Digital Cameras Reviews

Archive for December, 2008

Oh, geez. Not this again. Just months after everyone involved with that virus-ridden Insignia frame finally cleaned things up, here comes two new reports that select frames could indeed be shipping from the factory with malware pre-installed. For starters, the 1.5-inch Mercury Digital Photo Keychain — which is sold at Walmart and other fine retailers — seems to have some pretty nasty software loaded on, and Amazon has went so far as to issue an alert that some Samsung SPF-85H frames are leaving the dock with the 32.Sality.AE worm on the installation disc. Something tells us someone in quality control couldn’t quite get in the holiday spirit.

[Via Slashdot]

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

Another pair of infected digiframes promise to ruin the rest of your holiday break originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, geez. Not this again. Just months after everyone involved with that virus-ridden Insignia frame finally cleaned things up, here comes two new reports that select frames could indeed be shipping from the factory with malware pre-installed. For starters, the 1.5-inch Mercury Digital Photo Keychain — which is sold at Walmart and other fine retailers — seems to have some pretty nasty software loaded on, and Amazon has went so far as to issue an alert that some Samsung SPF-85H frames are leaving the dock with the 32.Sality.AE worm on the installation disc. Something tells us someone in quality control couldn’t quite get in the holiday spirit.

[Via Slashdot]

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

Another pair of infected digiframes promise to ruin the rest of your holiday break originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man, it’s amazing the difference a single letter makes. Take the Framee-L, for example — a stately, classically styled digital photo frame that would do practically any coffee table proud. Now have a gander at the almost frightening Framee-M (above). iriver has evidently coerced Disney to afford it the luxury of producing this here digiframe, which — sad to say — looks downright shoddy from here. The unit will be made available in both Mickey and Minnie flavors, with each housing 1GB of internal storage space, a 3.5-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, SDHC expansion slot, a built-in clock and a multimedia player for good measure. It’s taking Japan by storm as we speak for ¥9,999 ($111).

[Via DAPReview, thanks Michael]

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

iriver’s Framee-M digiframe: only tolerable for Mickey enthusiasts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We never knew that cameras could be constipated, nor that excrement could be framed, but apparently Takara Tomy knows better than us.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets

Takara Tomy Xiao printer-camera excretes prints originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seems like the holidays are always good for sparking up a discussion on camcorders — after all, what better time to have one than when everyone in your extended family’s family is gathered together at your house? Take a break from the turkey and gift bags and give Chaz’s question some thought.

“I’ve been looking for a decent HDD-based camcorder. I just want to use it for normal everyday use, and maybe to record some live performances, like dance shows and stuff like that. I’m not looking to spend a fortune, and I’m obviously looking for the biggest bang for my buck. Thanks for any advice!”

Chaz might just be onto something here, as these memories you’re making this week will be lost forevers and evers unless someone pulls out the camcorder and lights up the red light. If you’ve recently purchased a hard drive-based camcorder, why not toss in your advice? As for us, we’ll point to Samsung’s SC-HMX20C and simultaneously ask you to send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Digital Cameras

Ask Engadget: Best consumer-level HDD camcorder? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may be inclined to just associate Genius with corporate-level mice, ho hum speakers and the occasional pen tablet, but the outfit is looking to expand its horizons at CES next month. It’ll be bringing along a pair of concepts that are evidently leaning towards release in the mysterious future, the first of which is a 2.4 GHz Wireless Stereo Speaker System. The three-piece package presumably contains two satellites and a subwoofer, with the knobs and ports maintaining a low profile. The wireless range reaches up to 100-feet and the inbuilt 3.5-millimeter auxiliary jack ensures that practically any source will work. Moving on, we’ve got the IP Cam 350TR, which is constructed with “the most advanced night vision technology to secure any home or office efficiently.” The integrated light sensor automatically fires up six infrared LEDs when in a dark / dim environment, and there’s also a microphone tucked away to capture live audio. Pricing for both is listed as TBA, which isn’t shocking given the “concept” status; full release is after the jump.

Continue reading Genius bringing WiFi boombox, night vision IP camera concepts to CES 2009

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Home Entertainment

Genius bringing WiFi boombox, night vision IP camera concepts to CES 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone’s camera may be thoroughly eclipsed by several of its competitors, but the insane popularity of Apple’s baby means that we’ve seen tons of accessories aimed at making that 2.1 megapixel sensor somewhat more useful — like the Snapture Flash here, which tucks a xenon flash with red-eye reduction into a sleeve-type case. Although it’s powered by the phone, it’s apparently quite low-power — SnaptureLabs estimates that you’ll take 1000 shots before going dry — and there’s some sort of “speaker amplification” built in as well, just in case you’re super into enhancing mediocre parts of the iPhone experience. Bad news? You’ll have to jailbreak your phone to get the Snapture app working — hopefully that’ll be remedied by the time this thing ships. Check out some sample shots at the read link.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras

Snapture Flash adds crappy flash to crappy iPhone camera originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one’s been a long time coming, but we wanted to make absolutely sure you had quite enough reading material to make the most informed decision on this incredibly expensive (albeit quite valuable, as you’ll soon find out) DSLR. Reviews the web over shout practically the same thing: the EOS 5D Mark II is astounding. In most every important area, the device simply excelled. Image quality was remarkable, the 1080p video capture was stellar (though the lack of Auto Focus was a legitimate knock against it) and low-light performance was simply awesome. Hailed as a respectable upgrade from the original 5D, it was found to strike “a great balance between resolution, quality and performance,” and most outlets found it worthwhile even if you’re not interested in capturing video. Frankly, we can’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the nuances here, but we’ll certainly point you in the right directions to get all the knowledge you need.

Read – PhotographyBLOG (5 out of 5)
Read – PopPhoto (“lives up to the hype”)
Read – ArtByPhil (“an amazing deal”)
Read – Digital Journalist (“a superb still camera, at a reasonable price”)
Read – CameraLabs (“one of Canon’s most powerful DSLRs to date”)
Read – CameraTown (“a revolutionary camera”)

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon EOS 5D Mark II review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been released, unboxed, and adored by many. But, like other eagerly anticipated bodies from Canon, the 5D Mark II hasn’t been entirely trouble-free for the early adopters. The company is at least stepping forward and confirming that the new model’s two most commonly reported problems do indeed exist — but isn’t going so far as to fix them just yet. The first issue is called the “Black dot” phenomenon, where bright point light sources (like streetlights at a distance) result in a grouping of dark pixels immediately to their right, as seen above. The second issue is ugly vertical banding, apparently appearing only in sRAW1 mode. Canon has no advice on the first problem, but says you can avoid the other one simply by not shooting in sRAW1. Surely millions of photogs are wondering why they didn’t think of that.

[Via Digital Photography Review, image courtesy of Stephan Hörold]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon acknowledges, doesn’t fix black dot and band problems on 5D Mark II originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polaroid may have defeated Kodak in the instant camera business, but it can’t beat a sagging economy. Polaroid (or Polaroid Corp to be precise) just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in 7 years. Of course, the new Polaroid Corporation is really just a holding company for the Polaroid name — a brand that has been thoroughly diluted by its application to sub-standard TVs, vile portable DVD players, and gimmicky PoGo digital cameras. Polaroid says, “We expect to continue our operations as normal during the reorganization and are planning for new product launches in 2009.” That a threat?

[Thanks JideOsan, image courtesy of Jerkwithacamera]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Polaroid files for chapter 11 bankruptcy, again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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