Photography is a field that benefits hugely from advances in technology. It brings us new ways of viewing and capturing the world, and makes photography more accessible to everyone. We’ve come a long way since the dawn of the digital photography era, and more people than ever before have access to devices capable of capturing high-quality photo and video. Below are highlighted some of the most interesting tech advancements that have recently been announced, in both software and hardware.

Photoshop Coming to iPads

There is already a stripped down version of some of Adobe’s most popular software available for iOS devices. However, the firm announced that a full version of Adobe Photoshop will be coming to iPads in 2019. This could be potentially huge for those photographers who like to edit on the go. Exact details are still a little vague, with future updates supposedly coming at the Adobe MAX creative conference in October. We could see functionality for continuous edits to be made across multiple devices, which could be an incredibly useful addition.

NVIDIA Noise Reduction and Watermark Removal

Graphics giants NVIDIA unveiled an AI-based project that has potentially huge implications for the future of film and photography. The AI is capable of vastly reducing image noise and grain from photos, with impressive results. NVIDIA claim that the software is capable of restoring images and removing noise, grain, and other artifacts without prior knowledge of what the subject looked like. The tool can also remove watermarks from photos. This removal could have serious impacts on elements of photography such as ownership and copyright. However, some have suggested that using blockchain technology to trace the authenticity and originality of images could be used to help.

Nikon P1000 with 125x Optical Zoom

Nikon recently announced a new camera boasting a colossal optical zoom range. The Nikon P1000 has a 125x optical zoom lens, which is equivalent to a range of 24-3000mm. These numbers are simple staggering, giving it the biggest optical zoom of this size we’ve seen, while providing the longest zoom range available on a commercial superzoom camera. In addition, the P1000 features a 250x digital zoom, producing an effective range of 6000mm. In addition to the frankly ridiculous zoom range capable of maximum apertures of f/2.8 to f/8 through its range, there’s also a 16 megapixel, 1/2.3-inch sensor.

Nikon 500mm ‘Ultra-Portable Lens’

Continuing with the theme of insane lenses, Nikon also announced an upcoming ‘ultra-portable’ 500mm lens. When you see pictures of the f/5.6 PF ED VR lens, you can see exactly what they mean about the portability. It’s incredibly discreet for a 500mm zoom, looking more like a standard 70-200mm in length. Nikon are positioning it as being small and light enough to use as a hand-held lens for use in a variety of demanding situations. Indeed, it seems like the perfect addition for sports and wildlife photographers who are in need of capturing fast-moving subjects from a distance. There’s no firm news yet on the cost, but it’s certainly not going to be cheap.