Everyone has a friend who packs all the gear, but has no idea. When it comes to photography, that means mates who run around with their shiny new DSLR, mouthing off about their love of photography, with next to no idea of how to use any of their kit. This video boils that right down. More »
There’s a good chance ripping apart Sony’s Alpha A99 isn’t on the to-do list of those who own the freshly released $2,800 camera — even if they are curious about the hardware’s guts. Luckily for such inquiring minds, Sony’s taken matters into its own hands and torn the DSLR apart. While it’s not your conventional play-by-play video teardown, Hirai and Co. came prepared with the camera already split into layers that showcase its major parts such as its magnesium alloy body, 35mm full-frame sensor and main circuit board. For the grand tour of the A99’s innards, hit the jump to catch the footage.
Continue reading Sony’s Alpha A99 gets torn apart, exposes its 35mm full-frame sensor (video)
Sony’s Alpha A99 gets torn apart, exposes its 35mm full-frame sensor (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you’ve ever cussed out your DSLR because your still shots or video had excessive aliasing, jello and noise, you might be happy to hear about the new Coach16 imaging chip from CSR. The new addition to the ex-Zoran line of imaging processors is aimed at DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, and for the cinema set brings 1080/60p HD video with ‘super-resolution’ RGB downscaling to eliminate aliasing caused by line-skipping. Still shooters would get “endless sustained burst” high frame-rate capability, multi-frame noise reduction for improved low-light shooting, USB 3.0 support, high resolution EVF capability and smart flash. The latter feature cleverly takes two pictures rapidly with and without a flash, then marries the best parts HDR style for the final image. We won’t see any of that until it gets released in a new DSLR model, of course, but meanwhile, you can dream with the PR below the break.
Filed under: Cameras
CSR outs new Coach16 processor for high-end cameras, aims to kill video jaggies, noise originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nikon has announced the release of its new D5200 DSLR, a 24.1-megapixel compact-body camera. This entry-level shooter is available in three different colors – black, red, and bronze – and offers a host of higher-end features, including 39-point auto focus. You’ll be able to nab the 5200 in December for a body-only price of €899.00.
The 5200 features a DX-format CMOS sensor and an EXPEED 3-equivalent image processing engine. ISO ranges from 100 to 6400, and can be expanded up to an impressive 25,600. There’s a 39-point auto focus system to get clear shots, as well as a 2,016-pixel RGB sensor, perhaps the 5200′s most high-end feature.
With the 5200, you can shoot videos in up to full HD 1920 x 1080 60i/50i. There’s a mode called “Special Effects,” which features some effects for recorded videos. In addition, you’ll find a recording manual mode, allowing more advanced users to select the settings used when recording videos, such as shutter speed. The continuous shooting mode allows users to snap images at about 5fps and 3fps, depending on the shooting situation and preference.
Also announced are the Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1a and the Wireless Remote Controller WR-R10/WR-T10 devices. The former allows users to share photographs and videos with “smart devices,” as well as view the camera’s display in real-time on a tablet or smartphone. As for the latter, the wireless remote control can be used to control the camera from distances and angles not typically supported by your ordinary IR remote.
Nikon releases 24-megapixel D5200 DSLR camera with 39-point auto focus is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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.
Gallery: Nikon D5200 hands-on
Gallery: Nikon D5200 publicity shots
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.
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Nikon might be treading water in Q2 2013 (its fiscal year is time-shifted) with a slight gain to $203 million from Q1, but in the current imaging market climate, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Revenue fell $200 million to $3 billion for the period, which Nikon chalked up to a “sluggish” economy and poor performance in its business, chip and science divisions, along with a rapidly shrinking compact camera market (smartphones, anyone?). Fortunately, the company fared better in the interchangeable lens game, singling out the Nikon 1 mirrorless brand as a “solid performer” as well as its popular DSLR line. Nikon predicts more of the same for the rest of the year, with interchangeable lens camera sales growing while other divisions waffle, resulting in a $750 million profit for the year — a mirror-image of 2012.
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Nikon nudges Q2 net earnings to $203 million, DSLRs and Nikon 1 get all the credit originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we’ll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You’ll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won’t stick around long.
Suffering from an awful case of the Mondays? Don’t fret. We’re sure a handful of gadget deals will put a little more pep in your step. Two more Canon bundles top the list this time out while a 65-inch Panasonic VIERA 3D Plasma HDTV gets a sizable discount as well. Jump down past the break to peek at the goods. As always, keep a close watch on those coupon codes and the requisite rebate forms.
Filed under: Cameras, Home Entertainment, Storage
Slickdeals’ best in tech October 29th: Digital camera bundles and a 65-inch Panasonic VIERA 3D HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Besides spending some time with the Canon EOS M, I also got to test out the Canon 6D, a new full-frame offering from the camera-maker that’s set to arrive later this year. The $2,099 DSLR lowers the barrier to Canon full-frame ownership, and actually has a few tricks up its sleeve that the more expensive and extremely capable 5D Mk III doesn’t even offer.
