Digital Photography and Cameras

Archive for July, 2008

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Although we were able to take an all-too-brief peek at Olympus’ EVOLT E-520 late last month, the results weren’t exactly indicative of what this thing is capable of — you know, considering the unit in question was defective. The cats over at PhotographyBLOG managed to secure a fully functional unit, and results were much, much improved. Although reviewers didn’t go quite so far as to call it the perfect camera, it sure came close in their eyes. Aside from the depressingly small viewfinder and the low quantity of AF sensors, critics found the unit quite hard to bash. Overall, it managed to snag a stellar 4.5 out of 5 rating, and better still, it was said to be just the thing for “beginners and enthusiasts alike.” Taking Olympus more seriously in your search for a suitable DSLR just might be in order.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

It looks like Mobotix has a solution for those wishing their security cameras were a bit more all-seeing, with its new Q22 model promising to deliver a full 360-degrees of vision. That’s done with the use of a hemispheric lens, which eliminates the need for any moving parts and lets the Big Brother in question digitally flatten, pan, tilt or zoom any image. As if that wasn’t enough, the Q22 can also be run entirely over Power over Ethernet (or PoE), and it boasts a built-in speaker and microphone to allow for some two-way communication. Otherwise, you can expect a decent enough 3.1-megapixel resolution, along with SIP support, accommodations for various CCTV management platforms, and Mobotix’s own MxControlCenter video management software. As you might expect, however, all that doesn’t exactly come cheap, with the basic model running you €498 (or $776), and the premium version demanding €648 (or just over $1,000).

[Via BIOS]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

If the E60 had you dozing last night, you’ll be conked out in no time by the time you finish reading this. Pentax is at it again, proving that point-and-shoot cameras can still be boring this day and age. The M60 tries to be fancy with a 10-megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD monitor, “approximately 36.5MB of built-in memory,” movie / panorama modes, a variety of scene modes and smile detection capabilities to boot. Expect this one to arrive late next month in blue, pink and silver for around £90 ($179).

[Via PhotographyPress]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

In strict megapixel to dollar terms, the new Optio E60 from Pentax is a real steal, at a mere $140 for its absurd 10 megapixels. Of course, there’s more to the story. The 3x zoom and lack of optical image stabilization — “High Sensitivity Digital Shake Reduction” is little comfort — won’t be winning you any “best candid shot of whatever we did last night” awards, but there are some decent automatic perks like face recognition and a “Green” settings mode for absolute novices that should keep you from getting booted out of your Flickr pool. The E60, which is powered by AA batteries, will be available in October.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

It looks like those wanting to get some HD recoding done on the cheap but not willing to venture into some less familiar territory now have a new option to consider from Toshiba, which is set to release its new Camileo H10 camcorder. It’ll give you the usual 720p recording, along with a 5x optical zoom, a 10-megapixel sensor, 64MB of memory, an SDHC card slot for expansion, image stabilization, motion detection and, of course, an HDMI output to let you view your low-budget masterpieces. No word on a release ’round these parts, unfortunately, but those in the UK can apparently get their hands on one at the end of the month for £180 ($360, or less once the VAT and whatnot are taken out of the equation).

[Via Tech Digest]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gaming

Not that the Big N hasn’t snubbed the vast majority of the world before with these channel releases, but folks holed up everywhere save for Japan have yet another one they can only look longingly at from afar. Thanks to a new partnership between Nintendo and Fujifilm, the Wii Digicam Print Channel is immediately available for Japanese Wii consoles to access, which essentially gives owners the ability to upload images from SD cards and receive customized prints, photo books, business cards, etc. in the mail. We’re not totally at all sure why someone would choose to handle this on a gaming console rather than, say, an actual computer, but hey — who are we to judge? Oh, and for you folks in North America, Europe and beyond, expect the service to roll your way sometime in the future.

[Via DigitalCameraInfo]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

It’s easy enough to drool over the press shots of Nikon’s luscious D700. Seeing someone unbox this full-frame beast on video is another experience entirely (bordering on spiritual, really). Unfortunately, the vid waiting after the break is just two minutes long and doesn’t show any clicks being depressed, but those looking to get a better idea of the size and build have plenty of reason to click through.

[Thanks, Jon]

Continue reading Nikon D700 full-frame DSLR gets unboxed on video

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

We’re not saying it can’t be done, but you should have some considerable trouble managing to run out of room for your expertly-shot, highly-narrative vacation antics with Hitachi’s new DZ-BD10H camcorder, which records 1080p HD video to Blu-ray discs or to its built-in 30GB hard drive. There’s even an SD slot, which we aren’t positive you can record video to, but it’s a fair guess. Other specs include a 2.7-inch LCD and a 10x optical zoom. Price should be around $1,500 when it hits Japan on August 9, but no solid word on a US berth just yet.

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Samsung has rolled out a minor firmware update for its Pentax K20D-based DSLR, the Samsung GX-20. More…

The 10.1-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37 is a light update to the tiny FX35, offering more zoom range and more features in an equally tiny package. More…

Just when it seemed we surely must have reached the end of the parade of current digital ultrazooms, here comes the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50. More…

DigitalCameraReview.com brings you the hottest camera deals of the week from the coolest brick-and-mortar retailers. More…

Panasonic has announced a 10.1 megapixel overhaul to its popular FZ18, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28. More…

Although it seems to be hard to find consumers itching for more megapixels from small cameras, it looks like we’re again headed full-steam in that direction. More…

We spent some hands-on time with the new LX3, and bring you a first look at sample images from the most powerful Lumix compact yet. More…

[eminimall ... ] [tags]digital camera review, camera reviews[/tags]

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

We got a gander at Samsung’s fancy new tellervisions and other stuff, and while the basic design language hasn’t changed a whole ton in recent years, there’s always something new going on. We’re particularly enthusiastic about the new Series 8 LCDs, which manage a standard complement of ports in 2-inch thick form factors — none of that ports-in-the-base nonsense. The cute little InfoLink RSS widgets (pictured) are also quite the welcome addition to Samsung’s lineup, since these days we really can’t be bothered to lift our phone up to eye level and check the weather on there. We bet you think we’re kidding. Samsung is always droning on about the “Touch of Color” design, which is present in all its new televisions, along with its new computer monitor / TV hybrid displays. The flavor of the month is a new honeycomb pattern worked in with the color, but we really couldn’t care less — we’d rather watch TV. Elsewhere in the event we got to handle Samsung’s new cameras and camcorders. The new TL34HD is a particular stunner, though we do prefer the older black / blue color scheme. Nothing could have prepared us, however, for the SC-MX20. While in press photos it appears to be just another cheap-ass YouTube camcorder (which it is), in person the build quality and amazing color choices really blew us away — and trust us, no one is more surprised than we are by this fact. Most everything on display will be available next month.

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