Hasta La Gadget!

Olympus’ PR branch left us digging for details when announcing the outfit’s new Zuiko-equipped camera, a concept piece that’s actually on track for the real world in early 2011. It seems as if this, along with Fujifilm’s FinePix X100, is carving out a new niche in the compact space. It lacks the flexibility of Micro Four Thirds / mirrorless, but it packs a bigger quality punch than any other point-and-shoot on the market. At least with this guy, though, you’ll be getting an optical zoom. During our gaze session at Olympus’ Photokina booth, we spotted “optical zoom” labeling as well as a toggle switch for pulling the lens in and out, and we also found an HDMI output, video record button, hot shoe accessory port and a pop-up flash. Join us as we go round and round in the video after the break.

Continue reading Olympus Zuiko-equipped compact camera eyes-on: optical zoom, HDMI spotted

Olympus Zuiko-equipped compact camera eyes-on: optical zoom, HDMI spotted originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was almost exactly a year ago that we asked you how you’d change the Panasonic GH1, and the consensus response was that the camera’s biggest flaw was its stratospheric price. Well, Panasonic’s about to help you out there, as it seems a GH2 successor is all but assured to debut at this year’s Photokina exhibition, which is sure to put a little downward pressure on GH1 levies. The new shooter is rumored to be making mostly evolutionary upgrades, with 16 rather than 12 effective megapixels squeezed into its sensor, expanded ISO range up to 12,800, faster autofocus performance with the kit 14-140mm lens, 5fps burst shooting, and 1080/60i video recording at 24Mbps. Where things get interesting is the suggestion that the GH2 will be capable of 1080/60p, but that the AVCHD recording format — whose current spec doesn’t include 60 frames of 1080p goodness — is forcing it to store data in the 60i mode. That’d be a pretty sweet new addition if true and we’re inclined to believe it given the additional rumor of three processing cores inside the GH2. We’ll know how much of this is legit by the middle of next week, Photokina isn’t a place famed for keeping secrets — quite the opposite, actually.

Panasonic GH2 expected to have 16 megapixel sensor, maybe even 1080/60p video originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And here it is, Panasonic’s prototype G-series micro-four-thirds shooter with new interchangeable 3D lens. We caught the pair hanging out at IFA with nary a soul around to take notice. Too bad for them, good for you if you’ve made the jump to a panny MFT as the lens will ultimately be compatible with your Lumix G micro system… probably — unfortunately, Panasonic isn’t saying which cams will be eligible for the software update. From the sound of it, the whole kit will get official in just a few week at Photokina with a new G-series body playing host to the new 3D lens. Here in Berlin, however, we’ve got a G2 body with an updated 3D image processing system doing the dirty work. Nevertheless, it was fully functional and produced a reasonable 3D image with plenty of pop that was ready to view on a brand new Panasonic 3D television. Come on, a 3D televsion is nothing without 3D content. Sneaky Panasonic, sneaky.

Panasonic’s prototype Micro Four Thirds 3D lens and body arrive in Berlin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It all started with Micro Four Thirds, but now just about everyone is jonesing to play along in the mirrorless camera game. The crew over at Serious Compacts managed to get ahold of quite a few contenders (Samsung’s NX10, Sony’s NEX5, Olympus’ E-P2 and E-PL1, and Panasonic’s GF1, GF2 and GH1), and rather than taking ’em apart one by one, they’ve decided to size ’em up in a fantastic size comparison piece. From lenses to bodies, all six cameras are shown from various angles, and even if you’ve convinced yourself to not be in the market for one of these bad boys, the eye candy alone is worth a peek. Furthermore, the group has been entered into a telling ISO comparison test, but if you came here looking for a spoiler, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Tap those links below to get your study on, won’tcha?

Mirrorless camera shootout: DSLR alternatives get sized up and ISO-examined originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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!

Time for us to open up chapter two of this year’s Back to School advice compendium. Up for discussion today are digital cameras, which have been in the gym all year working on their processing prowess and return today with 720p HD video as an almost standard feature. We’ve got a good cross-section of young pretenders and finely aged veterans for your perusal, so why not give your mouse a little exercise as well and click past the break?

Continue reading Engadget’s Back to School guide: Digital cameras

Engadget’s Back to School guide: Digital cameras originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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