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A man has lived for more than 100 days with an artificial maglev heart working inside his chest. In a landmark moment, he was discharged earlier this year, becoming the first person in the world to leave the hospital with the device embedded in his body.
Category: Medical Devices, Medical Innovations, Body & Mind
Tags: Heart, Heart Disease, Heart Failure, Monash University, Artificial organs, Surgery, Transplant, Titanium
OM System's Director of Product Planning, Hiroki Koyama and VP for Brand Strategy and Product Planning, Kazuhiro Togashi, at CP+ 2025
Photo: Dale Baskin
"We are considering the new Pen concept as OM System brand," says OM System's Kazuhiro Togashi, VP for Brand Strategy and Product Planning.
We spoke at the CP+ trade show in Yokohama, Japan, and he reassured us that the arrival of the OM-3 with a Pen-F style 'creative dial' on the front doesn't close the door on the rangefinder-style series.
"There's a different concept between OM-3 and Pen-F series," he explains: "basically the Pen-F series is about ultimate beauty and the ultimate craftsmanship. Whereas OM-3's core concept is to take authentic and great creative photos."
But, he says, it's too soon to know what a future Pen might look like. "We think the camera's design must realize the concept of the product, so we don't start to decide the camera design before deciding the camera's concept: the product concept must come first."
"Therefore, we haven't yet decided if the product design for a new Pen will look like the Pen-F or similar to the E-P7 because we haven't decided on the product concept."
But what's clear is that OM System does plan to continue the Pen line.
The continued appeal of dedicated camerasWe asked Togashi what he thought makes shooting with a dedicated camera special, in a time when smartphone image quality has got so good.
"Experience is very important," he says: "There's a different kind of experience between smartphones and a camera. For example, I personally love to use a smartphone, but just to record; without any emotional feeling."
"When a user decides the moment with their camera, maybe their feelings are being moved by such an attempt: they're not just recording, there's more to it."
"It's like with professional sportsmen. They have to prepare to give their best performance during the game. They are always training before the game."
"When you get a perfect photo, you feel a win""In the case of photos, photo enthusiasts always think or calculate before taking a photograph. Before you take something, you consider the place, or you think about which position is better, or what sort of atmosphere or angle: you calculate before you take the photo."
"This is like a serious game, just as it is for football or baseball player. And when you get a perfect photo, you feel a win. 'I win, by myself' I don't know if many people can get that similar experience by taking photos with a smartphone."
And he thinks this difference should remain, even as the image quality gap narrows. "Smartphone's development speed is very high, and in the future, the difference between smartphones and camera might become very small," he says: "however the difference in experience, is a bit bigger."
We're not the company to make an enthusiast compactDespite this, and in spite of rising sales of compacts, Togashi says we shouldn't expect an enthusiast compact.
"As for the current popularity of compact digital cameras, lower-priced models seem to be selling very well worldwide, but we feel that this is a temporary trend." he says: "We are continuing to study the development of a successor to the TG series, but currently we don't have any plans to introduce other compact camera concepts."
"We don't have any plans to introduce other compact camera concepts"“As for high-end compact digital cameras, we recognize that there is a dedicated user base that remains a valued segment of the market, however, at OM System, we are focused on developing products that align with the evolving needs of photographers, ensuring we deliver the best possible innovation and performance across our lineup."
“When we were Olympus, our brand was known for high-end compact cameras like the XZ series and Stylus 1. However, since becoming OM System, we no longer carry high-end compact cameras. Instead, we focus on cameras that align with broader market needs, including those of younger generation photographers. Given the significant investment required – not only in research and development but also in reestablishing a high-end compact brand image – such a product would be challenging to make profitable.”
The TG series endures...The TG series of rugged, waterproof cameras continues to have an audience, the company says.
Image: OM System
But the TG series definitely has a future, says Togashi, because it has a dedicated user base.
