Dilbert readers – Please visit Dilbert.com to read this feature. Due to changes with our feeds, we are now making this RSS feed a link to Dilbert.com.
If you think it’s a challenge to organize your digital photos, you may find it a walk in the park compared to managing shots from your film camera.
Yes, some photographers still shoot film and scan their images, but without the kind of metadata that automatically accompanies digital camera shots, tracking essential information like shutter speed, exposure, and time of day means starting from scratch with laborious data input.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Meta35, a USB device that looks like a thumb drive, can import and sync your film camera’s metadata to your scanned images. It comes with a Nikon, Canon or Minolta adapter for metadata transfer.
If you have a compatible camera, you can download and sync data from your camera to your scans. Compatible cameras include: Canon EOS 1V, Nikon F6, Nikon F5, Nikon F100, Nikon N90s/F90s, Nikon N90/F90, Minolta Maxxum 9/Dynax 9/Alpha 9, and Minolta Maxxum 7/Dynax 7/Alpha 7. Not every camera will import the same data, so check the Meta35 website for additional information on how the device works with your camera.
Attach your camera with the included adapter cable and launch the Meta35 software for Windows or Mac to download shooting data and exposure information, EXIF and IPTC data. You can view the metadata recorded by your camera and, after your photographs are digitized, you can pair and embed that data with your scans. You can also use the software to further configure and customize settings for some cameras.
Meta35 seems like a cool device that automates the recording and data management process to a certain degree — but not entirely. There’s still data recording and shot matching needed, but perhaps not as much. If you shoot film on a regular basis, you no doubt have a workflow established already, and using Meta35 could save you some time.
Meta35 costs $149 and is available from the company’s website.
➤ The Meta35 Lets You Easily Transfer Metadata From Select Film Cameras [Petapixel]
Calling itself the “GoPro of microphones,” Instamic wants to assert itself as the new standard for audio recording. If its Indiegogo campaign goes as planned, it just might achieve that goal.
Instamic is a tiny clip-on (there are also magnetic or adhesives mounts) microphone that wants to replace handheld microphones as well as lavalier mics. You can record sound in 48khz/24-bit at mono or dual-mono with the Go variant, and there’s even a Pro version that offers stereo recording. Instamic has a frequency response of 50 to 18,000 Hz.
Aside from its recording prowess, Instamic is also unique because it’s wireless, and can be controlled via an app. A quick press to turn it on and you’re ready to start recording.
When you need to transfer a recording to your desktop, the micro USB charging port doubles as your file transfer system. You can record up to four hours of uncompressed audio with Instamatic.
Instamic Go is splash-proof, but you can’t submerge it. The Pro version is waterproof up to five meters.
We’ve been testing a version of Instamic with beta firmware. While it doesn’t have the full compliment of services noted in the Indiegogo campaign (or the smartphone app), the sound we were able to record on it is really nice. After a quick tap on the front-facing logo (circle and arrow), recording happens straight away and it picks voices up with ease.
While we’ll wait for more solid software, Instamic may be a new favorite for videographers in the Periscope era.
➤ Instamatic [Indoegogo]
Three years after Telltale tugged our heartstrings with “The Walking Dead” game series, the company is looking to expand beyond Clementine’s storyline onto a character from the franchise’s comic books: Michonne.
Starting E3 off with a bang, Telltale confirmed that the next TWD game will run as a mini-series featuring Michonne, the samurai sword-wielding survivor with a haunted past. The three-episode game will detail Michonne’s journey between TWD issues #126 and #139 so fans of both the comics and the television show can learn more about her mysterious background.
“In many ways, Michonne herself is a reflection of the world of The Walking Dead. She is brutal and cold on the outside, but deep beneath what is broken, she remains hopeful, trying to claw her way out of the darkness that surrounds her,” said Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead. “In our effort to bring the world of the comic and the world of the Telltale series closer together, there is no greater character than Michonne to help bridge that gap.”
We don’t yet have a set release date but expect the episode to be even more brutal than the past two seasons. Clementine is sweet, and even though she had to stitch her own wounds… she never got to swing a samurai sword.
➤ Telltale
Read next: Microsoft adds Valve to Oculus as a VR partner, shows off Minecraft on HoloLens
According to a new blog post from LastPass, some suspicious network activity was noticed Friday, which prompted them to block that activity. LastPass says a “vast majority” of users are safe.
While the activity was quickly noticed and blocked, LastPass writes “in our investigation, we have found no evidence that encrypted user vault data was taken, nor that LastPass user accounts were accessed. The investigation has shown, however, that LastPass account email addresses, password reminders, server per user salts, and authentication hashes were compromised.”
LastPass goes on to note that any users who may have a weak master password should change theirs quickly, and it will notify any users who may have been compromised via email. Users who log in via a new device or IP address will be asked to verify their account via email unless they have multifactor authentication activated.
Even if you weren’t compromised, this serves as a good reminder that keeping your passwords fresh is always a good idea.
➤ LastPass security notice [LastPass]