Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t have the $6,500 to spare to pick up a Leica M9? You might consider the freshly announced M-E, which carries a similar feature set and a slightly more palatable $5,450 price tag. The camera includes the same 18-megapixel sensor as the M9, but drops relatively minor features like a built-in USB port (you’ll need to pop out your SD card to download pics). It’s nearly identical to the pricier model, with a low-res (230k-dot) 2.5-inch LCD and an ISO range of 160-2500. Unlike the “new M,” announced alongside the M-E, the latter model does not offer live-view functionality, so you’ll only be using the LCD to make settings adjustments and for reviewing images, anyway. Shot framing will be handled with the 0.68x viewfinder, positioned at the top left of the camera.

Aesthetically, you might find the M-E to be a bit more pleasing, with a muted gray/black color scheme — we found it to be quite nice during out hands-on at Photokina. The camera itself looks like an M9 with a hint of Michael Graves-esque simplicity — there’s a silver shutter speed dial up top, with soft numbering and positions that range from bulb to 1/4000 second. There’s also a matching power toggle/shutter release, along with the standard suite of playback and ISO controls on the rear. As we mentioned, the 2.5-inch display offers a bit lower resolution than what we’d like to see, making it less than ideal for verifying image sharpness, for example, so if the LCD marks high on your list of priorities, you’ll probably do best to wait for the “new M” (M10) to hit early next year. Otherwise, the M-E appears to be a capable camera, but M9 owners should hang tight — there’s not much to see here. The M-E is available for purchase now, for about $5,450 (or €4,800 in Europe), and you can sneak a peek in our gallery below, and the hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Leica M-E is a $5,450 M9 with new color scheme, minor feature exclusions (hands-on video)

Filed under: Cameras

Leica M-E is a $5,450 M9 with new color scheme, minor feature exclusions (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We’ve talked about Lensbaby in the past with several interesting lenses for DSLR cameras. The company makes lenses that give you all sorts of strange photographic effects that remind me more than a little of some of the digital filters on Instagram. Lensbaby is back with the new lens called the Spark.

The Spark is priced well at $80 and is available for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. The lens is designed to let photographers capture creative images that have a sweet spot of focus surrounded by artistic blur. The Spark is a manual focus lens that photographers squeeze to focus and then tilt to move the sweet spot of focus around the image.

The Spark is a lightweight lens that uses a 50 mm selective focus multi-coated class doublet optic. The optic features a fixed f/5.6 aperture making it easy to use. Photos taken using the lens have a clear sweet spot of focus and that sweet spot of focus is surrounded by gradually increasing blur.

The focus range is about 13-inches to infinity according to Lensbaby. The lens is compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap System, and all Lensbaby 37mm threaded accessories. The lens will be available on September 18 online and in retail stores.

Lensbaby Spark helps photographers get creative on the cheap is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Calling it their “biggest launch since the original RAZR” (no sniggering in the back row, please), Motorola’s RAZRi is the first phone with a 2GHz Intel processor; however good that may be. Sounds impressive though, non? More »

While we’ve seen similar things from the RAZR M already — and even reviewed it — we reckoned those 2GHz Intel internals and HSPA-only radio inside the RAZR i (as well as European availability) warranted another tour of the hardware. In summary, there’s decently bright, if a little jaggy, 4.3-inch AMOLED screen, with a water resistant coating covering the already hardy Kevlar backing. There’s space for microSD expansion, and thanks to that tiny bezel, it’s a phone that very happily resided in the palm of our hand. We’re booting up our benchmark toolkit to assess how Intel’s processor fares, but until the final scores are revealed, take a look at our hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android ICS smartphone (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android ICS smartphone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Motorola has a lot to prove now its under the Google umbrella, and the RAZR i has taken an atypical path with its choice of an Intel Atom 2GHz processor. Announced this morning in London, the 4.3-inch RAZR i is one of those rare devices where the in-hand feel belies the screen size on offer: Motorola’s “edge to edge” design language may smack of hyperbole, but it does add up to a surprisingly compact handset despite the 720p qHD HD panel.

And what a panel: the RAZR i’s Super AMOLED screen is a vision, a genuinely impressive display with graphics that sit just beneath the fingertip, and brightness and detail that make it perfect for video playback. [Update: Motorola told us 720p resolution at the event; in actual fact it’s qHD] It’s a surprisingly light handset too, Motorola eschewing the traditional metal for more of its favored Kevlar, and while the raw-effect back may be a little try-hard in its look, the phone doesn’t feel cheap.

It’s too early to talk performance, though we’ll be putting the RAZR i through its paces in the full review to see how Intel’s 32nm chip keeps up with the ARM processors we’d more typically see in a smartphone. However, Android – Ice Cream Sandwich, sadly, not Jelly Bean – showed no lag in our brief play, and Motorola’s customizations, such as a “Circles” launcher, work smoothly.

There’s also customization in the camera app, with a new HDR mode that automatically suggests turning it on when the RAZR i decides the scene warrants some extra punch. It’s possible to shoot stills while simultaneously recording video, too.

In short, it’s a surprisingly compact handset for those who want a big screen without a pocket compromise; what may end up being the weak link is Intel’s chipset, but we won’t know that until we run it through the gauntlet of daily use.

Motorola RAZR i Hands-on video:

Motorola RAZR i Hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.