RED EPIC scores a Canon EOS mount, Laforet gets some extraordinary footage (video)


We’ve seen some mind-blowing footage from RED’s EPIC, as one might expect from a $39,500 camera with a 5K sensor and up to 120 fps video capture (at 4K). But video shooter and all-around photo wiz Vincent Laforet got to take an exclusive early look at the company’s new Canon EOS mount, which pairs the EPIC-M with Canon’s enormous collection of top-quality glass, including the 600mm f/4 L lens Laforet used for his shoot at Mono Lake in California. That lens, used with a 2x Canon teleconverter and the RED’s multiplication factor, yields a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 3400mm, which as you’ll see in the video below, enabled some pretty incredible video captures. RED has yet to officially announce availability for the Canon EOS mount, but has shared that it will cost $2,000 (pennies compared to the EPIC’s $58,000 kit price), and will be constructed of titanium — tasked with the critical responsibility of reducing movement during those extended-lens shoots. Jump past the break for Laforet’s sample video, or check out his blog post at the source link for the full rundown.

Continue reading RED EPIC scores a Canon EOS mount, Laforet gets some extraordinary footage (video)

RED EPIC scores a Canon EOS mount, Laforet gets some extraordinary footage (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  sourceVincent Laforet (Blog), Vimeo  | Email this | Comments

OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool

Cool game, or coolest game ever? That’s the question we were asking ourselves when we first came across Garnet Hertz’s augmented reality-based OutRun project — a concept car that weds Sega’s classic driving game with an electric golf cart, allowing players to navigate their way around real-life courses using only arcade consoles. Hertz, an informatics researcher at the University of California Irvine, has since brought his idea to fruition, after outfitting the system with cameras and customized software that can “look” in front of the car to automatically reproduce the route on the game cabin’s screen. The map is displayed in the same 8-bit rendering you’d see on the original OutRun, with perspectives changing proportionally to shifts in steering. The cart maxes out at only 13 mph, though speed isn’t really the idea; Hertz and his colleagues hope their technology can be used to develop game-based therapies for disabled users, or to create similarly AR-based wheelchairs. Scoot past the break to see a video of the car in action, and let your dreams converge.

[Thanks, Stagueve]

Continue reading OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool

OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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4.5 million fps microscope camera powered by ultra-fast X-ray flash

X-ray undulator

Remember those rugged gadgets we smashed to bits in super slow-mo? Well that spectacular footage was shot at around 1,500 frames per-second. A new camera system being built for the European XFEL (X-ray Free-Electron Laser) facility will record stunning clips of viruses and cells at an almost unimaginable 4.5 million fps. The camera is, in part, powered by a high speed flash created by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, that blasts its microscopic subjects with ultra-bright X-rays. The flashes themselves last as little as two femtoseconds, or 2×10^-15 seconds for you math nerds out there. When the whole apparatus is fired up in 2015 it could provide amazingly detailed, 3D images of individual molecules and answer some questions about the behavior of viruses and cells.

4.5 million fps microscope camera powered by ultra-fast X-ray flash originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmag  |  sourceSTFC  | Email this | Comments

Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: digital cameras

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’ve got our optical viewfinders set firmly on digital cameras — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!


Welcome to Digital Cameras 101. This single-lecture class will feature a handful of top cams for every budget, and since you’re just getting back from a summer of wild shooting, we’ll try to keep things brief this time around, giving you one last chance to enjoy that crisp natural light. There won’t be a pop quiz, but if you’re feeling lucky and don’t mind following our simple instructions, we may just be able to send you home with your very own Sony NEX-C3. So wipe off the glasses, grab your clicker, and get ready to jump past the break for a top-level overview of this year’s picks for back to school.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: digital cameras

Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: digital cameras originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pixeet turns your iPhone photos into 360-degree panoramas

With the iPhone 4 the most popular camera on Flickr, it’s no surprise that companies are creating all kinds of accessories to make the beloved camera even more versatile. Last month we reported on the Photojojo lens mount that basically turns your iPhone 4 into a DSLR camera. It’s definitely a cool concept, but the […]

Olympus launches SP-810UZ, packs 36x wide-angle zoom in a compact camera

Travelers often must choose between carrying a pair of powerful zoom lenses and tackling the weight of a full DSLR kit, or bringing along a point-and-shoot, in turn sacrificing image quality and versatility. The Olympus SP-810UZ sets out to eradicate that latter obstacle, pairing a 14-megapixel image sensor with a massive 24-864mm, f/2.9-5.7 optical zoom lens. The result is a 36x superzoom point-and-shoot camera, with 720p HD video, 3D image capture and a 3-inch LCD. Olympus hasn’t hinted at a release date for the $330 cam, but you hit up the gallery below for a trio of glamour shots.

