The virtual reality market, while not as niche as it was years ago, is still a relatively small one. Even Sony’s PlayStation VR2 launch last year seemed to come and go with little fanfare (and even less support for the platform nearly a year later). However, tech giant Apple is making its own case for VR and it’s doing so with the $3,500 Vision Pro headset launching next month.
While we’ve known about the headset and its, frankly, absurd price since last year, today, the company announced that preorders for it will begin on Friday, January 19, with a launch on February 2.
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“The era of spatial computing has arrived,” Apple CEO Tim Cook writes in a new blog post. “Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created. Its revolutionary and magical user interface will redefine how we connect, create, and explore.”
Touching on what Cook writes in that press release, unlike Sony, Meta, and other VR headset makers, Apple is focusing less on the gaming side of the platform and more on its integration into our everyday lives, including work; hence the “era of spatial computing.” Vision Pro aims to blend digital content with the physical world using its visionOS which allows users to control a virtual UI overlayed on a real space using their eyes, hands, and voice. New “spatial” games include Game Room, What the Golf?, and Super Fruit Ninja.
Apple is rolling out a new App Store to provide users with “more than 1 million compatible apps across iOS and iPadOS, as well as new experiences that take advantage of the unique capabilities of Vision Pro,” too. Users can interact with apps by tapping their fingers to select, flicking their wrist to scroll, or using a virtual keyboard or dictation to type, the company says. And Apple’s own Siri assistant can open and close apps, play media, and complete other tasks with just a users’ voice.
Apple’s new Persona (not that one) feature creates virtual avatars of users for use during FaceTime calls and more, and it’s something to behold.
“If a user is wearing Vision Pro on FaceTime, they appear as their Persona, while others joining from a Mac, iPad, or iPHone will appear in a tile,” the blog reads. “Persona is an authentic spatial representation of an Apple Vision Pro user that enables others on a call to see their facial expressions and hand movements, all in real time.”
The company says Persona works with third-party video-conferencing apps, too, including Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of the Vision Pro, other than its price, is its EyeSight feature. When a person approaches someone wearing the VR headset, the device looks transparent, letting users display their eyes to those in front of them. It’s certainly something:
“When a user is immersed in an environment or using an app, EyeSight gives visual clues to others about what the user is focused on,” the blog reads.
The Apple Vision Pro VR headset will be available for preorder for $3,500 starting January 19 before it launches on February 2.
Are you interested in picking up an Apple Vision Pro? Let us know in the comments below!
In fields such as physics and engineering, partial differential equations (PDEs) are used to model complex physical processes to generate insight into how some of the most complicated physical and natural systems in the world function.
To solve these difficult equations, researchers use high-fidelity numerical solvers, which can be very time-consuming and computationally expensive to run. The current simplified alternative, data-driven surrogate models, compute the goal property of a solution to PDEs rather than the whole solution. Those are trained on a set of data that has been generated by the high-fidelity solver, to predict the output of the PDEs for new inputs. This is data-intensive and expensive because complex physical systems require a large number of simulations to generate enough data.
In a new paper, “Physics-enhanced deep surrogates for partial differential equations,” published in December in Nature Machine Intelligence, a new method is proposedfor developing data-driven surrogate models for complex physical systems in such fields as mechanics, optics, thermal transport, fluid dynamics, physical chemistry, and climate models.
The paper was authored by MIT’s professor of applied mathematics Steven G. Johnson along with Payel Das and Youssef Mroueh of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and IBM Research; Chris Rackauckas of Julia Lab; and Raphaël Pestourie, a former MIT postdoc who is now at Georgia Tech. The authors call their method “physics-enhanced deep surrogate” (PEDS), which combines a low-fidelity, explainable physics simulator with a neural network generator. The neural network generator is trained end-to-end to match the output of the high-fidelity numerical solver.
“My aspiration is to replace the inefficient process of trial and error with systematic, computer-aided simulation and optimization,” says Pestourie. “Recent breakthroughs in AI like the large language model of ChatGPT rely on hundreds of billions of parameters and require vast amounts of resources to train and evaluate. In contrast, PEDS is affordable to all because it is incredibly efficient in computing resources and has a very low barrier in terms of infrastructure needed to use it.”
In the article, they show that PEDS surrogates can be up to three times more accurate than an ensemble of feedforward neural networks with limited data (approximately 1,000 training points), and reduce the training data needed by at least a factor of 100 to achieve a target error of 5 percent. Developed using the MIT-designed Julia programming language, this scientific machine-learning method is thus efficient in both computing and data.
The authors also report that PEDS provides a general, data-driven strategy to bridge the gap between a vast array of simplified physical models with corresponding brute-force numerical solvers modeling complex systems. This technique offers accuracy, speed, data efficiency, and physical insights into the process.
