Olympus E-30 DSLR reviewed: distinctly different, but that’s a good thing

Olympus’ E-30 just recently began to hit store shelves after being announced last November, and the shutterbugs at DigitalCameraReview have taken the liberty of critiquing it for all prospective buyers to see. The cam maintained the quirkiness that tends make an Olympus, well, an Olympus, but when it came down to actual performance, the DSLR didn’t disappoint… much, anyway. It should be noted that it couldn’t hold a candle to the D90 at ISO 3,200, so low-light fiends may want to look elsewhere. That aside, critics were more than pleased with the copious amount of features, the top-shelf focusing speed and the remarkable build quality. If it were priced a few hundies lower, it’d almost be a no-brainer, but with an asking price of around $1,300 at present time, it’ll be hard to sway the eyes of those already focusing on another shooter. Have a look at the read link for a few sample shot comparisons and the full writeup.

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Olympus E-30 DSLR reviewed: distinctly different, but that’s a good thing originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 WiFi camera reviewed: wait for generation two

WiFi cameras are far from new — over the past couple of years, we’ve seen P&S after P&S arrive with minimal functionality that would allow it to sync pictures with one specific online photo portal (or similar). Sony has stepped up the game for cameras to come with the Cyber-shot DSC-G3, which is the first of its kind to include a web browser for logging into pay-hotspots and uploading to practically any photo sharing site on the web. Popular Science got to handle one for a few weeks, and in the end, they were in love with the idea but hesitant to praise the execution. The T700-turned-wireless took satisfactory pictures, but the browser experience was less than awesome. You can hit the read link for all the dirty details, but unless you’re willing to deal with “agonizingly” slow load times, you’re probably better off waiting for the next revision. Or for some other company to whip out a bona fide competitor.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 WiFi camera reviewed: wait for generation two originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung intros SL102 / SL420 point-and-shoots, no one notices

Samsung has already thrown most of its excitement out here at CES, and after looking at the SL102 and SL420, you might argue that “most” should actually be “all.” Nah, there’s nothing intrinsically awful about either of these 10.2 megapixel shooters, but they’re certainly amongst the most ho hum delivered at the show. Both of the SL-Series devices also offer up Face Detection, rechargeable Li-ion batteries and Digital Image Stabilization technology. As for differences, the SL102 packs a 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD, while the SL402 includes a 2.7-inch LCD monitor and a 5x optical zoom. Like we said, pretty boring, but we don’t doubt their ability to get the job done if it really came down to it.

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Samsung intros SL102 / SL420 point-and-shoots, no one notices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera hands-on

Polaroid’s PoGo Instant Digital Camera isn’t for the hardcore geeks — it’s stuck with a 5 megapixel sensor, no optical zoom whatsoever and an LCD monitor that was fanciful in 1998. What it can do, however, is churn out photo stickers in around 60 seconds after a photo is taken without the need for an external printer. Have a look at the March-bound unit below, and look, your kids will love it. Promise.

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Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera debuts at CES

We heard that Polaroid would be punching out a PoGo-infused camera in 2009, and it only took ’em eight days into the new year to do just that. Today at CES, the $199 PoGo Instant Digital Camera is making its grand entrance, utilizing the tried-and-true ZINK printing technology. Sadly (and we do mean sadly), there’s not even a mention of how many megapixels this thing boasts, which is a pretty telling sign that you won’t be getting SD850IS-type quality out of it. Nevertheless, it’ll print out ink-free 2- x 3-inch images right from itself, so maybe the quality isn’t that big of a deal after all. Or maybe we’re just sympathetic.

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Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera debuts at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 launches: world’s first WiFi camera with web browser

No clue why Sony didn’t unleash this pretty boy with its litany of items yesterday, but maybe it just saw fit to give it some special attention. Thanks to the all-admitting FCC, we already had a good idea that this was coming, but now that it’s finally here, we’re still pretty jazzed. Set to rival Panny’s Lumix DMC-TZ50, the DLNA-certified Cyber-shot DSC-G3 is the planet’s first WiFi camera with a built-in web browser, enabling users to upload images and video directly to popular sharing sites wherever a WiFi connection is available. Of note, the camera comes with complimentary access to Sony’s Easy Upload Home Page via AT&T WiFi, which provides easy entrance into Shutterfly, Picasa, YouTube, Photobucket and Dailymotion. Other specs include a 10 megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom and Face Detection. It’s yours to grab right now for around $500.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 launches: world’s first WiFi camera with web browser originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentax’s Optio P70 and E70 digicams won’t break banks, hearts, or kneecaps

Pentax is kicking its CES festivities into medium gear with a pair of cheapo point-and-shoot digicams that we expect will be a tipping point to a great avalanche of affordable shooters. The $199.95 Optio P70 features a 12-megapixel sensor, can capture 720p video at 15 FPS, ISO from 64 to an astounding 6400 (though only at 5-megapixels), has a 4x zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD display, and comes in silver, white, or red. The E70, meanwhile, sports a 10-megapixel sensor, a 2.4-inch display, 3x zoom, but delivers the same staggering ISO range as the P70 for a slightly more affordable $129.95. Both models feature “Pixel Track Shake Reduction” and face-detection, will be available in February, and have put at least one editor to sleep.

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Pentax’s Optio P70 and E70 digicams won’t break banks, hearts, or kneecaps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers tapping into nanotechnology for sharper images

A team of scientists at the University of Glasgow just came into all sorts of cash, and they’ll be using it to advance imaging. If you’re looking for specifics (and we’re assuming you are), a £489,234 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council will be used to study a certain phenomenon called surface plasmon resonance, “which is an effect exhibited by certain metals when light waves fall onto their surfaces.” In short, the gurus behind the research are hoping to discover a method of “creating patterns or small nanostructures in the metal film on the CMOS, which should increase the sensitivity of the sensor and result in higher quality images.” The bad news? The project is expected to last until 2012, which is like, forever from now.

[Image courtesy of Photo]

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Researchers tapping into nanotechnology for sharper images originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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