Continue reading Olympus launches SP-810UZ, packs 36x wide-angle zoom in a compact camera

Olympus launches SP-810UZ, packs 36x wide-angle zoom in a compact camera originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympus PEN E-PL3 gets a price tag, release date


Last month, Olympus lifted the veil on a trio of 12.3-megapixel Micro Four Thirds cameras, replacing both models in its PEN line and adding the small and light E-PM1. We already knew to expect an August ship date for the $900 E-P3, but now the company filled us in on its tilt-enabled E-PL3, which will be available in black, white, red, and silver when it ships in September. Priced at $700, the kit will include either a 14-42mm zoom or 17mm fixed lens, and will retail for a full c-note higher than its predecessor, the E-PL2. Olympus also announced the VF-3 Electronic Viewfinder (EVF), which will feature a 100-percent field-of-view, 90-degree rotation, and brightness and color temperature adjustments — though it sounds like that last feature could potentially leave you with off-color images if you mistake the EVF’s white balance for what the camera will capture. We’re still waiting on availability for the runt of the litter, but we imagine the E-PM1 will make its stateside debut soon — perhaps even with a price tag lower than its rather pricey, beefier siblings.

Continue reading Olympus PEN E-PL3 gets a price tag, release date

Olympus PEN E-PL3 gets a price tag, release date originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video)

Fan of recording extreme death-defying stunts, yet find your current helmet cam just too darn unwieldy? Drift’s creatively named Drift HD might fit the bill, as the firm’s managed to cram the 170-degree field of view rotatable lens / LCD combo from the HD170, into a 25 percent smaller package. The nine megapixel 1080p shooter also features a bevy of redesigned mounts, a replaceable lens and support for 32GB microSD cards, allowing it to keep chuggin’ where lesser cameras would have otherwise called it quits. Connectivity junkies will also swoon at the inclusion of micro-HDMI and a 2.5mm microphone input. We weren’t exactly smitten with the HD170, but this $369 makeover might be enough to change our minds. If you’re dying to find out for yourself, the Drift HD will be available August 31st, but do us a favor and keep your eyes on the snow — we wouldn’t want you to end up like this guy.

Continue reading Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video)

Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDrift Innovation (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Sony Cyber-shot TX55 packs 16.2-megapixel sensor, promises ‘extremely low’ noise in dim light


With point and shoot cameras apparently now up against a megapixel wall, manufacturers are focusing on adding quirky new features to keep you hooked on the upgrade cycle. Sony’s new Cyber-shot TX55 includes several such additions, such as ‘amazing’ 3D image capture, ‘extremely low’ noise, and a new digital zoom technology called By Pixel Super Resolution, which promises to double the camera’s 5x optical zoom range while still capturing 16.2-megapixel images at full quality. We’re a bit skeptical about that last one, but if the $350 camera really can deliver on its promise, then we may just have a winner. Sony says there’s also high-speed autofocus that can lock onto subjects in 0.1 seconds, optical image stabilization, a 3.3-inch OLED touch-screen, and 1080i AVCHD video. It also includes some features found on the higher-end NEX-C3, such as Picture Effects, and a 42.9-megapixel Sweep Panorama mode. Sony has yet to completely nix the Memory Stick slot, including one with the TX55, though there’s also MicroSD support for those who prefer to take advantage of that more affordable memory card standard. We’re not yet convinced that all of the point-and-shoot cam’s new features perform as well as Sony suggests, but if they do, the TX55 may even be worth its $350 price tag when it hits stores in September.

Continue reading Sony Cyber-shot TX55 packs 16.2-megapixel sensor, promises ‘extremely low’ noise in dim light

Sony Cyber-shot TX55 packs 16.2-megapixel sensor, promises ‘extremely low’ noise in dim light originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic reveals Lumix FZ47 superzoom, lets you shoot 1080i video with full manual control


Sure, these days nearly all digital cameras can shoot video, but only a small handful give you the power to manually select aperture and shutter speed while doing so. The Lumix FZ47 is Panasonic’s latest high-end point-and-shoot to sport this functionality, providing full control over both video and still photo capture with its Creative Control mode. The 12.1-megapixel superzoom can shoot 1080i HD at 30 fps, though it’s notably lacking in the 1080p department. There’s also a 3-inch LCD, 24x Leica zoom lens with a 25mm wide-angle focal length, and an option to shoot 3.5-megapixel stills while recording video. For photographers wiling to settle for a good deal less power, Panasonic also just announced its entry-level Lumix LS5, which includes a 14.1-megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization, and 720p video, all powered by a pair of AA batteries. The $400 FZ47 will ship next month, while the LS5 hits stores in November, with pricing yet to be announced. Jump past the break for the complete rundown from Panasonic.

Continue reading Panasonic reveals Lumix FZ47 superzoom, lets you shoot 1080i video with full manual control

Panasonic reveals Lumix FZ47 superzoom, lets you shoot 1080i video with full manual control originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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