Hasta La Gadget!

We don’t expect this to be indicative of any near-term projects for the now financially hindered phone maker, but one of Sony Ericsson’s recently unearthed patents paves the way for some interesting uses. From what we gather, while listening to music on your device, a picture of your face would be taken. That image would then be run through software that interprets your mood, and an appropriate next song based on those emotions would be picked — so much for the art of mixtapes. Presumably, it’d also require a phone or device with a camera mounted on the same side as the screen, so unless mobile video conferencing takes off in a huge way, we can’t see people paying extra for a phone or device with this configuration. And if you just got dumped over SMS, we hope it doesn’t intepret those tears as a good time to play that Damien Rice song you two fell in love with. Hit up the read link for the full patent details.

[Via Slash Gear]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Sony Ericsson’s facial recognition patent plays the perfect song to complement your mood originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 May 2009 23:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After digesting loads of scuttlebutt here lately, we’re elated to see that Pentax has finally come clean with its new K-7 DSLR. The 14.6 megapixel shooter packs a rugged magnesium alloy body and arrives with an HD movie mode that captures video at 640 x 416, 720p (1,280 x 720) or 1,536 x 1,024 — all at 30fps. Needless to say, that’s more than the D90 and D5000 offer (both top out at 720p), and while Canon’s T1i does 1080p, it does so at just 20fps. There’s also an HDMI port, a 3-inch Live View LCD, in-camera lens correction, shake reduction and an improved dust reduction system. The real kicker, however, is the High Dynamic Range (HDR) capture mode, which snags a trio of images, then combines them in-camera to widen the exposure gamut. The body alone should ship in July for $1,299.95 — which is notably more expensive that recent wares from Canon, Nikon and Sony — and you can peek the full slate of specifications just past the break.

Continue reading Pentax gets official with 14.6MP K-7 DSLR: HD movies, HDR mode

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pentax gets official with 14.6MP K-7 DSLR: HD movies, HDR mode originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Casio’s really blown out the feature list on the EX-FS10, and now PhotographyBLOG has taken the compact fashioncam through its paces. Sadly, like many modern compacts, straight up image quality is a bit scarce here, with obvious noise at ISO 200 and up, no optical image stabilization, and not even the silly 12 megapixel extravagance of its counterparts to blame it on — the EX-FS10 shoots 9 megapixel stills. The HD and slow-motion video recording is also severely hampered by a lack of zoom during shooting, bad sound, and the oversized AVI format. Still, the camera is incredibly well built, very slim, and it can pull off some really wild feats — 720p might be growing increasingly common, but 1000 fps slow motion, burst mode for stills and pre-record shutter lag adjustment make the FS10 quite unique in its category. It’s obviously a tradeoff, but at least there’s some good news: while the camera was supposedly slated to retail at around $450, it’s hovering pretty close to $300 at the moment.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Casio EX-FS10 reviewed, slides 1000 fps capture into the back pocket of your mom jeans originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 May 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We won’t go so far as to say that SE and LG are waiting for this here technology to go commercial — after all, we’re still years (at best) away from that — but considering that the ninth iteration of your favorite smartphone is likely destined to boast a 453 megapixel camera, we’re thrilled to see someone working to make those captures worth looking at. Over in Japan, Sammy is teasing a new MEMS shutter that measures just 2.2 millimeters in diameter and would essentially allow cameraphones to grab blur-free images even with ultra-high megapixel sensors. Feel free to dive into the read link if you’re into technobabble; otherwise, just be sure to pay attention in around a decade when this stuff actually has a bearing on your life.

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras

Samsung’s MEMS shutter could massively improve high megapixel cameraphones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 May 2009 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This DIY project combines bikes and cameras, a sure-fire way to make it into the pages of Gadget Lab. Better, it’s a super-simple and rather ingenious hack, straight from the cunning mind of cyclist and photographer Brian Green.

Brian wanted to mount his camera on the handlebars for on-the-road shooting. Above you see the solution — a bike reflector mount coupled to a tripod-sized machine-screw. The reflector mount clamps down on the tubing, just as it is designed to do, and the screw holds the camera in place.

Not that we recommend taking a camera and bolting it to a rigid, shaking, vibrating metal bar. What we like about Brian’s hack is that it could be used anywhere. The addition of a wing-nut would make this an instant camera-clamp for steady shots, and small and light enough to fit in your pocket. Like we said — ingenious.

Home-made Camera Tripods [Brian’s Blog via DIY Photography]