Hasta La Gadget!

Jonesing for a new point and shoot before the holiday break? Don’t go lookin’ for BenQ’s newest unless you’re camped in Asia, as this orange delight won’t hit other nations until the first of 2011. Sporting a 14 megapixel sensor, a metallic casing and a seemingly robust implementation of optical image stabilization technology, the S1420 also touts a 26mm wide-angle lens, a 5x optical zoomer and ingrained HDR II technology that tosses a little pizazz on top of your otherwise ho hum photograph. There’s also a smattering of “creative shooting modes” that you may or may not ever touch, though the 720p movie mode and ISO range that reaches to 6,400 should both prove quite useful. There’s nary a word spoken on pricing, but something tells us it’ll be situated halfway between dirt cheap and perfectly affordable.

Continue reading BenQ’s 14 megapixel S1420 camera touts mega O.I.S., 720p movie mode

BenQ’s 14 megapixel S1420 camera touts mega O.I.S., 720p movie mode originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Nokia and Samsung, please come to reception to collect your old and busted 12 megapixel cameraphones. The new king of the phonecamera heap, in appearance at least, has arrived in the shape of LG’s L-03C. It comes with a retractable 3x optical zoom lens from Pentax, a 12 megapixel CCD sensor, a Xenon flash, and a 720p movie recording mode. The L-03C is also intentionally styled to remind users of the more timeless compact camera designs of the past (and present) and it’s only by entering the NTT DoCoMo OS and hitting up the dialer that you discover that it’s also a cellular phone to boot. In spite of its 3-inch display and 800 x 480 resolution, this is still strictly just a featurephone, but it’s sure put in a lot of work to make sure one of those features stands out. Look out for it in Japan from this January.

LG L-03C has 3x optical zoom, 12 megapixel CCD sensor, Xenon flash — and it can make phone calls! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At long last, the Lumix DMC-GF2. Hitting the scene just a few weeks after the GH2, this here Micro Four Thirds rig is Panasonic’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens system camera, and it’s packin’ quite the specs list. From the top, you’re looking at a 12.1 megapixel Live MOS sensor, compatibility with the company’s own 3D interchangeable lens (the LUMIX G 12.5mm / F12) and an enclosure that’s seven percent lighter (not to mention 19 percent smaller) than the GF1. You’ll also find a three-inch touchpanel on the rear, contrast AF system, a freshly designed Touch Q user interface, internal dust reduction system and the ability to record video at 1920 x 1080/60i or 1280 x 720/60p in AVCHD. Better still, lower resolution options are available with Motion JPEG recording, and the 23-area focusing system shouldn’t have a difficult time nailing your subject. We should point out that the ISO only ranges from 100 to 6400, but the included hot shoe accessory definitely allows for a flash. Of course, there’s no optical viewfinder here, but hey, you can’t have it all when you’re looking to save space. The GF2 will ship in January with three color choices (silver, red and black) and two bundle options: a 14mm F2.5 pancake kit and a 14-42mm zoom lens kit. Unfortunately for you, pricing won’t be announced until mid-to-late December. Bah, humbug!

Continue reading Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 now official: 12.1MP, Full HD movie mode

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 now official: 12.1MP, Full HD movie mode originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you weren’t aware, competition’s getting some kind of fierce down in that $400 to $800 not-quite-a-DSLR realm. We’ve got interchangeable lens options galore, a new breed of high performance compacts and the Canon G12. Nikon’s got its aim planted firmly on the latter with the Coolpix P7000, a decidedly prosumer camera with the body of a point-and-shoot and the controls of a pro rig. The good folks over at Photography Blog recently put the P7000 through its paces, and while they adored the optical viewfinder, the build quality and the zoom range, they couldn’t quite get over the notably sluggish RAW performance. Worse still, Nikon has yet again changed up its RAW formula, with the newfangled NRW+ only being understandable by the company’s own software for the moment. They found “no unwanted noise” from ISO 100 to 400, with only mild amounts at 800 and 1600; the extra pro-like features were also lauded (neutral density filter, zoom step feature, virtual horizon and tonal range histogram), and with an exception for that sluggish RAW mode, they found it tough to not recommend. Particularly for those of you who’d prefer to stick with JPEG anyway, this here shooter looks to be a solid option if you’ve got the cash ($499.99 MSRP), but we’d recommend poring over the source link before making a final call.

Nikon Coolpix P7000 reviewed: a serious contender, but sluggish RAW performance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s arguable, but we’d say that Samsung’s NX100 is the news coming out of Photokina 2010. You could say that Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-GH2 (and its 3D interchangeable lens), Fujifilm’s not-yet-released FinePix X100 or Sigma’s Foveon-packin’ SD1 were of equal importance, but it’s pretty clear who stands to lose (or gain) the most from their ginormous push in Cologne. You wouldn’t know that Samsung even brought another product to the show if you casually glanced at its booth, and we were able to take the outfit’s newest starlet out for a spin in order to gain a few impressions. Priced at just $599 (with a 20-50mm lens; the 20mm pancake lens bundle will run you $50 more), this October-bound camera is certainly positioned to rival the other major players in terms of MSRP. But does it actually live up to the hype? Join us after the break to find out.

Continue reading Samsung NX100 preview

Samsung NX100 preview originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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