"TG still survives and is well received by the market," he says: "Outdoor enthusiasts want to capture their activities and adventures. Also families look for ways to preserve special memories---whether it’s their children playing in the pool or on vacations and situations like that."
"On the other hand, professional scuba divers or climbers continue to rely on the TG series. For them, safety is very important during these extreme activities, and the TG series remains a trusted tool in these challenging environments. "
"Both types of users continue to use the TG series, setting it apart from other high-end compact cameras. Their main priorities are mobility and ease of operation, rather than smartphone connectivity. They love the operation and mobility."
...but a high-end TG would be challengingThese specific requirements might rule out a higher-end TG, he suggests
"We're always talking about the successor of the TG series and whether to add a new, higher TG line, maybe using a bigger sensor, or perhaps a TG-DSLR."
"We're always thinking about the possibilities. However, as of today we don't have any best answer to realize this concept because the requirement for TG series is very hard. For example, making a large or removable lens drop resistant is very difficult."
Also, he says, keeping the size down is important: "if we adopted a bigger sensor and we maintain the same optical zoom range, the body would need to be very big. That means such a TG would lose the mobility concept."
Togashi didn't seem enthused by our suggestion of a prime lens: "A lot of TG users' photographic needs are different from enthusiasts', so they like to use a zoom lens. They like to enlarge subjects in their photos, therefore they always use tele-zoom."
Director of Product Planning, Hiroki Koyama raises another concern: " We also give priority for close-up capability. TG can be used very close to the subject. If we choose a bigger sensor size, the close-up capability will be reduced. The current sensor size is the best balance, but we'll try to study the concept."
The OM System lens rangeOn the subject of lenses, we asked whether they believe the current Micro Four Thirds lens lineup includes all the options an OM-3 user might want.
"Still not yet," says Togashi: "We are also trying to develop small and light and bright lenses or something like that. We have space to make new lenses in the future. I can't disclose [the details], but yes."
Choosing the right lenses to add isn't always easy, he suggests: "People always ask 'will you make a pancake lens?'," he says: "but then the pancake lens sales are not so good in general. But still, we'll continue to consider it."
Interview conducted by Dale Baskin and Richard Butler, answers edited for flow.
TCL has a new twist on the portable projector called the PlayCube, which is said to be have been inspired by the Rubik's Cube, and sports a rotating side panel to support positioning flexibility.
Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: TCL, Projectors, Portable, Google TV, HD
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has revealed plans for an eye-catching new skyscraper in Tbilisi, Georgia. The building's sculpted form, which twists as it rises, has a practical use, creating outdoor terrace areas for those inside.
Category: Architecture, Lifestyle
In a potentially major breakthrough for regenerative medicine, scientists at MIT have developed a way to convert skin cells directly into brain cells extremely efficiently, without needing to go through the intermediate step of converting them to stem cells first.
Tags: Stem Cells, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS), Cells, MIT, Brain, neurons, Regenerative Medicine, Regenerative
A new study has tested innovative proof-of-concept technology that syncs electrical stimulation with rehabilitation robotics to enable individuals paralyzed after spinal injury to move more naturally. The tech should improve recovery outcomes.
Category: Medical Innovations, Body & Mind
Tags: Spinal cord injury, Paralysis, Rehabilitation robotics, Physical functioning, EPFL
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has released the most detailed map yet of what Antarctica looks like when you strip away its ubiquitous cover of ice and snow. Derived from 60 years of data, it will help scientists understand ice flows better.
Category: Science
Tags: Antarctic, British Antarctic Survey, Mapping
It's official: Cadillac will be the 11th F1 team in the paddock in 2026, now that it's been approved to join the championship by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Formula One Management (FOM).
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: F1, Racing, formula one, GM, Cadillac
Quaise Energy has been dazzling us lately with its bleeding-edge plans to tap super-deep, superheated steam as a global power source. Now, the company's reaching back over a century to adapt yesterday's technology for tomorrow's energy.
