Archive for October, 2008
Sony’s A900 reviewed: ‘Highly recommended’ but with caveats
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Most consumers won’t be able to get their hands on Sony’s new 24+ megapixel A900 for at least another week or so, but dpreview has already had its way with one, putting this full-frame body through its paces in a typically exhaustive review. Overall findings are much the same as the site’s earlier impressions, with the main knocks being slow (but accurate) focus speed and noticeable noise when shooting at anything greater than ISO 400, making the camera’s ISO 6400 mode borderline useless. However, the hefty, 850g magnesium alloy body is “incredibly solid” and its bevy of features, including 5fps burst shooting and HDMI output, make it a solid value, too. Overall the A900 sounds quite good, though far from perfect, so unless you already have a closet full of compatible lenses you might just want to wait a month and see how Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II fares when run through the same ringer. If nothing else it’ll be $300 cheaper.
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Mamiya’s DL28 digital camera system is slightly cheaper than you’d think
Filed under: Digital Cameras
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Casio EX-FH20 hands-on — in super slow-mo!
Filed under: Digital Cameras
No, literalists, we won’t be providing impressions of Casio’s latest high-speed shooter, the EX-FH20, in the English-language equivalent of bullet time — though feel free to sound out each word veerrryy slooowwwly if you’d like — but we did get to see how the camera performed shooting 1000 fps video and high-speed bursts of stills under very ideal circumstances, and came away quite impressed. Casio had members of the press lined up across the ice from some hockey players engaged in hockey activities, with lights the power of many suns at our backs to make the slow-motion video come out as more than a grainy mess. And it did. We found the interface very intuitive — more so than Casio’s first stab at slow-mo, the EX-F1 — and were shooting 1000 fps videos of the action within seconds. That top speed crops the top and the bottom of the shot, which turned out fine for the linear progression of a hockey shot, but 1000 fps is really overkill for anything more glacial than a flash of lightening, and we found 210 fps (which also provides more resolution and a better aspect ratio) to be a real sweet spot for sports action. The immediate effect of slow motion is the dimming of the scene, but it’s easy to adjust the f-stop and film speed to brighten things up a bit. Bursts of stills — up to 40, at 30 fps — are similarly easy to execute, and you can even set the camera to capture snaps for about a second before you fully click the shutter, in case you’re a little slow on the response time. Overall we’re very impressed with the build quality, size, image quality, manual controls and ease of use of this camera, especially in light of its $600 pricepoint, when big brother EX-F1 is retailing for a grand with very few differentiating perks.
Gallery: Casio EX-FH20 hands-on
Casio EX-FH20 high-speed cam on sale now for $600
Filed under: Digital Cameras
We were sort of hoping import pricing was skewing high when we first caught wind of Casio’s new EX-FH20 high-speed cam, but it looks like this 27 percent smaller version of the EX-F1 will still set you back — official US pricing is $600. Specs are still hot for the money, though: 9.1 megapixels, 20x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, 40fps burst shooting (at 7.1 megapixels), 1000fps high-speed low-res movie mode, and a 30fps 720p movie mode. Should be in stores now — hopefully we’ll see that price drift downward soon.
DARPA contract shines light on real-time video spying initiatives
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets
Only the ignorant and the uninformed would assume that DARPA has never, ever dabbled in any kind of surveillance that wasn’t questionable on some level, but a recent contract awarded to Kitware gives us a better idea of just how deep the rabbit hole has gotten. The $6.7 million deal seeks to create a system whereby DARPA can “monitor live video feeds and search large volumes of archived video data for activities of interest,” with the point being to match up similar events from past and present in order to prevent an attack, foreshadow a certain event or discover some sort of terrorist trademark. As of now, we’re simply informed of the video spying in areas of Iraq and Afghanistan, but given that the capabilities are already here, it could be enacted wherever the government could place a camera-toting manned or unmanned aerial vehicle. Look up and give the friendly skies a wave, won’t you? Just don’t do anything “suspicious.”
[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of PointNiner]
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Sigma DP2, SD15 out in the open (Digital Camera Review)
Sigma showed off a pair of forthcoming models at Photokina today, highlighting improvements and upgrades in their two camera series. More…
- Samsung HZ1 served up under glass
- Canon PowerShot SX1 previewed
- Olympus 1050 apparently indestructible
- Camera Armor debuts $100 housing
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[tags]digital camera review, camera reviews[/tags]
Nissan readies pilot for road-cam / slip-hazard alert services
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Transportation
Way back in 2005, we got wind of a Bluetooth-based telematics systems for cars dubbed Carwings. Now, Nissan is gearing up to launch two safety pilots which will rely on — you guessed it — Carwings HDD navigation systems. First up is the slip-hazard alert, which marries data from the ITS (Intelligent Transport System) and ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) in order to warn drivers of slippery road conditions. In addition to that, the recently concocted road-cam service can “enhance the effectiveness of the alert service by offering drivers a visual image” of surroundings. The company will make the slip-hazard alert and the new road-cam service available to all Carwings customers (in Japan) beginning next month, with the latter hitting first (in November) and the former second (in December). Oh, and did we mention the upgrades will be completely gratis? Because they will be.
[Via Wired]
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Carl Zeiss combines spotting scope, digital camera with the PhotoScope 85 T* FL
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets
Esteemed lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss is breaking new ground by releasing the PhotoScope 85 T* FL, a spotting scope that also serves as a seven megapixel digital camera — just in case “super-zoom” wasn’t enough for you. With 15 – 45x magnification, a focal length of 600 – 1800 mm, a flip-out OLED display, and an IR remote for vibration-free release, it’s great for birdwatchers but perhaps even better for the paparazzi. Look for it in Spring or Summer 2009 if you’re planning to profit off the next Amy Winehouse meltdown.
[Via PhotographyBLOG]
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Canon PowerShot SX110 IS Review (Digital Camera Review)
Full-size ultrazooms offer great performance, but if you can be happy with “only” 10x zoom, the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS is definitely worth a look. Read More…
- Samsung HZ1 served up under glass
- Canon PowerShot SX1 previewed
- Olympus 1050 apparently indestructible
- Camera Armor debuts $100 housing
Samsung is making a strong bid to be taken seriously in the high-performance compact segment with their announcement of the 10x zoom Samsung HZ1. Read More…
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 was officially launched in Europe this week. We took the opportunity during the launch event to do some shooting with a pre-production G1. Read More…
Fuji’s new Super CCD EXR technology has only been public for a day, but this potentially revolutionary technology may soon be coming to a FinePix near you. Read More…
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[tags]digital camera review, camera reviews[/tags]
Synchrotech’s CFMulti adapter brings Eye-Fi support to CF cameras
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals, Wireless, Storage
Been longing for Eye-Fi support in your Sony a350? Or any CompactFlash-lovin’ camera, for that matter? Meet Synchrotech, your new best friend. The company famous for making incredibly useful adapters has just pumped out its latest stroke of genius, the CFMulti. As you’d expect, this card fits into traditional CF slots but enables Secure Digital cards to be read, including Eye-Fi’s range of wireless SD cards. In addition to that, the device accepts standard SD / SDHC and MMC / MMC+ cards. You know you’d pay $28 for all that functionality in one tight package, right?
[Via MacsimumNews, thanks Robert]
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