The Galaxy S22 phones have some of the best cameras of 2022. While this is true, they can still be made even better. Samsung just announced that a new update will bring astrophotography and other camera features to the Galaxy S22 phones.
The Galaxy S22 phones received praise when they launched earlier this year. They retain designs similar to last year’s phones with the exception of the S22 Ultra. This phone brought a new camera design.
Android Headlines did reviews on these phones. You can check out the review for the Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The new Galaxy S22 camera update brings astrophotography and more features
Let’s start off with the most relevant feature here. Samsung introduced the ability for Galaxy S22 owners to take pictures of the stars using the Expert Raw application. This lets you take a picture of the night sky and clearly see the stars. This is something that was introduced with Pixel phones, and it’s been well sought after ever since.
There’s also a new multiple exposures feature in the Expert Raw app. This allows you to take multiple pictures and layer them on top of each other in different ways. Say, if you take a picture of flowers, you can overlay it over a picture of you. The app gives you different ways to overlay your pictures for all sorts of effects.
There is a new camera assistant app
You can download this application from the Galaxy store. What this app does is let you choose which features you want to enable and disable in the camera app.
This includes features like auto lens switching, auto HDR, fast shutter, etc. It gives you access to these features so that you can easily change them on the spot. The Camera Assistant can also soften your selfies to get that beauty filter look.
These are all welcome features for the Galaxy phones. Google just launched its Pixel 7 phones, and they bring a spectacular photography experience. So, this is a way for Samsung to keep up with the competition. The new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro also launched, and those phones brought some camera improvements. This should tide users over until the Galaxy S23 phones launch next year.
Kickstarter has been the launch platform for many exciting camera and accessory projects with the latest project to catch my eye being the HEIPI tripod, a quite unique 3-in-1 travel tripod.
What makes it unique is the way it splits down from a travel tripod in to three components that can be used in isolation, or at least two can the other is the head. As its core function it is a travel tripod, then remove the centre column, and you have a smaller compact tripod and that makes two very functional accessories from one. The third part is the removable head which can then be displaced and popped on top of another set of tripod legs.
Aside from the design, which from the photos and video looks amazing, the main USP of the unit is the 3-pillar centre column that makes up the lightweight tripod section of the design.
Essentially, the designers have replaced the standard tube-style removable centre column with one that quickly removes and transforms into a tripod. Then when it’s in place, it can be raised or lowered like any other tripod centre column, all be it looking a little different, which is all very clever.
The centre column is, therefore, lightweight, very transportable in it’s own right and features spiked rubber feet to keep it steady when working out in the field.
As a travel tripod, the HEIPI needs to be lightweight and easily transportable, and to this end, the entire tripod weighs in at 0.63lb/0.29kg while taking a maximum load capacity of 55lbs/25kg. It also features a 360º panoramic head with an audible click that highlights every 10º turn. This click has been added to enable users to accurately gauge the rotation of the head in lower light conditions. At present I’m not sure if the click is a permanent fixture or if it can be silenced, I’ll find out soon.
The three-pillar design centre column has also been designed to make the tripod more structurally sound than competitors with legs that fold tight under the head removing much of the negative space common with other manufacturers.
The legs themselves are tubed and offer angles of 22°/48°/69.5°. A simple button mechanism enables the adjustment of the leg and angles and lever locks to enable you to release and lock the legs into position. The sub-tripod features a single leg section with leg angle adjustment from 40°/85°.
A HEIPI tripod is on its way to us here at Camerajabber.com, and I’ll update you on the tripod as soon as it arrives.
Visit https://www.tripod.HEIPIvision.com/ or the Kickstarter campaign.
A winking spotted owl peeks out from inside a pipe and a winking fox sits in the woods. Grinning fish swim up close in bright blue water. A squirrel vaults in the air during a rainstorm.
One of these shortlisted images could be the winner of the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards.
It could be the photo above, “Say Cheeeese,” of gray triggerfish in Faial, Azores. Arturo Telle Thiemann of Spain talks about his image:
“A couple of triggerfish looking into the camera, captured at the Azores. Even though they may look funny, these fish can be quite aggressive. In this case they didn’t attempt to bite me, but the domeport of my camera housing ended up with some scratches… life is hard… at least it wasn’t me who was hurt.”
The awards were founded in 2015 to focus on the more lighthearted side of wildlife photography, while drawing attention to conservation. This year the competition benefits Whitley Fund for Nature, a U.K. charity that supports conservation leaders. There were about 3,500 entries this year from around 90 countries. The winners will be announced in December.
Here’s a look at some of the other shortlisted finalists.
“I CU Boy !”
Arshdeep Singh / Comedywildlifephoto.com
This spotted owl was photographed by Arshdeep Singh in Bikaner, India.
