Hasta La Gadget!

TVs and robotic vacuums aren’t the only Smart-branded devices Samsung will be showing off at this year’s CES. We just met with the company here in NYC to take a look at its newest entrant into the camera game, dubbed the NX300. No, it’s not Android-equipped, but this 20.3-megapixel APS-C shooter stands as its new flagship mirrorless model, boasting a key gimmick feature of 3D capability for stills and videos (up to 1080p at 60fps) thanks to a new DRIMe IV processor.

Getting the usual numbers aside, you’ll be able to harness an ISO range of 100 to 25600, a maximum shutter speed of 1,6000 and a top speed of 8.6fps for JPG bursts. On back, you’ll find a 3.31-inch, 768 dot AMOLED touch-display, and a d-pad-esque section with five buttons for manual control. Lastly, there’s a dedicated mode dial on the top, along with a full-size hot shoe mount. This shooter is also WiFi-enabled like previous cameras in the range, allowing you to share content wirelessly and giving you access to apps, like a remote viewfinder that works with iOS and Android devices.

Having a new NX that can handle 3D naturally calls for a lens that can shoot it, and a 2D/3D-capable f/1.8 45mm lens was also shown to us — a “world-first,” according to Sammy. While you won’t be able to shoot in 3D with older NX cameras (we’re told they don’t have the processing power), it’ll still work as regular 2D lens if you’re interested in its focal perspective. We spent a few fleeting moments with an engineering sample of the camera in-hand, so join us past the break for more.

Continue reading Samsung unveils 3D-capable NX300 mirrorless camera and 45mm f/1.8 2D/3D lens ahead of CES (eyes-on)

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Is this a new Polaroid camera? That’s what Photorumors is reporting, backed up by a leak from Russian social networking site VK. The camera is a mirrorless interchangeable lens system, which marks a considerable departure from the company’s flagship instant film-based models, which were finally discontinued a few years back.

Polaroid has actually run into a couple different bankruptcy situations, but in 2009 signed an agreement with Summit Global Group to produce Polaroid-branded digital still cameras. It’s possible this is the product of that ongoing partnership, but the origin of these rumors suggest exercising caution before putting too much stock in them.

The original leak detailed an Android 4-powered device with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, an 18.1 MP sensor, pop-up flash, Wi-Fi and HDMI/headphone out. It features a rounded edge design that looks strikingly similar to the Nikon 1 J2 mirrorless camera. Later, a “press release” from VK provided more detail to Photorumors, including the additional information that it would use MicroSD for storage.

We’ve already seen an Android-based camera from Samsung, so it isn’t a completely crazy idea. But Polaroid would be joining a crowded field in the mirrorless compact space, with strong offerings from companies with a lot more experience. Still, in terms of relevance, it’s hard to match the mirrorless space, which offers consumers cameras that aren’t as large as DSLRs without sacrificing too much in terms of image quality.

Even still, I wouldn’t put too much faith in this being legit just yet.

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.

Continue reading CSR outs new Coach16 processor for high-end cameras, aims to kill video jaggies, noise

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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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By some accounts, Sony botched the NEX-F3. Positioned as the successor to the fantastic C3, it replaced that camera’s slim profile with a bulkier build, but sacrificed basic display tilt functionality in favor of a front-facing model. Image quality was fine, but focusing speeds fell short. Fortunately, the company has redeemed itself with the $750 NEX-5R. The mirrorless camera you’ll read about today represents everything a successful update should: performance has been improved all around, the touchscreen tilts in every which way and the design has changed only for the better.

It’s also the first Sony mirrorless cam to feature WiFi, along with the company’s new PlayMemories Camera Apps. Wireless connectivity is undoubtedly becoming a popular addition in higher-end models, but that doesn’t mean it’s a feature users are demanding. With Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Camera, connectivity — 4G in particular — makes perfect sense, but how does that web experience transfer to a tiny 3-inch touchscreen? And does it detract from usability overall? Join us past the break for a closer look at this very capable 16.1-megapixel interchangeable lens camera.

Continue reading Sony NEX-5R review: focusing and performance improvements make this cam a winner

Filed under: Cameras, Sony

Sony NEX-5R review: focusing and performance improvements make this cam a winner originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon is going full steam ahead in the Mirrorless market and just a year after its first Nikon 1 V1, the Japanese company announced today the new and improved 1 V2! With a design drastically different from the 1 V1, the V2 comes however with a full set of improvements including but not only a new 14.2Mpix Expeed 3A image sensor that will let you shoot amazing slow motion videos at 1200fps but also still pictures at 15fps for 45 continuous frames! The V2 is also capable to shoot 1080 60i and 30p …