Aug 07
Look closely at the camera lens of your iPhone 5. See that build-up of dirt and grime behind the glass? Ew! It might seem like the gunk is going to build up forever, inaccessible and making your photos progressively worse. But there is hope.
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Aug 07
With the smartphone hordes banging at their gates, compact camera manufacturers are being forced to up their game. As such, Casio’s just launched a 16-megapixel, 18X zoom EX-ZR800 Exilim engine-equipped model with features like continuous shooting, “night shot” ISO 25,600 sensitivity, HDR and five axis stabilization. Unlike with the Olympus SH-50, however, the latter feature works on stills only and not video to correct translational and rotational camera shake. You’ll also get 1080p / 30fps H.264 video, a 25-450mm zoom range, f/3.5-7.0 aperture, time-lapse, 5fps burst speed, selective blur and “triple shot” exposure, which saves an image before you even press the shutter. The EX-ZR800 will arrive in Japan in red, white or black on August 23rd for 40,000 yen (about $410). There’s no indication of a western arrival, but if we had to guess we’d expect it to trickle over to Europe and the US shortly afterwards. In the meantime, check the (translated) source for more.
Filed under: Cameras
Source: Casio Japan (translated)
Aug 06
The Engadget Show 45: Security with Cory Doctorow, John McAfee, Microsoft, the EFF and more!
Posted in: Today's Chili
Welcome to the wild world of security and surveillance. From CCTV to massive government spying initiatives, there’s no escaping it. Recent high-profile leaks have served as a sobering reminder of just how present it is in all of our lives, so we figured what better time to take a deep dive? We kick things off with one of the strangest (and raciest) segments in Engadget Show history: a visit to the set of John McAfee’s latest web video. The one-time security software guru and fugitive discusses the state of antivirus, bath salts and offers some unsolicited advice to Edward Snowden, one exile to another. Trevor Timm of the Electronic Frontier Foundation sits down for an animated discussion of recent NSA surveillance revelations, including a breakdown of which major tech companies are doing right by their user base.
Boing Boing editor, sci-fi author and privacy activist Cory Doctorow climbs a tree in San Diego to discuss Wikileaks, the NSA, the “surveillance state” and more. “Edward Snowden is a hero,” he begins, not speaking on behalf of the EFF, mind you — and things get really good from there. Cryptographer and computer security specialist Bruce Schneier also chimes in on wiretapping, whistleblowing and “security theater.”
Next up, we pay a visit to The New Yorker‘s midtown office to talk Strong Box, the magazine’s secure deposit box for anonymous whistleblowers. The team behind Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs joins us to discuss partnering with computer security company Kaspersky to bring a realistic portrait of the world of hacking to its much anticipated title. And one-time hacker turned head of security community outreach at Microsoft, Katie Moussouris, discusses Redmond’s Bluehat bounty program and working with the hacking community to build safer software.
All that, plus the usual prognosticating from resident philosopher John Roderick in this month’s Engadget Show, just after the break.
Filed under: Cameras, Gaming, Wireless, Internet, Software, Microsoft
Aug 06
While we were growing up, you had to take things apart to find out how they broke worked. Big Shot camera sets about things the other way around, coming in kit form to help kids learn exactly what goes into making a camera tick. It’s been in the prototype stage long enough for its initial audience to have almost grown up, but none the less it’s finally available to buy. The $89 camera has a 3-megapixel sensor, a 1.4-inch LCD screen, plus three lenses for different shooting modes (normal, 3D and panorama). Big Shot’s inventor, Prof Shree Naya, has a similar vision to other educational products like the Raspberry Pi and OLPC, where he hopes that if enough sell, he can send some off to children with less resources. That was probably on Naya’s mind when he decided to add a hand crank for human-powered operation, making this the wind-up gadget for the Instagram generation.
Filed under: Cameras
Via: BBC
Source: Big Shot
Aug 05
In addition to the hinged LCD-harboring S6600 Coolpix that was announced earlier this evening, Nikon has also introduced its new Coolpix L620, a high-power zoom compact with 14x optical zoom and a backside-illuminated 18.1-megapixel CMOS sensor. The camera will be available in two different colors: black and a red wine type of color. As far […]
Aug 05
Nikon has introduce a new compact digital camera, the Coolpix S6600, which is the first in the S-series to feature a hinged LCD for multiple positions depending on the shooting situation. In addition to the “vari-angle monitor,” the Coolpix S6600 also boasts Gesture Control, allowing users to take self portraits with a wave of their […]
Aug 05
Nikon’s Coolpix L820 30x lens camera debuted at CP+ in Japan earlier this year, and now the company’s adding another new superzoom to the family, the L620. This more compact flavor drops the focal range significantly — its 14x optic can snap from 25mm to 350mm — but boosts the CMOS sensor to 18.1 megapixels, supporting a maximum sensitivity of ISO 3200. This entry-level model was designed with beginners in mind, with multiple scene modes and an auto mode representing the most notable shooting options, and effects like Quick Retouch and Skin Softening enabling on-the-go enhancements. There’s also optical image stabilization, a 3-inch LCD and 1080p video capture with stereo sound. The Coolpix L620 is expected in stores in September with a $250 MSRP.
Aug 05
If you’ve been lustfully eying the latest DSLR models, you want to give your trusty Canon 7D another look. The popular, but aging semi-pro model has been given the RAW video treatment from Magic Lantern, and the first samples have now been posted (after the break). Maximum resolution still falls short of the much newer 5D Mark III’s full HD at 1,736 x 1,156, but otherwise, the images are improved in every way. The video has a full 14-bit color spectrum, for starters, is completely free of compression noise and has much less (though still some) moire and aliasing. So far, video can only be captured in 2 second bursts, but we saw similar limitations on early Magic Lantern builds for the 5D Mark III, as well — meaning the 7D may finally live up to its beast-like video potential.
Via: EOSHD
Source: Magic Lantern
Aug 04
Given that baseball is America’s pastime, it’s kind of frowned upon to even talk about the game’s . . . slower . . . moments. But they exist. On the flip side, baseball has great drama over contentious plays. And, as with football
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Aug 04
After a considerable delay from its slated late 2012 release date, the 6K Red Dragon sensor is finally ready — and it seems to have been worth the wait. The first test footage (after the break) has come from cinematographer and Red booster Mark Toia, who stress-tested it in difficult conditions like high contrast daylight and dark night scenes. Afterwards, he said the camera has three more f-stops of dynamic range than the MX-equipped Epic and thinks the new sensor brings the “best highlight falloff I’ve ever seen from any digital camera,” including Sony’s $65,000 CineAlta F65 4K model. Though Red put on a show of upgrading Epic and Epic-X cameras with Dragon earlier this spring, the company recently said that deliveries would start in September. Meanwhile, Dragon equipped cameras are in the hands of other notable DPs and directors too, like Peter Jackson, Michael Bay and Darius Woski — meaning you can likely expect a deluge of Dragon eye-candy over the coming weeks.
Filed under: Cameras
Source: Reduser
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