PhotoTrackr Plus brings geotagging to Nikon DSLRs, leaves your hotshoe open

Oh sure, Nikon‘s got its own solution for adding native geotagging to your existing DSLR, but the GP-1 dongle definitely has its drawbacks. Aside from sucking down around 4x more power than Gisteq’s new PhotoTrackr Plus, it also eliminates the ability to use a dedicated flash in the hotshoe while capturing GPS data. Moreover, it has to warm up every time you turn the camera on / off, and there’s just 18 tracking channels compared to the Gisteq’s 44. Regardless of the back and forth, we do appreciate the PhotoTrackr Plus’ ability to plug directly into the 10-pin terminal that few amateurs even think to recognize, though we do fear that the reliance on Bluetooth could cause issues if you stray too far from the transceiver. Still, this newfangled dongle is far superior to its past iterations, both of which simply logged data as you went and then added metadata after you synced the information with your images via PC; this dongle, however, embeds the data right away into every image. Better still, there’s even a price advantage to going third party — Nikon’s aging GP-1 is pushing $200 on many webstores, while the Gisteq apparatus can be procured right now for $179. Take your pic, as they say.

Continue reading PhotoTrackr Plus brings geotagging to Nikon DSLRs, leaves your hotshoe open

PhotoTrackr Plus brings geotagging to Nikon DSLRs, leaves your hotshoe open originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS reviewed: great shots but no cigar

Liked the lop-eared design and low-light sensitivity of Canon’s latest point and shoot, but wanted to be sure you’d get $350 worth of camera for the asking price? You’re in luck: the PowerShot SD4000 IS, aka IXUS 300 HS, has just received its first painstakingly detailed review. Photography Blog found the back-illuminated 10 megapixel CMOS sensor snapped excellent low-noise shots in a variety of tests, though the camera’s highly-touted HS System features — a 240fps movie mode and 8.4fps burst speed — took pictures too low-res to impress. The publication also took issue with the lack of dedicated physical controls, as it apparently took six clicks to delete a single picture, but overall thought the SD4000 a good choice for casual and experienced photographers alike albeit at a somewhat inflated price. If portraits of Ben Franklin are burning a hole in your pocket, however, you’ll find it on sale today at usual suspects B&H, J&R and Adorama Camera.

Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS reviewed: great shots but no cigar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 01:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Canon’s EOS Rebel T2i?

Canon just recently sold its 20 millionth digital EOS camera, so there’s a better-than-average chance that the company’s EOS Rebel T2i made up a bulk of those final sales leading up to the milestone. If you’ve been shooting (and shooting… and shooting) with your new T2i over the past few months, we’re interested in hearing how exactly you’d like to tweak things. Is the 1080p movie mode living up to the hype? Would you change the body design in any way? Happy with the kit lens? Wishing you would’ve sprung for a full-frame cam instead? Would you have preferred the option to get a Harlequin edition? Go on and speak out below — we’ve heard that these things have been hard to come by, so we’re sure a few of you are cradling one in your left arm right now.

How would you change Canon’s EOS Rebel T2i? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 22:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentax’s all-weather Optio W90 gets reviewed: brawn meets brain

As we’ve seen in the past, rugged point-and-shoots aren’t necessarily the greatest pure shooters; generally speaking, compromises are made when it comes to image quality in order to manufacture a camera that can withstand an atypical amount of abuse. With that in mind, critics over at Photography BLOG went into their review of Pentax’s all-weather Optio W90 with lowered expectations on the image quality front, but they actually came away duly impressed. Deeming the cam one “not just of outer muscle, but with inner strengths too,” they found the W90 able to produce images “better what [they were] used to [seeing] from models that major on toughness.” As you’d expect, it was able to shrug off bouts with dust, water and the occasional rude encounter with concrete, but reviewers did lament the omission of optical stabilization, and low-light performance was unsurprisingly lackluster. Still, it seems a solid overall option for those concerned with rigidity, but we’d encourage you to visit that source link before making a final call either way.

Pentax’s all-weather Optio W90 gets reviewed: brawn meets brain originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red dot sight for hotshoes makes shooting tangos a viewfinder-free experience

Red dot sight for hotshoes makes shooting tangos a viewfinder-free experience

If you’ve been playing Modern Warfare 2 so much that you’ve studied Arabic just to learn what the OpFor team is saying, yet you’re more interested in photographing birds than capturing flags, this is the hotshoe accessory for you. Thanks to Brando it’s easy to make your camera a little more lethal looking with the Tactical Four Reticle Sight, an adapter that screws into a camera’s hotshoe and then enables the addition of an included sight, which has four separate crosshairs, two colors, and three laser strengths. Yes, we know people have been doing this for years on their own, but this is the cheapest ($45) and easiest way we’ve seen to get such a thing secured on your SLR. Oh, and “Tango sakat?” It means “tango down,” duh.