Category: Energy, Technology
Tags: Geothermal, Renewable Energy, Clean Energy
Across the UK and Ireland in recent years, there has been an increase in kids becoming seriously ill soon after drinking sugar-free slushies. A new study has pointed the finger at glycerol, a compound that’s used as a sugar substitute and, until now, has been considered safe.
Category: Wellness & Healthy Living, Body & Mind
Tags: Glycerol, metabolism, hypoglycemia, Children
It's a bird; it's a plane!! It's a ... cloud?! No, it's a massive, once-military-grade hover-capable blimp designed to connect the most remote parts of the world with established trading hubs. The AT2 Aerospace Z1 airship aims to use a combination of hydrogen-powered thrust vectoring and helium buoyancy to efficiently carry people and goods over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) per trip. Not only will it reach the world's most remote destinations, it'll use proprietary Air Cushion landing gear to touch down virtually anywhere, including on water.
Tags: Airships, Cargo, Climate Solutions: Shipping, Transport, Lockheed Martin, Blimp, Shipping
Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2022. We have updated it with information about the current eclipse as a service to readers.
Starting tonight, March 13, through the early hours of tomorrow, March 14th, skywatchers in the Americas will be able to view the first total lunar eclipse of the year. The moon will turn a 'blood red' hue for a brief period as it passes entirely into the Earth's shadow when lined up with the sun. Depending on where you are located, there is a specific time you can witness this phenomenon.
Time and Date, a top-ranking site for times and timezones, created a useful tool that allows you to make a plan by entering your viewing location. From there, it gives you pertinent information, including the total duration, what time each phase of the eclipse starts and the direction it'll travel, plus altitude during these phases. A helpful animation gives you a visual of how it will appear, minute by minute, once it starts.
Time and Date created a free tool to help you plan your total lunar eclipse viewing, depending on your location. This is the data for Seattle, WA, where DPReview's headquarters is located.If you plan on bringing your camera out for the 'blood moon', photographer Jamie Malcolm-Brown has some helpful tips for camera settings. Describing his process for capturing a lunar eclipse in 2021, he tells DPReview that 'it was taken with [a] 200-600mm lens at 600mm, ISO 800, F6.3, at 1/3 sec. I bracketed the shots at 5 shots with an EV (exposure value) change of 1. Next time I would probably bracket 5 shots but with only an EV change of .3. The final image was cropped fairly significantly to fill the frame with the moon.'
While useful for capturing more detail on the moon's surface, you don't necessarily need a long lens that extends to 600mm to photograph the blood moon. John Weatherby released a quick, helpful tutorial on Instagram outlining his process for getting the best images possible. For one, you can shoot at a focal length between 100–200mm if you want to include a foreground.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by John Weatherby (@whereisweatherby)
Weatherby also explains that having a sturdy tripod and ball head is an absolute necessity. Ensuring that the lens is locked in securely will yield clearer images of the moon. Using the camera's shutter delay or self-timer, or an external remote, will also help prevent blurry shots as the camera is likely to shake a bit once you press the shutter. PhotoPills, an app that helps you identify where the moon will travel in accordance with your specific location, is recommended as well.
It's important to check the weather in your area as cloud coverage can potentially conceal the moon completely. Windy.com is a free app available on desktop, iOS and Android that, in my opinion, does a decent job of forecasting weather patterns. It'll give you a visual of where clouds will appear at specific dates and times so you can determine the best place to set up in your state or country.
Windy.com, a free app, is an effective tool for forecasting weather elements, including cloud coverage.The next total lunar eclipse will take place on September 7, and will be visible in parts of Asia, Africa and Australia. If skywatching interests you, you're in or near one of the locations where the eclipse is visible and weather permits, I recommend getting out for a few hours and witnessing this wonderful event first-hand.
This weekend marks the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season, and one photographer is kicking things off with a series of photographs to celebrate. With a fine focus on detail and many hours of work, toy photographer Benedek Lampert has recreated F1 moments using Lego. This project is just the latest for Lampert, who has previously created life-like scenes of Lego versions of the Eiffel Tower and Shackleton's Endurance.
