Hasta La Gadget!

If it’s a pocketable PowerShot and its name begins with ‘G’ you can be pretty sure it’ll be a good performer, and Canon‘s latest is no exception. The $499 G12 is the sequential successor to the G11 and, as is typical for the range, it isn’t a revolutionary leap forward. The G12 makes use of its predecessor’s 10 megapixel sensor situated behind the same 5x zoom lens and offering the same suite of full manual controls. New this year is a 720p24 video recording mode with stereo mics, finally bringing this camera into the HD age — but sadly doing so without use of that zoom. Also new is an HDR mode, stitching together three photos to make those vampires hiding in the shadows really pop. According to Photography Blog those improvements plus a few other niceties make this a particularly solid compact, even if its chunky dimensions as ever push the definition of that term.

Canon PowerShot G12 scores predictably glowing review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 03:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Early reviews of Fuji’s FinePix Real 3D W1? Not so hot. However, a year later the $450 refreshed W3 seems to be doing better, scoring a “Recommended” review over at Photography Blog. The camera’s dual 1/2.3-inch, 10 megapixel CCDs and 3X zoom lenses are carried over from before, but a new design and more user-friendly interface is said to make a huge improvement — even if it’s still too easy to stick a finger over either of the two light portals up front. Build quality is solid and the new 3.5-inch, glasses-free 3D LCD on the back is called “impressive,” far brighter than last year’s parallax barrier. The machine will capture 720p 3D movies and can save both 3D MPO images and 2D JPEGs simultaneously, meaning your holiday snaps are future-proofed even if you haven’t jumped on the 3D bandwagon just yet.

Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 reviewed, deemed a worthy W1 successor for slightly less early adopters originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See Also:

• Meet the World’s First Undulating Cellphone
• Nokia’s Snazzy New Smartphones Stick with Symbian OS
• 7 Reasons Nokia Phones Get No Love in U.S.
• Future Phones to Read Your Voice, Gestures
• Water Flute Gives a Glimpse of Future Interfaces

Sony has taken the time to upgrade the firmware on its minuscule NEX-5/3 system cameras to improve usability, make manual focusing easier, and allow single-shot autofocus when using A-mount glass via an adapter. The latter will be perhaps the most important thing for owners of Sony’s large-sensor compact, allowing them to use a total of 14 lenses from the company’s DSLR range without having to worry about focusing manually. Though, if you are into that kind of thing, the MF Assist mode has been improved with a new feature giving you a zoomed-in view of the area you’re trying to keep sharp — to make it easier to tell if you’re doing it right. The UI has also undergone a bit of a streamlining, which you can check out for yourself by downloading the new software from the source link below.

Continue reading Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3 firmware update adds autofocus support for company’s A-mount lenses

Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3 firmware update adds autofocus support for company’s A-mount lenses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Remember those early wireless headsets, the ones that made people look like they had been assimilated by The Borg? Few would seek to return to those days for the benefit of bridging a handset and one’s ears. But what if one could also bridge a handset and one’s eyes? That’s essentially the promise of Looxcie, a Bluetoooth headset that integrates a video camera to enable passive video capture.

Looxcie’s creators note that using the device requires less encumbrance than even a Flip camcorder. Still, there’s no getting around it — the Looxcie is no spy gadget. Accepting the state of the technology for what it is, the designers chose to embrace its size rather than try to minimize it. The protuberance that houses the boom mike and lens of the product swells toward an end that includes a red recording light. The extension in a glossy white, perhaps an homage to massive telephoto zoom lenses like those from Canon.

Continue reading Switched On: A Looxcie into lifecasting’s future

Switched On: A Looxcie into lifecasting’s future originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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