While the in-person event was cancelled again this year, CP+ still went ahead as an online event. As a result, we got a smaller than usual flurry of gear announcements, but there were quite a few good ones – particularly if you’re a Micro Four Thirds or Fuji shooter. As has become usual with events that have gone online, many of the announcements came before CP+ was scheduled to start. It’s not surprising that some releases come a little early, given that there’s no in-person event, as it allows each company to essentially have its own day to shine without being overshadowed by its competitors....

It’s hard to imagine that a particular film stock, especially something like infrared film, might have an origin story that’s almost as wild as a superhero. But the way Todd Dominey tells it, that’s pretty much how it sounds for Kodak Aerochrome. In this video, he goes over Aerochrome’s origins and its life until its demise in 2009. Developed by Kodak specifically for the US military during World War II, Aerochrome has had a colourful history (pun intended)....

Researchers at Technion Israel Institute of Technology have developed a new way of making lenses with a curable liquid polymer that allows for faster prototyping of new and custom optics. It’s designed primarily for applications such as corrective lenses, augmented and virtual reality, medical imaging and astronomy, but could potentially become a new manufacturing method (or at least allow faster development) of photographic lenses. According to a press release, the researchers began to develop the new method after realising that there were around 2....

They say that the gear doesn’t matter, and to some degree that’s true. Sometimes, though, it absolutely does. Even if that gear isn’t very good. The intentional choice to use lower quality or old equipment is used to achieve a certain look, feel or effect. And this is what we see here from filmmaker Matteo Bertoli. This short film was shot on an iPhone 3GS. Released in 2009 the iPhone 3GS is pretty ancient by today’s standards....

The volcano Mount Vesuvius in Italy is famous for its appetite for destruction. The Roman towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii are a testament to its force. One American tourist almost added himself to its death list recently when he lost his phone in the crater after attempting to take a selfie. If that wasn’t enough, the 23-year-old from Baltimore decided to climb into the crater of the dormant volcano, lost his footing, and then had to be rescued....