Fujifilm sues Motorola over broad camera and phone patents, claims RAZRs and Xyboards are at fault

Motorola RAZR MAXX review

Motorola won’t have had much of a break following the dismissal of a key Apple lawsuit, after all. In a low-profile move, Fujifilm has sued Motorola for allegedly violating four particularly broad patents on camera and phone technologies — we’re talking basics such as transmitting data outside of a cellular network. The camera designer has supposedly been pushing for a licensing deal since April of last year without much success, and it’s asserting that “at least” a wide swath of Motorola devices released both before and after that time are the key offenders, including the RAZR MAXX and Xyboard lines. The complaint is scarcely into the docket and makes it difficult to gauge just what kind of chance Fujifilm has to win in court; we just know that Motorola’s (and now Google’s) patent lawsuit headache is developing into more of a migraine.

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Fujifilm sues Motorola over broad camera and phone patents, claims RAZRs and Xyboards are at fault originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexar XQD memory cards announced, will duel with Sony for Nikon D4’s attention

Lexar XQD memory cards announced, will need to duel with Sony for Nikon D4's attention

Nikon’s D4 is currently the only belle at the XQD ball, and until now, Sony was its only memory suitor. However, Lexar’s just arrived with a new line of cards to compete for the D4’s affections. The Fremont-based company says it collaborated with Nikon to build the PCI Express-based memory, and that they’ll hit the market sometime in the third quarter of 2012 — with no mention of specs or prices so far. Unfortunately, that means we don’t know how Lexar’s offerings will stack up against Sony’s H-series or S-series cards already on the market. That said, while you wait for more details about Lexar’s new cards, feel free to check out the lovely data the D4 will be putting on ’em when they arrive.

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Lexar XQD memory cards announced, will duel with Sony for Nikon D4’s attention originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 02:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Smart Camera NX1000 Pink Joins Hands with Bobbi Brown for Marketing Event

Marking the release of pink colored NX1000, Samsung Electronics treats the purchasing customers of its latest NX1000 Pink with a Bobbi Brown pink lip gloss, a premium camera bag, a guide handbook, and a bean pole camera wrist strap from the 11th to the 31st of July. Samsung smart camera NX1000 now comes in pink targeting young ladies in their 20’s and 30’s for the imminent summer vacation season in the joint marketing event with Bobbi Brown.

36.7 million FPS camera revolutionized cancer screening, next comes combat sports

367 Million FPS camera revolutionized cancer screening, hopefully combat sportsSTEAM serial timeencoded amplified microscopy

We’re quite familiar with the fun you can have when you’ve got a high speed camera in your possession. But, even Phantom’s pricey and impressive 2,800 FPS cameras have nothing on the latest project out of UCLA. Engineers at the school have rigged up a microscope cam that uses serial time-encoded amplified microscopy (STEAM) to capture clips of individual cells at 36.7 million FPS. Let that sink in for a moment — that’s a “shutter” speed of 27 picoseconds. The school actually pioneered the method years ago, which uses ultra-fast laser pulses to generate images of cells as they speed by. The camera is capable of processing 100,000 cells a second, allowing doctors to spot cancerous anomalies that might have otherwise gone undetected. Now we just hope they can supersize the tech and sell it to HBOboxing KOs can never be played back slow enough.

Continue reading 36.7 million FPS camera revolutionized cancer screening, next comes combat sports

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36.7 million FPS camera revolutionized cancer screening, next comes combat sports originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Canon Built Your Digital Camera [Video]

You’re not going to walk away with an in-depth knowledge of how to build your own digital camera from watching this video. But Canon’s behind-the-scenes peek at what goes into building and designing its digital cameras and lenses is still pretty fascinating if you’re into photography. More »

Samsung EX2F point-and-shoot with f/1.4 lens hands-on (video)

Samsung EX2F pointandshoot with f14 lens handson video

We’ve been generally unimpressed with the latest round of basic point-and-shoots, including those from Samsung’s mid-range Smart series, but we do tend to take heed whenever a manufacturer opts to focus on optics rather than bumping up the megapixel count to boost sticker appeal. Compared to sub-$200 shooters, there’s a fairly limited market for $549 pocketable models — a price point that often prompts would-be owners to dig beyond superficial specs in search of full manual control, solid high-ISO performance, fast focusing and a lens that enables both low-light shooting and shallow depth of field. Samsung’s EX2F appears to fit the bill, offering a 12.4-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, a top extended ISO setting of 12,800, a 3-inch VGA-res AMOLED display and — the crown jewel — an f/1.4-2.7, 24-79mm lens. That optic delivers an additional one 2/3 stop of sensitivity over the EX2F’s predecessor, the two-year-old TL500. Other advantages include a lighter magnesium alloy body, an NX power pin-enabled hot shoe for adding an external mic or flash, and a new micro-USB trigger cable.