Says Pestourie, “Since the 2000s, as computing capabilities improved, the trend of scientific models has been to increase the number of parameters to fit the data better, sometimes at the cost of a lower predictive accuracy. PEDS does the opposite by choosing its parameters smartly. It leverages the technology of automatic differentiation to train a neural network that makes a model with few parameters accurate.”
“The main challenge that prevents surrogate models from being used more widely in engineering is the curse of dimensionality — the fact that the needed data to train a model increases exponentially with the number of model variables,” says Pestourie. “PEDS reduces this curse by incorporating information from the data and from the field knowledge in the form of a low-fidelity model solver.”
The researchers say that PEDS has the potential to revive a whole body of the pre-2000 literature dedicated to minimal models — intuitive models that PEDS could make more accurate while also being predictive for surrogate model applications.
“The application of the PEDS framework is beyond what we showed in this study,” says Das. “Complex physical systems governed by PDEs are ubiquitous, from climate modeling to seismic modeling and beyond. Our physics-inspired fast and explainable surrogate models will be of great use in those applications, and play a complementary role to other emerging techniques, like foundation models.”
The research was supported by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and the U.S. Army Research Office through the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.
At CES 2024, PTZOptics launched the Move SE camera line, a game-changer in the live-streaming industry, with prices starting at $999. This move signifies a significant leap towards making professional live-streaming technology more accessible across diverse sectors, including education, entertainment, healthcare, and industrial manufacturing.
Paul Richards, Chief Revenue Officer at PTZOptics, emphasized the brand’s commitment to providing industry-specific solutions. The Move SE and 4K camera lines aim to democratize professional video technology, enhancing audience engagement in various sectors.
Key features introduced include enhanced presenter tracking with new composition modes and dynamic zoom, a new auto-framing feature ideal for group interactions, and an expanded PTZOptics API G3 with five times more options, including auto-tracking and framing functionalities. Privacy Mode has been introduced to prioritize user privacy by turning the lens away, entering standby for quick reactivation.
PTZOptics showcased over ten new features for their PTZ cameras at CES 2024, highlighting the brand’s dedication to advancing video technology. The Move SE Camera Line, recognized for affordability and professional-grade capabilities, has been awarded the ‘Best PTZ Camera’ by VideoMaker Magazine, showcasing its impact on the consumer electronics industry.
PTZOptics’ legacy of excellence continues with previous awards such as the ‘Best Live Streaming Webcam’ at last year’s CES for the Studio Pro camera. Beyond product innovation, PTZOptics is reshaping how professionals approach live streaming and content creation through its commitment to affordability and versatility.
Visit PTZOptics at CES 2024, booth 23228 in the Central Hall, to experience firsthand their groundbreaking technology. With a focus on versatility and affordability, PTZOptics is setting new benchmarks in the consumer electronics industry, empowering various sectors with superior video technology. As a leader in broadcast-quality PTZ cameras and professional live-streaming equipment, PTZOptics is dedicated to transforming video production and live streaming across different market verticals.
Matte styling helps you add a dash of vintage elegance to your shots. But it’s not generally something you’ll capture in real-time. It’s an edit you’ll apply during the post-processing of your images. In fact, you can transform any photo to give it a matte look and feel.
This is where matte Lightroom presets come into play. Lightroom presets help you apply a specific edit to any image – with a single click. With presets, you can add stunning matte image effects to photos in your library. Plus, you can repeat identical edits over and over. That’s amazingly useful if you’ve captured many photos in a single shoot. It maintains consistency as you edit and share your portfolio.
In this guide, we’ve collected twenty of the very best free Lightroom matte presets. While they vary in style and composition, all share rich matte effects. And like any Lightroom presets, they’re easy to apply. You don’t need to be an expert photographer or editor to take full advantage of these beautiful Lightroom presets.
What are you waiting for? Let’s explore these fantastic presets. Browse the options shown, and choose your favorites. Then, download them and start editing today! You’ve come to the right place if you’re ready to add gorgeous matte styles to your photos.
What Are Matte Photos?
Before we explore the presets, let’s take a look at the key attributes of matte photos. Think of how these edits will fit in with your own photography. After all, photography is really all about imagination.
Matte photos, in general, share stylistic elements like:
A vintage, nostalgic look and feel. If you’ve ever seen a sepia photo, they are extremely matte. Standard matte presets meet in the middle of sepia and natural color.
Added warmth and softness. Matte presets reduce sharpness and boost softness. This tends to give photos a warmer, more intimate look.
Compositions that are film-like. Matte hues are often found in old-school film photography. Presets let you add this look to your images, even when you shoot digitally.
