Olympus E-P1 review roundup

Olympus did its darnedest to drum up hype for the recently unveiled E-P1 Micro Four Thirds shooter, and while we already shared our two pennies on the thing, we figured it prudent to round up the best of the best from elsewhere on the web to give you a fuller picture. The long and short of it is this: the E-P1 is universally praised in terms of image quality, with the only real knock in that department going to higher-than-likable noise levels in low-light scenarios. Still, a camera is about more than just the output, and reviewers were quick to lament the dearth of an integrated viewfinder and flash. Furthermore, critics panned the camera for being slow to focus, oftentimes requiring well over half a second to finally settle and snap a shot. That said, we couldn’t find anyone who wasn’t won over by the image quality, but we’d make darn sure those other nuisances won’t frustrate you to no end before falling for the cute factor.

Read – PhotographyBLOG
Read – DigiCamReview
Read – photocrati
Read – PhotographyPress
Read – OutbackPhoto
Read – CNET
Read – Steves Digicams

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Olympus E-P1 review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AstroScope lets your dSLR see in the dark

(Credit: Electrophysics)

A company called Electrophysics has two adapters that can make your Canon or Nikon dSLR snap pictures in the dark. Such an application isn’t new and was previously implemented in surveillance and video cameras for recording footage in the dark. But the AstroScope 9350-series adapters are specially …

Video: Continue Time wall clock articulates in weird, wondrous ways

It’s hard to say why fanciful clocks really get our juices flowin’ — after all, it’s not like we’re in any hurry to watch the best moments of our lives tick away — but Sander Mulder’s Continue Time is certainly amongst the classiest timepiece designs that we’ve seen. More than just a concept, this limited edition (just 20 were made) masterpiece is engineered to be wall mounted, boasting an articulating arm that pivots and swivels in order to display the current time to those with the appropriate vision. In the artist’s words: “on this clock, two out of the three pointers rotate around another pointer, instead of the central point on the clock face, as with traditional clocks.” It’s a thing of beauty, innit? Hop on past the break for a mesmerizing clip.

[Via Unplggd]

Continue reading Video: Continue Time wall clock articulates in weird, wondrous ways

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Video: Continue Time wall clock articulates in weird, wondrous ways originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon will now replace Kindles damaged by cover

The cracked Kindle 2 that's at the center of the lawsuit.

Here’s quick update to the story we posted the other day on a couple filing a class-action lawsuit over a potential design flaw in Amazon’s Kindle 2 involving the company’s cover and cracks developing …

HDR imaging for the cheap and gifted


People who are seriously after HDR output tend to pony up the dough for a big and chunky DSLR, knowing they’ll get the highest quality possible. But if you’re short on cash, here’s a homebrewed mod that combines a gutted Polaroid x530 Foveon shooter with a Viliv to produce HDR-like imagery on the cheap. Essentially, the Viliv does all the processing and control work, while the el cheapo camera is used for its ability to save to raw format. You could instead pick up a compact Ricoh CX1 and save yourself a lot of trouble, but where’s the fun and tinkering in that? The homemade hardware might not be pretty to look at, but make your way past the break to see if the results are worth the effort.

[Via Hack a Day]

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HDR imaging for the cheap and gifted originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hat detects Wi-Fi, repels chance of getting any action

Wi-Fi hat

Not on my head.

(Credit: Think Geek)

The headline on this Dvice post about Think Geek’s Wi-Fi-detecting hat says the cap will make you “king of the geeks.” And maybe it will. But you can have that title, my liege; I’d rather get dates.

Not to say your …

LG won’t produce larger OLED TVs until 2012

If you’re following the fortunes of OLED, this little tidbit from LG CEO Kwon Young Soo that appeared on OLED-Display.net should be of interest.

“We plan to produce 32-inch OLED panels for TVs in 2012,” he said, adding: “The commercial success of OLEDs hinges on how it shows …

Cigarette lighter phone could light up your death sticks, life

Cigarette lighter phone could light up your death sticks, life

We have zero solid info on this one — price, real pictures, or any sort of availability anywhere — so, don’t hold your (nicotine-riddled) breath waiting for the SB6309 Lighter Phone to show at an AT&T Store near you. Even so, a phone with a cigarette lighter built-in is too good not to mention. Flip it over, slide back the protective cover, and press your cancer stick onto the glowing square — and do it quick, because that can’t be doing anything good for battery life. An interesting product in these increasingly health-conscious times, sure to be a hit in Japan at least where about 30 percent of adults can’t get through the day without lighting up. That is, of course, assuming this thing is real. The pics are all renders, and its website seems to be laced with some sort of malware. Click on through to see another picture of its three available colors we’ve dubbed “Bloody Spittle,” “Burnt Tobacco,” and “Emphysema.” They’re viewable here without any risk of giving your machine any sort of respiratory distress, but if you really want to live life dangerously, copy/paste the URL after the break into the appropriately wide box in your browser.

[Thanks, Philip P.]

Continue reading Cigarette lighter phone could light up your death sticks, life

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Cigarette lighter phone could light up your death sticks, life originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HANNSpree debuts line of plush TVs for tasteless tots

We all know how much children hate television, so sometimes it’s necessary to be a little sneaky, especially when looking to give them their minimum daily requirement of the “Fair & Balanced” — that’s why we’re lucky that HANNSpree is on the case. The company, known for it’s particularly uglified and just plain bizarre display devices is debuting a line of plush animals (including an elephant, giraffe, panda, and polar bear) with televisions embedded in their sides — just the thing for concerned parents who need to trick their kids into watching. With any luck, Junior will soon be rattling off the nine principles with the ease that you once let the names of the four Monkees roll off the tongue. Pretty sweet, right? It’s time for you to get back to The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care — but not before eyeballing that gallery below.

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HANNSpree debuts line of plush TVs for tasteless tots originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blockbuster selling Archos 10 netbooks at retail stores, we’re not sure why either

Blockbuster selling Archos 10 netbooks at retail stores, we're not sure why either

Looking for a place to buy a netbook? Have you tried any of the thousands of online shops that offer them? Oh, they don’t look quite desperate enough for you? Perhaps you’d rather go somewhere that really needs your money: Blockbuster. Yes, the struggling video chain has made yet another partnership, this time with Archos to sell its Archos 10 10.2-inch netbook at 1,000 of its “select” retail outlets around these United States. The totally predictably spec’d (1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of Ram, 160GB HDD, etc.) netbook lacks any sort of special multimedia customization, and with no optical drive is completely unable to play any of the films you can rent from that same location (those are so obsolete anyway), but does at least come at a decent price: $299. Of course, you can get it right now at Amazon for the same exact moneys, and there you won’t have to fend off any salesmen with hungry eyes. But, if you’re looking for a little attention, this could be your big blue ticket.

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Blockbuster selling Archos 10 netbooks at retail stores, we’re not sure why either originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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