Red dot sight for hotshoes makes shooting tangos a viewfinder-free experience originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Casio’s new 1,000fps compact shooter, the EX-FH100, gets slow-mo review

Casio's new 1,000fps compact shooter, the EX-FH100, gets slow-mo review

When we took a look at last summer’s hottest compact cameras, we had a lot of fun playing with the 1,000fps video capture mode on Casio’s EX-FC100. That model is sadly no longer with us, but its successor is here to fill the void. While we dig the sophisticated new look for the EX-FH100, Photography Blog finds that the camera still needs work on the inside. On paper, a 10x zoom in front of a 10 megapixel, backside-illuminated sensor sounds like a great combination, but image quality was found to be poor and ISO settings anywhere above 200 resulted in considerable grain. Still, 40fps still shooting is nothing to scoff at, and a $50 price drop compared to last year’s model is progress you can take to the bank.

Casio’s new 1,000fps compact shooter, the EX-FH100, gets slow-mo review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon debuts low-light lovin’ PowerShot SD4000 IS digicam

Ah, Spring. The season of pollen, grass mowing and enlarged electricity bills. Oh, and impending vacations. In order to get you prepared for that last one, Canon is introducing a new member of its Digital ELPH range today, the PowerShot SD4000 (or IXUS 300HS in other parts of the globe). Boasting a 10 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 image processing engine and a 3.8x optical zoom, this one also features an f/2.0 lens and the company’s own HS System in order to produce more satisfactory results in low light situations. It also touts an 8.4fps burst capture rate, an HD movie mode, HDMI output support, a Super Slow Motion movie mode (240fps) and a 3-inch rear LCD. Those who love riding the cutting edge will also appreciate the SDXC and Eye-Fi support, and if you’re already sold on the $349.99 device, you simply need to choose between red, silver, black or a limited edition white. Commence pondering.

Continue reading Canon debuts low-light lovin’ PowerShot SD4000 IS digicam

Canon debuts low-light lovin’ PowerShot SD4000 IS digicam originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympus dishes silver PEN E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera

Look, we’re not saying Olympus’ original all-black PEN E-P2 had no retro whatsoever in its blood, but you’ll be hard-pressed to convince us that this newer, silver-er model doesn’t have a whole lot more. Nearly six months after the (admittedly overpriced) Micro Four Thirds camera got pushed through the ringer, Olympus has decided that the world needs a second color option, though outside of the hue, there’s no difference whatsoever between the two models. It’ll ship later this month in Europe for a still-lofty €799 ($1,016), but at least that scores you a M. Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 lens! Ah, who are we kidding — that removes precisely zero pain from the sticker shock.

Olympus dishes silver PEN E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 May 2010 05:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm’s FinePix F80EXR reviewed: mo’ megapixels mo’ problems

Fujifilm's FinePix F80EXR reviewed: mo' megapixels mo' problems

You all know the deal: the quest for higher numbers to put on stickers on the front of cameras hasn’t necessarily resulted in a similarly exponential increase in image quality. If you needed more proof, check out Photography Blog’s review of the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR, an upgrade to last-year’s compact 10x superzoom F70EXR. This year’s revision get’s a 20 percent boost in the all-important megapixel count, up to 12, but the sensor “delivers slightly worse image quality than its predecessor.” That’s not a good start, but the rest is better, with the camera’s dynamic range shooting mode earning high marks, and the body’s overall design and compactness scoring well too. It sounds like decent value for $299.99, but you’ll want to read that full review before plunking down your digits.

Continue reading Fujifilm’s FinePix F80EXR reviewed: mo’ megapixels mo’ problems

Fujifilm’s FinePix F80EXR reviewed: mo’ megapixels mo’ problems originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jobys New Gorillapod Offers Magnetic Attraction

gorillapod-magnetic.jpgIt’s hard not to love the original Joby Gorillapod, a tripod that lets you use your camera in new locations by adding flexible legs. The company’s latest is the Gorillapod Magnetic. Its three flexible legs have powerful magnets on their feet, letting you anchor your camera on any magnetic surface. You can also wrap the legs around a pole or branch, or use them as a tripod on an uneven surface. It’s like getting the original Gorillapod, but with a helpful extra.

The Gorillapod Magnetic works with cameras up to 11.5 ounces, and weighs 2.5 ounces. You can pick it up on Amazon for a list price of $24.95. Joby has also announced that the original Gorillapod is now available in four sizes, and works with cameras up to 11.5 pounds.