The big one is Wi-Fi built-in, which is only possible with the 5D3 via an add-0n transmitter that costs nearly $800. Using the 6D’s Wi-Fi, you can transmit images to an Android app, which Canon’s Chuck Westfall demoed at the event, in order to browse through your pictures, transfer photos to your device and even change camera settings. An iOS app is coming soon, which, like the Android app, will be a free download. Eventually, the plan is also to make it so that the 6D can communicate directly with Canon’s Wi-Fi-enabled printers, too, meaning you’ll be able to print from camera without using any intermediary.
While Wi-Fi makes post processing a much easier task, the 6D really shines when you’re shooting, too. The silent shutter mode is absolutely whisper quiet, and while still audible in a silent room, nature and street photographers, and those hoping to be less auspicious in a crowd will definitely appreciate the significant difference between it and the standard shutter sound on any DSLR.
The 6D also feels incredibly solid, even though it isn’t quite as rugged and weather-resistant as the 5D3, and with the attached Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II lens it wasn’t overly heavy, but definitely has a premium, weighty feel compared to the 60D and 7D. The control layout is slightly tweaked from the 5D3, and should make it much easier for those stepping up to a full-frame DSLR from entry-level devices like the Rebel line.
When this camera was initially announced, my only qualms about putting down a pre-order were around the AF system. Now, based on my experience, those qualms are gone. The 6D may only have one center cross-type AF point, compared to the 41 cross-type points on the 5D3′s AF system, but Westfall actually said that AF speed on the 6D could potentially outperform the 5D3 in low-light situations using that single cross-type. With image quality, too, Westfall said that the 6D should be on par with the 5D3 at lower ISOs, but should outperform at higher ISOs, thanks to larger pixels on the full-frame sensor.
I didn’t get much chance to check out the 6D’s video-shooting capabilities, but it seems to perform well enough there, too. I’m a still shooter at heart, however, and the 6D seems to be an amazing camera for photography in every respect, especially for those graduating to full-frame after lots of experience on more affordable APS-C entry-level DSLRs.
The Canon 6D is scheduled to hit retail shelves by December, though I’m told Canon is pushing to maybe bring it out even earlier. This would definitely make a great stocking stuffer for the prosumer crowd, so hopefully we’ll see it sooner rather than later.
Canon saw operating profit slump over 42-percent year-on-year, and net income fall by more than a third, according to the camera company’s Q3 2013 financial results, citing continued low demand. Net sales reached ¥799.9 billion ($10.3m) in the three month period, Canon reported [pdf link], down 12.8-percent compared to the same quarter in 2011, and while it has been attempting to scythe away at costs, it still saw gross profit ratio dip 1.1-percent.
Demand for cameras is actually mixed, Canon says, with different parts of its product range either struggling or flying off shelves. Compact cameras continue to flail, “due to the stagnation of the global economy” it suggests, while interchangeable-lens cameras saw “robust growth in all regions.” However, the EOS Digital Rebel, 5D Mark III, and 60D all encountered lower sales than predicted.
Elsewhere in the product line, inkjet printers declined and laser printer demand leveled off; only multifunction devices were popular, with sales growing in the US and Europe.
Looking ahead, Canon warns that things may not change quickly. Interchangeable-lens cameras, such as its DSLRs, are tipped to slowly grow in demand, but compact cameras will need “high functionality and high added value” in order to draw consumer attention. Multifunction printers will grow steadily, the Company predicts, particularly in Japan and the US.
However, Canon has cut its full-year 2012 outlook predictions and now estimates a 0.7-percent decline in net sales, year-on-year, and a 5.9-percent decline in net income.
Canon’s Q3 2012 crunch: Income down a third as cameras struggle is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Canon just released its Q3 2012 earnings reported, and things aren’t looking peachy right now for the camera maker: revenue is down 13 percent to $10.3 billion from last Q3 last year, while profit tumbled by 42 percent. The Japanese company directed the blame toward the “negative impact of economic deterioration” in Europe and emerging markets like China, as well as the strong yen (again). DSLR sales fell over last year, with Canon mentioning that its launch of new models like the EOS 5D Mark III didn’t help to shore its camera figures up. Other units within the company didn’t fare much better, with printer sales falling and business-to-business numbers flatlining. The company doesn’t see a bright fourth quarter either, and is projecting that sales will stay in lockstep with the sluggish economy, resulting in a 6 percent decline in operating profit for the year. It may not want to count so much on the new mirrorless offering pulling it out of the mud, though — it got fairly mixed reviews.
Canon announces Q3 2012 results: operating profit down 42 percent to $908 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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