Hasta La Gadget!

At first glance, sitting all on its lonesome like that, the GF2 might forgivably be perceived as just another mundanely incremental upgrade on what was already a lauded predecessor in the Lumix GF1. But, for once, our pessimism was not borne out by the facts — far from it. With the GF2, Panasonic has somehow managed to shrink its smallest Micro Four Thirds shooter even further, by a reported 19 percent, and the difference in handling is tangible. The Japanese giant has also lightened the load by seven percent, thrown in a new touchscreen-centric UI, and, predictably, upped the video ante to 720/60p or 1080/60i recording in AVCHD format. Join us after the break to see what we thought of this delicious new recipe for pseudo-pocketable large-sensor shooting.

Please note: Panasonic has not yet finalized the GF2’s firmware, meaning that the sample images and video below may not necessarily be indicative of the quality you’ll get from the final product.

Continue reading Panasonic Lumix GF2 preview

Panasonic Lumix GF2 preview originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:43:00 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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It may look like a toy, but as ma always said, it’s what’s underneath that counts. It’s not often that those old adages prove true in consumer electronics, but such is the case with Pentax’s newest entry-level DSLR. The K-r ($800 in kit form) is positioned between the K-x and K-7, and according to PhotographyBLOG, it fits perfectly there. They felt that the compact design was a boon for newcomers to the field who wouldn’t be keen on lugging around anything of size, and most importantly, the image quality was said to be “excellent.” Of course, low light performance began to suffer at ISO levels north of 800, so those interested in ditching the grain and blur after dark will still need to spend a bit more on a prosumer model like the Nikon D7000. The wide range of manual controls were also a hit, but considering that the HD video mode is identical to that on the lower-end K-x, you’ll be forced to deal with a less-than-stellar UI. We’d suggest hitting the source link for the full skinny, but we’ll go ahead and spoil the ending: it managed a Highly Recommended badge.

Pentax’s K-r entry-level DSLR reviewed: the sweet spot has been hit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems that Microsoft’s taken the camera to heart following its dismissal of the pen — the company bought 3DV, collaborated with PrimeSense on Kinect, and today it’s apparently finalized a deal to acquire 3D CMOS camera chipmaker Canesta as well. In case you’ve already forgotten, the latter company is the one that made an paid actor look particularly smug last year, by allowing the gent to control his television with a flick of the wrist. Things have progressed a good bit further than that, however, as you’ll see in a demo video after the break, and Canesta president and CEO Jim Spare says he expects the company’s stuffs to “see wide adoption across many applications that embody the full potential of the technology” under Microsoft’s reign. Press release after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft buys Canesta, continues camera-based domination of our interfaces

Microsoft buys Canesta, continues camera-based domination of our interfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Traditionally, cameraless versions of smartphones designed for high-security work environments have been the exclusive playground of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry — the enterprise mobile platforms companies have rallied around the most over the past decade — but Motorola’s Droid Pro seeks to give Android some serious enterprise street cred for the first time thanks to that glorious portrait QWERTY keyboard. To that end, it makes sense that they’d want to release a second version sans camera — and a new leak speaking of “the new Enterprise-focused DROID phone without a camera” suggests that’s exactly what’s happening. Our trusted source says they’re “99 percent positive” that’s what we’re looking at here; not a product for everyone, of course, but if you work in the government lab where they keep all the alien corpses, you’ll probably be thanking your lucky stars.

Motorola Droid Pro coming in a cameraless version for security-conscious businessfolk? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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