Jul 15

AstroScope 9350EOS-FF adds night vision to your Canon DSLR

Posted in: dslr, Today's Chili

Looking to put together a really complete bag of camera gear? Then you might want to give some consideration to Electrophysics’ new AstroScope 9350EOS-FF, which will add some night vision capabilities to the full-frame Canon DSLR of your choice. As you can see above, the module fits between the lens and camera body, and thankfully maintains all the necessary electrical connections and doesn’t impede on all-important features like image stabilization. The module itself will also give you some variable gain control to adapt to different lighting situations and reduce noise, and it supposedly eliminates any vignetting of images, which can be a bit of a problem with other night vision rigs. No word on a price just yet, but it looks like it should be rolling out to dealers now.

[Thanks, Zoltan]

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AstroScope 9350EOS-FF adds night vision to your Canon DSLR originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 14

Olympus E-P1 available to those willing to pay a little premium

Posted in: dslr, micro four thirds, MicroFourThirds, olympus, Today's Chili
Olympus E-P1 available to those willing to pay a little premium

If you’ve been lusting over the latest Micro Four Thirds entrant from Olympus just like we have since we first saw the E-P1, you’ll be happy to know that it has finally entered that special time in its life when it’s not available through mainstream retailers just yet, but it is available — if you’re willing to pay a bit more than Amazon’s (still unshipped) pre-order asking price of $749. Kit prices of the body with the 14 – 42mm kit lens we tested are right now ranging between $799 (MSRP) and $899 (a Benjamin premium) at various Amazon affiliates, and while anyone willing to refrain from clicking the “Buy” button for a week or three will surely save quite a bit, waiting is such a bother.

[Thanks, Ron M.]

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Olympus E-P1 available to those willing to pay a little premium originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 10

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets reviewed, recommended

Posted in: dslr, lumix, micro four thirds, MicroFourThirds, Panasonic, review, Today's Chili

If all those recently unveiled sample shots from Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-GH1 have left you wanting more, you’re in luck. The kids at Digital Photography Review have got their hands on the thing and have been kind enough to give us an extensive review. Rocking a Four Thirds imaging sensor, HD-video mode (with stereo sound recording), a multi-aspect sensor, and a video-optimized lens, the camera is essentially the G1 with HD-video, according to the review. Not that that’s a bad thing, especially when noting that it has “the best implementation of video on a ‘non-compact camera’ that we’ve seen so far.” Among the camera’s strong points are its resolution, size and weight, build quality, image stabilization, and shutter-speed simulation. Still the reviewer didn’t look kindly upon the camera’s relatively small amount of RAW headroom, fairly low powered flash, poor battery life, and a loud shutter sound for a non-SLR camera. But overall? If you need a camera that performs admirably with video, and are willing to pay the $1500 premium, the GH1 comes highly recommended.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets reviewed, recommended originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 10

Homebrewed Nikon D90 lens is a fish-eyed theft deterrent

Posted in: dslr, mod, modding, Today's Chili

It may look like just a bit of corkwood taped to the front of a pretty expensive shooter, but that’s only because it is. If you’re already willing to withstand gadget muggles sniggering at your mighty DSLR and its six inch frontal protrusion, surely adding this sort of a ghetto mod isn’t going to dent your self-respect too much. Put together using the ultimate in ordinary household objects, this fish-eye lens manages to kick out some pretty useful-looking images and seems a viable alternative for those with more time than money. Check out the read link for the full instructions and a gallery of photos taken with the lens.

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Homebrewed Nikon D90 lens is a fish-eyed theft deterrent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 09

TechSaver Test: Costco.coms Deep Summer Savings

Posted in: dslr, hewlett-packard, sale, Today's Chili, touch

Canon EOS Rebel XSi with 55-250mm Zoom Lens

I’ve never been to Costco (only Sam’s Club), but I constantly hear from friends and family about the store’s great offers on electronics–not to mention 30-packs of TP and prime rib. Of course, Costco isn’t the first store that comes to my mind when I want to buy a computer or a digital camera, but I have to admit that I’m a bit curious.

If you’re a Costco member, then you’ve probably already taken advantage of some of the discount warehouse’s electronics deals. If you’re not a member, you can still purchase items from Costco via Costco.com. However, non-members must pay a 5 percent surcharge over the posted product price. For example, if you want to buy a $99.99 MP3 player from Costco and don’t have a membership number, you would have to pay an extra $5 for your online order. That 5 percent surcharge, though, can definitely make or break a good deal, so I wanted to investigate.

In today’s TechSaver Test, I picked Costco.com’s summer savings on the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi Digital SLR Camera (with 18-55mm IS Lens & 55-250mm IS Zoom Lens combo), the HP TouchSmart IQ546t 22″, the Creative ZEN MX 16GB portable media player, and the Mobile Edge Laptop Eco Messenger Bag. Find out if it’s better to be a Costco member or not, after the jump.