Lower saturation. Matte images will lower the saturation. This means you’ll see less brightness and variation in the colors of your image.
Reduced contrasts. Matte photos are flatter, with less stark contrasts. This makes them a common edit for portraits, wedding photos, and more.
Now, let’s dive into our collection of matte Lightroom presets! As you browse, think about what they can do to transform the photos you’ve already taken.
Reducing color contrasts is a hallmark of matte photography. It softens images and lets details speak for themselves. This is a multipurpose matte preset for almost any subject, with an emphasis on color reduction.
This professional collection of VSCO and matte Lightroom presets has been crafted to enhance the efficiency of your photo processing and editing tasks. They will give your photos a contemporary, understated, and fashionable aesthetic, evoking the style associated with VSCO.
Mattehue is a matte preset suited for urban and dynamic scenes. This preset adds a matte effect without a faded look. It does this by enhancing the hue of each image.
The Matte Box Lightroom presets have been crafted to give your photos that distinctive matte finish. The effect will gently soften the colors, slightly fade the darker tones, and give your images the appearance of being printed on matte paper.
High Tide is a versatile matte preset. It adds a bit of grunge to cityscapes and urban scenes. But you can also use it for landscapes to create a moody vibe.
Quickly produce impressive cinematic-style visuals by applying these LUTs with just a few simple clicks. These color-grading LUTs have been specifically crafted to achieve captivating matte cinematic tones for your photos and videos.
Did you know that matte photos can be in black and white? Absolutely! That’s precisely what this preset does, transforming color photos into matte black-and-white stills.
Here is a wedding-focused matte preset. Capture your special day with unwanted details diminished. It could also adapt into a versatile matte preset for any portrait image.
Need warm, retro photos that could be from the 1960’s? If you don’t have a film camera, you’re in luck. This Lightroom preset helps add a vintage, grungy look to any photo in your portfolio.
Don’t forget: matte photos can still be very colorful! That’s the niche served by this 3rd Dimension preset. It’s flexible enough for both landscapes and portraits alike.
Free for Adobe Lightroom, this preset is aimed towards wedding photos. But you can apply it to any photo to add a moody film look. As always, it only takes one click.
It’s easy to overlook black and white styles as an option for matte photos. Yet, they let you add eye-catching visuals in just two tones. This preset for Lightroom enables you to add them with just a few clicks.
Skyfall takes on a very vintage focus. It’s a solid preset choice if you need retro shades applied to photos. Versatile, it enhances landscape and portrait photos alike.
Morning Stroll adds a matte look to outdoor photos, especially cityscapes. You’ll see brown shades grow warmer and will give a vintage film feel to your modern digital images.
Think of Matteroom as a way to build matte yet sun-kissed landscapes. It adds warmth, letting you create landscape images that look like film photos. Shades of brown and blue are most noticeable.
Seeking fairytale natural landscapes? Matte presets like Woodsy are made for forest photography. You’ll see earth tones blend in vintage warmth and softness.
How to Install & Use a Lightroom Preset
Here’s a straightforward guide on how to install and utilize Lightroom presets effectively:
How to Install a Lightroom Preset:
Download the Preset: Begin by downloading the Lightroom preset file you want to use. These files often come in the format .lrtemplate or .xmp.
Locate the Preset Folder: For Lightroom Classic, open the Develop module, and go to the Presets panel on the left side. For Lightroom CC, go to the Edit panel on the right side.
Import the Preset: For Lightroom Classic, right-click on Presets and select Import. Then, locate and select the downloaded preset file. For Lightroom CC, click the three dots ... in the Presets panel and choose Import Presets. Locate and select the preset file.
Install the Preset: Once you’ve selected the preset file, click the Import button. The preset will now be added to your presets list.
How to Use a Lightroom Preset:
Select Your Photo: Open the photo you want to edit in the Lightroom module.
Apply the Preset: In the Develop module of Lightroom Classic or the Edit panel in Lightroom CC, scroll through your preset list. Click on the preset you want to use. Lightroom will apply the preset’s editing settings to your photo.
Adjust Settings (if Required): Presets are not one-size-fits-all, and your photo may require additional adjustments to achieve the desired look.
Save Your Edited Photo: Save your edited photo once you are happy with the changes. Click File and then Export to choose your export settings and save the final image to your desired location.
Experiment with different presets and fine-tune them to suit your unique style and the specific characteristics of each photo.
Conclusion
We’ve just looked at the top free Lightroom matte presets. They are single-click transformations for all of your photos! With a single click, you can instantly create something new and magical.
What are you waiting for? Choose stunning presets from the collection, and start using them in your own edits. It’s both quick and easy. And once again, you can apply the same matte edits repeatedly. This is the true beauty of Lightroom presets!