In September 2024, Lego and F1 announced a partnership that included releasing numerous F1 Lego sets, some of which featured more realistic-looking models of F1 team cars. Lampert managed to get his hands on the entire starting grid and set to work on creating highly detailed, life-like photographs of the Lego F1 cars.
Sample galleryThis widget is not optimized for RSS feed readers. Click here to open it in a new browser window / tab. Photos: Benedek LampertAs with all of Lampert's work, nearly everything was done in camera. "It’s extremely important to me that these are actual photos and not AI-generated graphics," he explained. That meant lots of hands-on time to build sets and problem-solve special effects. He built the track scenery and crafted unique sets that allowed him to get motion blur, spinning wheels, smoke and water vapor without any editing work. Lampert explained that the only thing he added while editing was the cloud texture in the sky and rear lights in one image.
All said and done, Lampert says the project took 70 hours for the 10 final images. The photo shoot portion of the project took five days, with ten to twelve-hour days at times. You can see how he meticulously created each image in the behind-the-scenes video below, as well as the photos in the gallery above.
Scientists have finally pinned down a protein that’s largely responsible for Parkinson’s disease. Known as PINK1, the protein has been linked to the disease for decades but its structure and how to switch it back on have remained elusive – until now.
Category: Body & Mind
Tags: Parkinson's Disease, Neuroscience, Protein, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Cells, Brain
We've seen water bottles that remind you to drink at timed intervals, but now there's a full-fledged hydration pack that does the same thing. It's called the FluidLogic GPR50, and it goes so far as to squirt the water right into your mouth.
Following a successful Kickstarter for its soda-can-sized portable projector last year, China's ETOE has now launched a tubular smart model called the Starfish. The Freestyle-like Netflix-approved bedroom projector can also pull double duty as a night light.
Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Projectors, Lighting, Android TV
MIT spinout Boston Metal has powered up its electricity driven steel production reactor and made over a ton of metal in a crucial step toward commercializing its process. With clean electricity, the process could make steel with zero CO2 emissions.
Category: Energy, Technology
Tags: Green Steel, Steel, MIT, Boston Metal, Carbon Zero, Carbon Dioxide
Product photos: Richard Butler
The Sigma BF is a minimalist 24MP full-frame mirrorless camera that offers distinctive design and an unconventional user interface.
Key specificationsThe Sigma BF is available in Black or Silver at a cost of $2000. Sigma has also made versions of all its i-series primes to match the silver version of the camera.
Buy now:
$1999 at Amazon.comBuy at B&H Photo Index: What is it?The Sigma BF is explicitly not trying to be a do-everything, Swiss Army Knife of a camera. Sony's a7C II already exists, bringing an EVF, multiple dials, a mechanical second-curtain shutter mechanism and in-body image stabilization, for a list price just 10% higher than the BF's.
But if Sigma was trying to go head-to-head with Sony in the mass market, it probably wouldn't be spending seven hours milling each camera out of blocks of aluminium, nor doing so in Japan: neither of which is the approach you take if you're primarily driven to hit a specific price point.
Similarly, just looking at the specs, the BF might be mistaken for an unstabilized Panasonic S9 in a fancier body, but despite sharing a sensor, the two cameras couldn't be more different.
Instead Sigma explicitly says the BF is designed for 'everyday' photography. An elegant object designed to be carried with you, rather than a utilitarian device you take when you're taking photos. It's absolutely not optimized for rapid operation, it's not teeming with clever features. Instead it includes only the bare essentials for photography (or, arguably, slightly less than that, given its lack of mechanical shutter).
Think of it like a Moleskine notebook: in many respects it's not as practical for taking notes and recording ideas as the smartphone you're already carrying, but the very process of carrying it with you acts as a prompt to look at the world and capture the thoughts you were having. The BF is trying to do the same.