“Few hundred miles away we went to explore wildlife of a small town named ‘Bikaner.’ It was after almost a year I travelled because of Covid. We hired a guide to explore places around. During the last day of our trip we came across a pipe in a city where we spotted an owlet. I have earlier clicked owls in a pipe before so I was sure that I wasn’t mistaken. We waited for a short while and it didn’t take a long time and one of the spotted owlet came out of the pipe. It was really funny when he came out and looked at me straight, before going inside he closed one of his eyes and felt like he wanted to say ‘I CU boy!’ and I immediately snapped a picture when he gave this pose.”
“Jumping Jack”
Alex Pansier / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Alex Pansier of the Netherlands captured this image of a red squirrel during a rainstorm.
“Stop and Stare”
Andy Evans / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Andy Evans of the U.K. photographed this proboscis monkey in Borneo.
“After hearing Borneo’s borders would reopen again in April 2022 I couldn’t wait to visit and photograph some of the weird and wonderful wildlife on the island. After 2 years with no tourists it seemed like the wildlife was just as shocked to see me as I was to see them. This young proboscis monkey watched in amazement as I cruised by on the Kinabatangan River.”
“The Wink”
Kevin Lohman / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Kevin Lohman of the U.S. snapped this red fox in San Jose, California. “An American red fox casually walked up to the edge of the woods and sat down, then turned around and gave a wink. Moments later, this sly fox disappeared into the trees.”
“Pegasus, the Flying Horse”
Jagdeep Rajput / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Totally not a flying horse, Jagdeep Rajput photographed a crane and an antelope at Keoladeo National Park, India.
“Actually this is an Indian sarus crane attacking a blue bull from behind. The bull happened to venture close to [the] sarus’s nest, where it had laid a single egg. The sarus crane, which is [the] tallest flying bird in the world, opened its huge wings and attacked the bull from behind, driving the bull away from the nest.”
“Happy Feet”
Thomas Vijayan / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Canadian Thomas Vijayan focused on this emperor penguin chick in Antarctica.
“Maniacs”
Saverio Gatto / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Named for the folds of skin (lappets) on each side of their face, these lappet-faced vultures posed for Italian photographer Saverio Gatto in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
“Misleading African Viewpoints 2”
Jean Jacques Alcalay / Comedywildlifephoto.com
French photographer Jean Jacques Alcalay captured a hippo yawning while next to a heron at Kruger National Park, South Africa.
“Mum Life”
Sophie Hart / Comedywildlifephoto.com
This baby long-tailed macaque was photographed clinging to its tired mother in Singapore by Sophie Hart of the U.K.
“What Shall I Write Next”
Torie Hilley / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Torie Hilley of the U.S. photographed this coastal brown bear cub in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
“Most bear cubs do cub-like things. Like, follow mom around, nurse, and be generally cute. But this cub took it to another level of cuteness. She found an eagle feather and started to play with it for a good 10 minutes! As she danced and rolled with the feather, she held it in her mouth for a moment—as if she was thinking of what to write next! Cuteness overload!”
“Barf”
Paul Eijkemans / Comedywildlifephoto.com
Paul Eijkemans of the Netherlands took this photo of a Picasso triggerfish in Marsa Shagra, Egypt. “The fish just vomited the coral residues that it picked up while nibbling on the coral.”
OM SYSTEM users are lucky when it comes to astrophotography. They get the best cameras when it comes to creating stunning astro images in-camera. What’s more, their best lenses for astrophotography are all compact and lightweight. What’s not to like about that? They’re also going to easily survive the cold because of their weather resistant design, which also lets you know they’ll be very reliable. Indeed, these are the best lenses for Astrophotography OM SYSTEM makes.
This piece is presented in partnership with OM SYSTEM. We’ve independently and ethically reviewed all the products in this post already without sponsorship. And we worked with them to recommend a few key gems to you.
The Phoblographer’s variousproduct round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
How to Use This Guide to Lenses for Astrophotography
Here’s some insight into how to use this guide of the best OM SYSTEM lenses for astrophotography:
This list of OM SYSTEM lenses for astrophotography is brought to you by OM SYSTEM. It abides by our Editorial Policies regarding these roundups. We won’t talk about a lens or product we haven’t touched. And to that end, this roundup contains OM SYSTEM lenses we’ve reviewed. Luckily, we’ve reviewed all their PRO grade lenses.
We shot all the product images and sample images in this roundup. So, know that we actually used them and that you can trust the experts at the Phoblographer.
These are Micro Four Thirds lenses. In order to get the full-frame equivalent, double the focal length.
Pairing these OM SYSTEM lenses with cameras that have computational photography like the OM SYSTEM OM-1 provide a ton of potential. There’s the Live ND feature, which helps you avoid stopping the lens down, and therefore prevents diffraction. Then there’s Live Composite, which does what pretty much no other camera system can for astrophotography and more. Indeed, the cameras are part of what makes these lenses for astrophotography so incredibly attractive.
Four Thirds is a trendy format right now. Watch a lot of Netflix shows, and you’ll see that they’re purposely letterboxing the sides to give it that look at times.
