New on Kickstarter, this is a project that is worth backing. The GP1 housing is probably the only housing you should be getting if you have budgeted for a GoPro 3 or 4.

First, the GoPro 4 has pretty impressive low light capture capability, and with 4K action capture....which is missing from most compact cameras these days, it's a camera that is hard to beat. The problem with the GoPro has been the form factor.

The tiny body makes is incredibly difficult to use as a normal digital compact camera. And this is what spurred the Exo GP1 in the first place.

The GP1 is only a housing with just a few extras, like a fixed viewfinder and a cold shoe mount on top of the housing to mount LED lighting for video shots and a tripod attachment on the bottom.

So if you had only one camera, there is no need to double down on another just for shooting 12 megapixel photos.

Oh, yeah....since the housing is limited by the camera itself, you're stuck with the 12 megapixel photo mode on the GoPro Hero 4.

Go Pro doesn't mention much about the lens' wide angle reach, which I suspect is between 18mm to 20mm in full frame speak.

There is no optical zoom capability so you will have to digitally crop the image into a zoom image.

The GP1 cost about US$250 and is made from aluminium, a useful option if you are the rough and tumble type. However the price is for early backers of the project so it's not possible to purchase this for less than 300 bucks should it get funded.

There will be plenty of complaints as we speak since the 12 megapixel photo capture isn't quite enough for photographers these days. Plus the wide angle makes it very difficult to shoot with since you're stuck with just one focal length.

But if you're one of those who prefer to carry only one camera and that happens to be a GoPro, this housing makes perfect sense.

Not to be outdone by Nokia's announcement for DNG file support, Google has come out to say that RAW file APIs are coming for Google Android KitKat.

First, the API already exist in part within KitKat. Problem is, it's not activated as yet. Developers have seen bits of the API within KitKat but when will Google come out with the option to do this remains questionable.

RAW equals more Storage

That's right, a 8 megapixel sensor can yield up to a 8MB RAW file. This doesn't sound very good if you happen to have a 16GB device with no option to take in a microSD card. The new generation of sensors are already headed towards 16 megapixels and with that, you're dealing with even more storage problems.

RAW support will only be available on high end devices

Possible. The majority of folks have no need for RAW. If all you ever do is post to Instagram or Facebook, then a small JPG file will do just fine. High end camera phones within the same ballpark as the Nokia 1020 will have the ability to save in RAW whenever required but lower end devices running KitKat will probably not have that feature for the sake of taming this storage hungry requirement.

RAW support on selected Apps

There are apps on the iPhone that already does this. That is to convert the JPG files to TIFF. So far, there hasn't been much talk about this with the Apple fanboys as TIFF files are massive! Once Google green lights the API for RAW image capture, device manufacturers are not expected to give you this option automatically but you should be able to buy camera apps that will do this for you. Premium camera apps are far and few on the Playstore. The idea that you'd pay more for an app just coz of a bunch of filters is already passe. Serious amateurs will demand more control over their images and this is where RAW files will appease them.

RAW File Impact on Workflow

Another reason why RAW files may not be such a hit is that it will impact your workflow. Apps must have the ability to edit and open RAW files natively and without sufficient RAM, you won't be able to do this. Furthermore, RAW file editing is already possible via Google's Picasa, making good on the fact that Google will encourage you to consume more mobile data just to upload it to the cloud. Backing up to the cloud should only be performed through a Wifi connection.

Do you really need RAW?

Going forward, camera phones will eventually replace the DSLR and compact camera when it comes to casual photography. Apps can already dial in artificial 'bokeh' when there isn't any. It is just a matter of time when the right app comes along to do all this. Having RAW files at your disposal means that you will have access to untouched images from the sensor—which can then be used to generate all manner of effects with imaging quality rivaling that of upmarket compact cameras. Once this is achieved, you won't be taking that DSLR on holiday.

After a disappointing announcement for the new iPad line (sorry, no new camera on the new line) Nokia seems to have upped the ante by announcing DNG support for the Lumia 1020 and the 1520 to the surprise of the photographic community.

For the uninitiated, Adobe's DNG format holds a lot of promise for smartphone imaging. Since its inception in 2004, the format has gone through several upgrades, allowing the format to store cropped image metadata as well as multi frame HDR data. Nokia's adoption of this particular format bodes well for the Lumia 1520 but not the 1020.

Part of the problem with a 40 megapixel DNG file is that you need to have the storage to put all that data. The Lumia 1020 has a paltry 32GB of internal storage while the Lumia 1520 has microSD access of up to 128GB capacity.

DNG files are an offshoot of TIFF, meaning that they get mighty big in RAW form. As a guide, a 40 megapixel camera yields a 40 MB file. That's a heck of a lot of data to store on a device without expandable memory.

It is good to see that Nokia is taking a different route to win over smartphone photographers but they are fighting an uphill battle on this one. Compact cameras with lesser megapixels handle imaging better and the only salient point for the Nokia buyers is that you have the camera built into a phone.

Given the price of the Nokia 1520, it doesn't make sense for casual photographers to ante up since you get much better images with digital compacts. Pro photogs might be tempted as it can effectively work as a back up camera in most circumstances. It remains to be seen if this route will work as Pro photogs are finding it increasingly hard to get smartphone photos accepted in commercial work. Showing up at an assigned event with just your Lumia as the main camera could mean only two things. Your client will either love you or hate you for it.