, which was one thing I worried about.
I was sent two lens kits; a wide angle with a 1.5x macro lens, and a fisheye with a 5x macro lens. Both included a carry bag. These lenses are sold separately, and there are also other variations of lenses available on their website.
The macro lenses were similar, so I will lump them in together. Both took good pictures, but it was very hard to keep the phone in focus when taking such close-up photos. Also, you had to be VERY close to the object to get a good picture, which meant I could only photograph tiny flowers, rather than a tulip or daisy. I can’t see myself using the macro lenses terribly often.
It was both fun and interesting to use the fisheye lens. When testing it out, my cat took a closer look at the lens and I shot a perfect picture of her nose. I would include it here, but it is just barely out of focus, so I took another of a flower bush to better show off the fisheye effect. Keep reading if you want to take a look at the fisheye picture of my cat. The iPhone camera adapted very well to the lens, focusing like it wasn’t there and also providing clear pictures. The lens quality seems pretty good. It’s not cheapo plastic feeling, and the included covers protected both sides of the lens to keep scratches from appearing on the glass.
The lens that I would use most out of all that I tried, however, is the wide-angle lens. I was floored when I saw the difference between a wide-angle and regular iPhone picture, so much that I did my best to take a picture at the same place with and without the lens to show it off. The above picture is just a regular iPhone picture, no lens attached. The below picture is the field of view when I added the lens on. I was able to see the entire bush, and not only that, there isn’t much in the way of distortion around the edges of the picture. I would have loved to have this in Yellowstone, to get an even greater view of the grand prismatic spring. The quality is just as good as I mentioned with the fisheye lens as well. If you picked up one lens for this case, this would be the one I would recommend.
Fisheye, macro, wide-angle, they all have their uses depending on their situation. If you are someone who loves an extreme fisheye look like my cat above, then the fisheye may work for you. They also have another style of fisheye on their website that doesn’t seem so extreme as well. I’d have loved to get a look at that one, but the standard fisheye was fun to use nonetheless.
Overall, I really liked the case and wide-angle lens, and will definitely include them on my next trip. For daily use, I reverted back to my previous case, since it is just too bulky to use all the time. The case and lenses may be a little pricey if you are used to cheap cases, but the quality is definitely there. If you are looking for a daily use case, I would probably not even look at a camera case, but if you are looking specifically for a case and lenses, take a look at the Bitplay Snap! 7.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Bitplay. Please visit their site for more information and visit Amazon to order.
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During the second day of Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference, where Facebook usually makes its biggest announcements of the year, CTO Mike Schroepfer unveiled two new Surround 360 cameras with some amazing capabilities.
Since purchasing Oculus in July of 2014, Facebook has invested majorly in Virtual Reality. Aside from creating a channel built right into your Facebook feed for 360° videos, Facebook has also done a lot of research and development into creating high-end 360° cameras.
The first iteration of the Surround 360, now dubbed the Surround 360 Open Edition, was a 17 camera behemoth that was open-sourced on GitHub. You couldn’t buy one, but you could download the plans to build one with off the shelf components. These two new cameras, currently called the x24 and the x6 for the number of lenses on each, will be licensed by Facebook to manufacturing partners with the hopes of getting them to market later in 2017.
The most impressive feature of these cameras, aside from their futuristic spherical design, is the ability to shoot 360° video with six degrees of freedom, also known as 6DoF. Shooting in 6DoF allows the creator to provide a more immersive experience for the viewer who will now be able move along six different axes during playback. The range of motion will be limited though and the video will need to be viewed on a powerful VR device such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive which can provide positional tracking.
No pricing or branding was mentioned during the presentation, but expect the x24 to rival or surpass the cost of the comparable $40,000 Nokia Ozo. Hopefully, there will be more updates on these cameras as deals are struck with manufacturers.
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That’s why you can pause the story anytime you like by double clicking the media button. When you’re ready to start capturing the story again, you just double-click the button again.