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Jul 03

Sony readying CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras?

Posted in: camera, digicam, digital camera, DigitalCamera, dslr, rumor, sony, Today's Chili

It was only a few months ago that we were fielding rumors about Sony’s CyberShot DSC-HX1, and now we’re struggling to keep our credit card at bay each time we waltz by one in the local camera shop. Today, Sony Insider has pointed out that the outfit may be readying a new duo to complement the megazoom: the DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1. If the latest whispers prove legitimate, the TX1 will boast a 10 megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, 720p movie mode and a price tag somewhere south of $400. The WX1 should check in as a lower-end model with 10 megapixels, a 5x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD and the same 720p movie mode; why exactly it’ll be cheaper we’re not sure, but that’s the good word at the moment. E-tailer Provantage already has listings for both cameras up, so it seems as if it’s just a matter of time before Sony confirms all the good news.

[Via Sony Insider]

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Sony readying CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 01

Energizer USB clip to charge camcorder / DSLR batteries via USB

Posted in: camcorder, charger, charging, dslr, Today's Chili, usb

Energizer’s Energi To Go catalog just keeps getting sweeter. After introducing a new range of XPAL battery chargers last month, the company is evidently gearing up to reveal what’s likely to be its most convenient and altogether useful product yet. The USB clip you see above is designed to make contact with DSLR and camcorder batteries and provide juice via USB; in other words, it’s like a portable, highly mobile DSLR battery charger. OhGizmo points out that you may need one of Energizer’s USB-equipped battery packs to charge up the 7.4V cells, but at least we’re still talking about a non-proprietary charging connector. Per usual, there’s no mention of dollars and cents, but hopefully it’ll be rolled out for less than a song here soon.

[Via OhGizmo]

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Energizer USB clip to charge camcorder / DSLR batteries via USB originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

Pentax K-7 review roundup

Posted in: camera, dslr, review, reviewed, Today's Chili

We’ve been nothing if not comprehensive in our coverage of this new Pentax shooter, and early reviews are showing why. Photography Blog praised the K-7 for its weatherproofing and for having “one of the best LCD screens” they’ve ever seen on a DSLR, while ePHOTOzine were impressed by the image quality and Wired found the package of features and specs exceedingly robust given the $1,300 asking price. Some shortcomings were found, such as the slightly unintuitive interface and noise levels at higher ISO settings, but impressions were overwhelmingly positive. If you’ve been looking for a solid alternative to Canon’s 50D or Nikon’s D300, check out all the thoroughly detailed analysis in the read links below.

Read – Photography Blog
Read – Wired
Read – ePHOTOzine

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Pentax K-7 review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

Nikon D300s and D3000 Photos Possibly Leaked

Posted in: dslr, rumor, Today's Chili, video

d3000
Of these two Nikon rumors, one looks almost certain to be real, and one looks like a bad fake. First, the D300s, a camera which we actually expect to see announced pretty soon. The specs and a screenshot leaked already, pointing to a video-capable upgrade to the D300 with stereo sound and an SD card slot. This picture, though, looks like a poor piece of Photoshoppery, a simple grafting of the D5000’s microphone holes onto the D300 body, with an “s” slapped on for good measure.

nikon-d300sBetter is the D3000, which looks to be an entry-level video capable DSLR. At first glance the picture (above) looks to be a D5000 with the mic holes removed, but closer inspection shows some harder to fake details. The left shoulder is a different shape, for example, and the D3000 lacks the green dot found by the exposure compensation button on the D5000.

Rumored specs say that the D3000 will shoot video but lacks an HDMI-out and has a smaller flash and viewfinder setup. Oddly, it’s claimed (presumably based on the lack of a mic grille) that there will be no sound recording. This is hard to believe, as even a cheap point-and-shoot can manage it.

If true, it could mean that Nikon is splitting the lower ranges into still-only and video-capable ranges, with the extra zeroes of the D3000 and D5000 indicating movie-mode.

Image leaks show Nikon D3000, D300s [Electronista]


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Jun 29

Nikon D3000, D300s images materialize

Posted in: dslr, leak, nikon, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili

What’s this? An as of yet unannounced Nikon D3000 camera has allegedly popped up in press photo format, flaunting itself as what appears to be a slimmed down entry level DSLR. The gang LensTip have analyzed the pic pretty thoroughly against the D5000 and have concluded it’s got a smaller body, no HDMI connector, no microphone (so much for a movie mode), and likely no articulating display. Additionally, we’ve got from Nikon Rumors what’s purported to be our first glimpse at the D300s body. Given the angle of the shot, the only difference we can spot is the inclusion of a microphone — then again, it could just be some subtle image manipulation trickery from a rabid fan. See it and decide for yourself after the break.

[Via Electronista]

Read – Nikon D3000 is coming
Read – Another Nikon D300s picture

Continue reading Nikon D3000, D300s images materialize

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Nikon D3000, D300s images materialize originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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