Though the EX2F was noticeably lighter than the 2010 model during our hands-on, it retains much of the TL500’s heft — at least from a size perspective. The camera’s footprint makes it too bulky to slip in a pocket, as we were able to do with the Sony RX100, though the flip-out AMOLED display is certainly a welcome addition. An NX-like smart UI mode enables instant access to key settings, as do the dual control dials, which let you adjust shooting modes (on the right) and capture speed (on the left). There’s also a new in-camera HDR mode which merges two back-to-back shots (one underexposed and the other overexposed) in order to retain additional shadow and highlight detail. The camera was quite responsive during a quick shoot earlier today, powering on, focusing and capturing an image quickly. We’ll need to spend much more time snapping outside of an office environment before passing any formal judgement, but it’s easy to see the appeal of such of device — and the advantage over less-abled point-and-shoots. For now, you can take a closer look in the gallery below, and in our hands-on demonstration after the break.

Continue reading Samsung EX2F point-and-shoot with f/1.4 lens hands-on (video)

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Samsung EX2F point-and-shoot with f/1.4 lens hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why I Hate My Camera [Photography]

Steve Giralt is a pro photographer in NYC. But just because his life revolves around his camera doesn’t mean it’s a love fest. Here’s why he has beef with his photo gear. More »

I Still Can’t Believe a Normal Camera Can Resist These Tortures [Video]

Apparently, some people love the Pentax DSLRs because they can stand sand storms and heavy rain. I never imagined they could be subjected to this kind of hardcore testing. That’s probably why US Army soldier Alex Jansen, now deployed in Afghanistan, loves them. More »

Canon T4i rubber grips suffering from chemical reaction

The Canon T4i is the latest DSLR into the entry-level market, although a small batch of cameras seem to have been affected by a manufacturing problem. Canon has released a statement saying that the front rubber grips on some cameras may turn white after a short period of time. Canon has looked into the issue and determined that its caused by a reaction to zinc bis after exposure to high temperature or high humidity.

The company says that until suffering the issue were manufactured in a 16 day period between May 31st and June 15th. The rubber manufacturer supplying the grips seems to have used a higher rubber accelerator than normal, resulting in the chemical reaction when exposed to high temperatures or humidity. Zinc bis is also deposited on the grips as a result, which may lead to an allergic skin reaction for some users.

Canon say that they’ll begin swapping out any units that suffer from the issue. To check if your camera is affected, you’ll have to consult your serial number to see if the sixth digit is 1. After you input the full serial number into Canon’s online tool, you’ll be told whether your camera is affected or not. If it is, the company will send out a free replacement in the next couple of weeks.

[via Gizmodo]


Canon T4i rubber grips suffering from chemical reaction is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


LG working on quad-core smartphone with 10MP camera

LG may just have launched the Optimux 4X HD, but it trailed behind the launches of the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III. The European versions of those phones featured quad-core processors and 8-megapixel cameras just like the 4X HD, but arguably had better construction and software customizations. The company isn’t satisfied, with LG’s chairman and co-CEO Koo Bon-moo planning a new phone that will feature a 10-megapixel camera.

Bon-moo is reportedly frustrated that LG didn’t make full use of the technology at its fingertips, and will be feeding direct input into the new device. Not much is known about the handset, except that it will feature a quad-core processor and 10-megapixel camera. The phone will reportedly go on sale in September.

LG currently supplies various electronic parts to companies like Apple, with some of the Retina displays in the latest iPad and next-generation MacBook Pro supplied by the South Korean company. Despite the fact that LG is keeping pace with the likes of HTC and Samsung spec-wise, its handsets haven’t gained the same kind of traction in the market. The company also recently revealed it would be sidelining tablets and focusing on smartphones in the near future.

[via The Next Web]


LG working on quad-core smartphone with 10MP camera is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.