Hasta La Gadget!

Canon’s “G” line of cameras have always appealed to point-and-shooters looking for more of a pro experience. The new G15 has some great details—is it a $499 camera worth considering? More »

Nikon has officially announced its new D5200: a mid-range DSLR targeted at consumers, but with guts inspired by its more expensive stablemate, the D7000. More »

The trusty D5100 and D7000 have held sway over Nikon’s low-to-mid DSLR range for around 18 months now, but come December and there’ll be a new option driving a wedge right between them. The D5200 will still fulfill the role of a lightweight “advanced beginner” model and physically it’s the spitting image of the D5100, but at the same time it brings some fundamental and distinctly D7000-like photographic improvements to try to excuse its £720 (body-only) recommended retail price. (Update: that equates to around $1,150, but Nikon tells us that there’s no official US pricing or arrival date at this time.)

The D5200 offers a 39-point AF system for smarter focusing and tracking of moving subjects (compared to the 11-point module on the D5100), a 2,016-pixel RGB metering sensor (whereas the D5100 judged exposure based on just 420 pixels), and a new Expeed 3 processor that permits up to five shots per second (versus the older camera’s 4 fps). There’s also a brand new main image sensor: a DX-format chip that is the same size as the D5100’s and yet somehow squeezes in 8 million more pixels, bringing the effective resolution to 24.1 megapixels. Need more convincing? The camera also has a slightly simpler-looking UI, a stereo internal mic, more choice of h.264 frame rates up to 60 frames per second (in 1080i), and compatibility with Nikon’s admittedly flaky WU-1a wireless adapter. Check out our hands-on video after the break plus a review roundup in the next few weeks, and then, if you’re still not appeased, don’t sweat it: the D5100 and D7000 will continue to be sold for the forseeable, and both with ever-increasing discounts.

Continue reading Nikon reveals D5200 SLR with D7000-taunting specs: 24MP sensor, 39-point AF, wireless port (hands-on)

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

Nikon reveals D5200 SLR with D7000-taunting specs: 24MP sensor, 39-point AF, wireless port (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Until now, Sony’s efforts in the element-stopping sports cam world had largely consisted of handhelds such as the Bloggie Sport HD and the waterproof Handycam. The $200 Action Cam, however, is an all-out hiking-boot-wearing adventurist, with a backpack full of tools and supplies by comparison, that frankly, makes the brand’s previous attempts look like they’re barely prepared for a school field trip.

A lot of technology can be broken down into numbers. PetaFLOPS, gigahertz and megabytes — the idea usually being, the more the better. And often that’s true. Sometimes, though, what you really need are a couple breaths of fresh air and a healthy shot of adrenaline. And that’s where something like Sony’s new HDR-AS15 Action Cam shines. It’s one of a growing breed of devices that allow us to get our fill of the great outdoors, while still satisfying our gadget fix. With plenty of other competitors lining up to be your sporting partner of choice, however, does the Action Cam have what it takes to keep up? Dive past the break to find out.

Continue reading Sony Action Cam review: a good rugged camera with a few software wrinkles

Filed under: Cameras, Sony

Sony Action Cam review: a good rugged camera with a few software wrinkles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Panasonic has just launched the AG-AF105A pro camcorder, an updated version of the AG-AF105 model, and for lovers of fine color gamut, there’s good news. You can now output 10-bit HD video through the live view SDI port to an external recorder, boosting the color range to a billion hues and 1024 shades of grey. That addresses one of the main gripes with the previous $6k, 8-bit camcorder: it had to live in a world of Red Scarlets and Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera MFTs, which already have deep color. The revised model also brings a new PS recording mode with 25Mbps data rate, full HD progressive modes (1080/60p, 1080/50p), higher fidelity 16 bit LPCM audio and enlarged focus assist. It’ll hit shelves on November 15th in Japan (there’s no mention of an international date yet) with pricing up to the dealer, so sharpen up those haggling skills if you want one.

Continue reading Panasonic launches tweaked AG-AF105A MFT pro camcorder with 10-bit HD video

Filed under: Cameras, HD

Panasonic launches tweaked AG-AF105A MFT pro camcorder with 10-bit HD video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AV Watch  |   | Email this | Comments