It's the difference between a camera that you'd grab when you want to go and take photos of something, vs a tool that encourages you to look for things to photograph.
Body and controls User interfaceThe best way to understand the BF is to note the dedicated settings display towards the top right-hand corner on the back of the camera. This displays one of ten parameters:
Drive mode File format Aspect ratio Focus mode White balance Shutter speed Aperture value Exp comp. ISO Color modeThese are also the ten parameters that appear on the main screen if you press the center button on the back of the camera, in the pattern shown in the table above.
You can navigate between them by pressing the cardinal points on the rear dial, then scroll the dial to change the current setting.
Pressing the center button lets you see and edit the camera's core ten parameters, but the chosen setting is also shown in the dedicated settings display to the top right of the screen.
In this instance the aperture value is shown in dark grey because it's being controlled from the lens.
But you don't have to press the center button and bring them up on the main screen: once you've learned their relative positions (and chances are it's the ones in the bottom row you'll change regularly), you can navigate around them just using the settings display. And, for me, that's the key to understanding the BF: it's designed so that the core settings can be adjusted without looking at the main screen. You can set the camera to show all the settings on the main screen,
In keeping with this idea, the touchscreen is almost solely used for positioning the AF point or selecting a subject to track: even if you summon-up the settings on the main screen, you can't tap to change settings, just choose what to focus on.
Exposure modesThe BF has no mode dial, so exposure mode is set by selecting which parameters you want to be controlled by the camera. This is done via the main screen. Press the center button to bring up the settings then press it again to edit them, and the ISO, aperture value and shutter speed indicators show 'Auto' options above them, letting you engage and disengage automated control of each parameter.
Any of the exposure parameters that can't be changed by spinning the dial, either because they're set to Auto or because aperture value is being set by an aperture ring, is rendered in darker grey, both in the settings display and on the main screen display.
Other settings Ten further settings, including the level gauge and options to display information such as focal length and focus distance are accessed via the three-dot button. Navigating down to the word 'System' takes you to the menu where fundamental settings such as date and time are edited.Another ten settings, six of which relate to how much detail appears on the main screen (exposure parameters, guides, virtual horizon, etc), can be accessed by pressing the 'three dots' settings button. At the bottom of this settings menu is the word 'System' which gives you access to a ten-option-long list of fundamental camera settings, including firmware information, copyright information, menu language and date/time.
That's the extent of the BF's interface: ten top-level parameters, ten settings and ten menu options. But what this doesn't fully convey is the degree to which it's a camera in which Shutter speed, Aperture value, Exposure compensation and ISO can all be set using just the settings display, leaving the monitor solely for focus and composition.
HandlingThe BF is a very solid-feeling camera, as you might expect from something hewn from a solid block of metal. The body itself is relatively light but the weight adds up as soon as you mount a lens of any appreciable size on it.
Despite it's minimalist appearance, it's quite easy to hold. The textured front-plate and raised thumb rest at the back mean you can get a pretty solid grip on the camera, and you can cradle the weight of the lens in your left hand if you're working with anything larger than one of the compact primes offered by Sigma or Panasonic.
However, we found that it was common for our ring finger to wrap around to the base of the camera as we held it, which quickly makes apparent how sharply angled the edge of the BF is. It's not hard to imagine users adding a little tape to the lower edge of the camera or being tempted to chamfer the edge with a fine file, once they come to live with the camera.
I've primarily used it with the Sigma 35mm F2 prime and the Panasonic 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 lenses, both of which are small and light enough that it's been comfortable to use.
BatteryThe BF uses a new 11.88Wh BP-81 battery. This will power the camera to a CIPA rating of 260 shots per charge. As always, the CIPA figure will tend to under-represent how many shots you're likely to get, and we found it's the camera's propensity to show its charge percentage on its settings display that caused us to worry a little disproportionately.
