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Continue reading Eurocopter X3 hybrid sets new speed record of 430km/h, readies for next search and rescue mission

Eurocopter X3 hybrid sets new speed record of 430km/h, readies for next search and rescue mission originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The $9,700 SLR’s Foveon sensor captures three colors per pixel rather than the usual one. Sigma is betting people will pay for that difference.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

Sigma knows that $9,700 is a lot of money to pay for, well, anything, so it’s couching the hefty price tag on its new flagship DSLR, the SD1, in the context of it competing against medium format digital cameras — whose prices don’t generally fall below five figures. Trouble is, as professionally inclined, well designed, and durably built as the SD1 may be, it still only packs a 15.3 megapixel CMOS sensor that spans 24mm x 16mm (or APS-C size). That means it’ll have to earn its stripes on the battlefield of image quality, which it’ll be ready to march onto in less than a month’s time. Sigma promises to start shipping units in early June, so if you have the cash to spare (plus a little extra to fund a suitably awesome lens), you can start building up your anticipation today. Full PR and camera specs can be found after the break.

Continue reading Sigma SD1 starts shipping in June for $9,700, has its sights set on medium format lovers

Sigma SD1 starts shipping in June for $9,700, has its sights set on medium format lovers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Photojojo describes its ONA Any Bag as “a zillion camera bags for less than the price of one.” That’s not far off. I have been testing one for a few weeks now have found that — with the exception of one big flaw which you may or may not care about — it’s almost my ideal camera bag.

The Any Bag is a camera-holding insert which fits into any other bag, hence its name. You get one big central section (with a Velcro divider) and pockets on all four outer sides. The back pocket runs the full length, the front pocket is divided into two, and each end has a single pouch. The lid of the bag is a flap that secures with two magnetic closures, and there is a small leather strap on each end to lift the bag out. The Any Bag is made of waxed canvas which will fend off splashes.

First, the flaw. It’s the lid. The magnetic disks on the body and the flap refuse to line up easily. To close the lid properly, you’ll need to put in some work to get them to stick together. In practice, the bag is always inside another so this doesn’t really matter, and the flap overlaps enough to keep dust out anyway. I don’t really care, but I thought you should know.

The soft bag can be squeezed-in pretty much anywhere, and is particularly useful inside carry-on luggage. It adds minimal weight (300 grams or 11 ounces on my kitchen scale) and bulk, and squishes to fit the space available (the official measurements are 10.5 x 7 x4 inches, which seems about right).

I have been using it inside the bag pictured above, a Rickshaw messenger bag (in Performance Tweed, if you’re asking). I can carry a Panasonic GF1 (not pictured, for obvious reasons), a lens, a small flash and spare filters and batteries. You could also use the pockets for keys or a cellphone. It fits this bag perfectly, and unlike carrying the bits wrapped in individual cases, the Any Bag keeps stuff together and leaves space for other gear (in this case, an iPad naked but for a Smart Cover).

You could fit a big SLR in there, too, but obviously there’s less room for extras. A D700 and a spare lens fits fine.

I like the bag a lot, and somehow, despite weighing more, it feels like it takes up less space than my leather ever-ready case for the GF1, mostly because it doesn’t move around inside the messenger bag.

Best of all is the price. The Any Bag is $60, less than most regular bags. Recommended.

The ‘ONA’ Any Bag Camera Bag Insert [Photojojo]

See Also:

• Clever Insert Turns Any Bag Into a Camera Bag
• Make It: Stealth Camera Bag
• Hands On With Lowepro's 'Stealth' Camera Bag
• Gadget Lab Reader Makes Stealth Camera and Netbook Bag

Cooler Master’s 2011 Case Mod Competition looks to be the gift that keeps on giving. After serving up a Tron lightcycle and an architectural marvel, it’s now playing host to a mod that redefines the idea of an all-in-one PC. Peter from the Netherlands has managed to fit a pretty bombastic set of components — 4.5GHz Core i7-980X, two ASUS GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards in SLI, over 12TB of storage with an SSD boot disk, and two PSUs providing 1,500W of power in total — together with a water-cooling setup and the inevitable glowing lights inside one enclosure, which just so happens to also serve as his desk. The three-piece monitor setup is also a custom arrangement, with a 27-inch U2711 IPS panel being flanked by two 17-inchers. Admittedly, this isn’t the first water-cooled and over-powered desk we’ve laid eyes on, but that shouldn’t prevent you from giving the links below a bash and checking out the amazingly neat design of Peter’s l3p d3sk.

Continue reading Dutchman integrates a 4.5GHz water-cooled rig into his d3sk

Dutchman integrates a 4.5GHz water-cooled rig into his d3sk originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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