These OM SYSTEM lenses have different additions to the names, like IS and PRO. PRO designates their highest end lenses. IS stands for image stabilization.
We’ve ordered this list of OM SYSTEM lenses for astrophotography in no specific way. So keep in mind that they’re genuinely all good.
M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f1.8 Fisheye PRO
Pro Tip
This becomes the equivalent field of view of a 16mm lens in full-frame. That’s very, very wide. And it also means you’re going to have a lot of fun when capturing the stars at night.
In our review, we state:
“There isn’t a lot to say about the M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f1.8 Fisheye PRO lens that these images don’t say for themselves. Olympus optics have always been known for being very sharp, rendering lots of details, and focusing quickly. And quite honestly they have so many things about them that make them perfect.”
Buy Now
M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f2
Pro Tip
This lens has the cool function that lets you pull the focusing ring back and manually focus the lens. Set it to infinity and let it do its thing!
In our review, we state:
The color rendering is true to life and, unless you’re very close up, there is almost no distortion. In fact, I daresay that the colors are the most life-like I’ve seen of any lens in the Micro Four Thirds system.
Buy Now
M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f1.2 PRO
Pro Tip
OM SYSTEM cameras have this cool feature called “Starry Sky AF.” It lets the camera and the lens focus on, well, the stars! Try it!
In our review, we state:
“The M.Zuiko 17mm f1.2 PRO is about as easy of a lens to use as any other in this day and age. If you prefer manual focus, you can do that easily. If you prefer to just slap the lens on your camera, throw it into auto mode, and snap away on a family vacation, you can do that too. This lens has no issues that we ran into when it comes to ease of use, with the one exception being the manual focus mechanism that we noted in the build quality section.”
Buy Now
M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO
Pro Tip
This is one of the widest lenses that OM SYSTEM offers to passionate photographers just like you. If you really want to capture a vast scene, we recommend reaching for this lens.
In our review, we state:
The M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO lens is stellar when it comes to image quality. Quite obviously, it’s designed for wide angle shooting, which means landscapes, architecture, interiors and, at the longer end, you can probably squeeze in a portrait or two if you don’t put the subject near the edges.
Shenandoah National Park Artist-in-Residence Carl Johnson will present public programs about his landscape photography this Friday, Oct. 28 and again on Halloween.
Friday’s program is at 2 p.m. in the Big Meadows Visitors Center auditorium.
“From DSLR to mirrorless cameras and smartphones, pretty much everyone has a camera today,” said Johnson in a park release. “Rather than documenting our trips or hikes, how can we put our cameras to better use?”
The SNP Artist-in-Residence will discuss how to use photography to form deeper connections with nature—in the backyard or a favorite national park.
“These connections can be formed through exploration, discovery, and giving ourselves the time we need,” said Johnson.
He will back at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31 for an outdoor program near the visitor center at Big Meadows.
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“We have all seen amazing photos,” Johnsons said in the release.
“What they have in common is great use of light and composition. But they didn’t happen by accident. The photographer had to see the image first before it could be created.”
He quoted world famous American landscape photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984): “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
“Seeing and noticing details in the world around you is crucial to making that photograph,” Johnson said, encouraging program attendees to join him for an excursion into the field to learn the importance of observation and visualization in the making of good images.
The SNP Artist-in-Residence will also offer helpful technical and creative tips on how to use a camera to take better pictures. Johnson is documenting his residency on Instagram and Facebook.
It’s also an adventure in nature photography. He described his quest to capture an image of an elusive Alaskan moose.
“I first started hiking the trails in the mountains above Anchorage, searching for moose to photograph. Early on, I envisioned a photo that included a large bull moose in the foreground and the Anchorage skyline in the background. Finally, after over eleven years of searching, I finally found it while guiding Doug Gardner, host of “Wild Photo Adventures” to photograph moose,” Johnson recalled.
The upcoming programs are free. Attendees will need a Shenandoah National Park entrance permit or pass. The Artist-in-Residence program is funded through generous donations to the Shenandoah National Park Trust.
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They went to high school together, but their paths hardly crossed. It wasn’t until a few years after graduation that they reconnected… and this time… for good. <3 When Dylan proposed on New Year’s Eve it was an instant, no-brainer YES to being Mrs. Cisney and spending a lifetime together!
Dylan and Maggie are some of the kindest people and getting to be a part of this season of their lives has been such a joy!! Maggie is a photographer herself who actually came to my workshop a few years ago… so of course when her name popped up in my inbox that she was ENGAGED (!!!) I was especially honored she chose me to capture her day! It was so sweet to get to capture *her* as the bride (she was glowingggg!!) and of course we were both so excited that her wedding day had PERFECT LIGHT. Dream day.
Dylan & Maggie! Thank you for trusting me with these memories and for being so joyful and trusting throughout the whole process!! Your day is one that I’ll never forget. I’m truly so grateful for your confidence in me to capture every moment. Enjoy a few of my favorites from this beautiful Lily Manor wedding full of so much love! Xo