Still, a rating of 260 is pretty low and means you may want to consider carrying a power bank if you plan to do more than occasional shots each day. Putting it on to charge overnight, just as you might do with your phone will probably be sufficient for everyday casual use, though.
A gentle press of the power button puts the camera into standby mode, but the battery will continue to drain at an appreciable rate. The BF starts up from cold quickly enough that this is usually a better approach.
Initial impressionsBy Richard Butler
Even the body cap is an over-engineered delight.The Sigma BF is one of the most unusual cameras we've ever encountered. On paper it looks like an under-specced rival to the Panasonic DC-S9 or even the Sony a7C II. Or, perhaps even a slightly re-purposed Sigma fp. But, even though it shares components and a small rectangular body, the BF is quite unlike any of these cameras.
Sigma's CEO, Kazuto Yamaki talked about completely re-thinking the camera's interface to pare it back to the fundamental things a camera needs to offer, in an attempt to make it simple to use, with the aim of making a camera for everyday use. And the more I use the BF, the more I think I understand this intent.
The idea of a dedicated settings display, leaving the main screen as a means of composing your image and positioning the focus point is a refreshingly simple one, undermined only by the challenge of viewing a fixed LCD in bright light. The decision to display only one setting, rather than a full array of settings and icons makes it very quick to interpret and I did find it made me consider what changes I wanted to make, shot-to-shot, in a way I don't on a more conventional twin-dial camera.
Playback mode has three levels of information that can be displayed, this is the most detailed, but you can also opt just to see the top two rows of information, or just the first.
Touching, rather than pressing, the playback button lets you review the last image you shot, without entering the full playback mode, for as long as your finger remains on the button.
This really hit home when I realized I prefer to set aperture from the camera, rather than using an aperture ring; I think the camera works best with everything controlled from the settings display, rather than trying to increase the number of control points.
Another surprise was how good the BF's autofocus appears to be. Its subject tracking is very simple to use and impressively tenacious, while its eye detection works well and can be left turned on without minimal risk of the camera prioritizing nearby faces ahead of a different subject you've selected.
There are distinct downsides, though. The lack of mechanical shutter not only means there's a risk of rolling shutter and that the camera can't be used with flash, it also means it's quite prone to banding caused by the inherent flicker of artificial lights. This can be fairly subtle at longer shutter speeds but becomes increasingly apparent in short exposures, limiting its use as an indoor camera, despite a sensor that works well in low light.
Sigma 35mm F2.0 | F4.0 | 1/500 sec | ISO 400
Photo: Richard Butler
Sigma's sometimes quite dramatic color modes may not be to everyone's tastes, and I'm not wholly convinced by the 'Light Source Priority' auto white balance mode, that tries to maintain some of the character of the detected light source. But even when the results are unexpected, they're often interesting.
The BF's battery life is also quite short. An external charger is available, if you want to keep a second battery topped-up, but mainly it's a case of remembering to put the camera on to charge regularly, just as you might for your smartphone.
Other than a slight concern about the sharp lower front edge, I'm really looking forward to spending more time with the BF. It's not a camera that lets you respond quickly to the unexpected; instead it's one that makes you slow down and look for the photos you might otherwise not notice.
Buy now:
$1999 at Amazon.comBuy at B&H Photo Sigma BF sample gallery Sample galleryThis widget is not optimized for RSS feed readers. Click here to open it in a new browser window / tab.The recently completed Wanda is arranged on one level and sleeps up to four people at a squeeze. It features a hardy exterior that's designed to last and also gets its power from a rooftop-based solar panel array.
Category: Tiny Houses, Lifestyle
Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, House, Home, Micro-House
Cybertrucks – and Tesla vehicles as a whole – have had a rough trot lately, but we're not entirely sure this is going to help matters. In fact, we'd suspect the Germany-based customizing company Mansory of trolling, if it wasn't for the fact that its known for some absurd makeovers.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Cybertruck, Elon Musk, Tesla, Mansory, Designers, Luxury, Truck
