Hasta La Gadget!

There are some cameras that we absolutely love, some we find downright disappointing and others that get the job done, albeit with mediocre results. Samsung’s digital imaging devices typically fall within that last category — they’re moderately innovative, generally affordable and often well-designed, but when it comes to image quality and performance, we’re left… underwhelmed. So, when we first had a chance to try out the CE giant’s new NX200 at IFA in Berlin, we weren’t expecting a mind-blowing imaging device.

The NX200 is Samsung’s latest entrant into the interchangeable lens (ILC) category — it’s a mirrorless model, to be more precise, and a fairly impressive one at that — at least when you glance at the spec sheet. It’s the company’s latest ILC to use an APS-C size sensor, which is the largest we’ve seen in a mirrorless cam. This sensor type implies that the NX200 may have a chance at competing with Sony’s NEX-C3, which has been our top pick in the category, and its 20.3 megapixel rating suggests that Samsung wants to be taken seriously here, with a true contender on its hands. But has Samsung delivered a winner? Jump past the break for our take.

Continue reading Samsung NX200 interchangeable lens camera review

Samsung NX200 interchangeable lens camera review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is fascinating, a nuclear explosion from the Tumbler-Snapper tests performed in Nevada during 1952. It looks different from all nuclear explosions you’ve seen because it’s what it looks like one millisecond after detonation. It looks like a skull by Tim Burton. More »

Professional photographers know the drill: every few years, Canon or Nikon announces a game-changing DSLR, often prompting top photogs to unload their complete kits and switch to another system in a never-ending attempt to shoot with the best. This time, Canon is first out of the gate, with its flagship EOS-1D X — the latest in a series that dates back to 2001 with the EOS-1D. As you’ve probably noticed, the company’s new top model looks virtually identical to its decade-old ancestor, but is otherwise a far cry from that four megapixel CCD sensor-sporting dinosaur. We’ve been anxiously awaiting an opportunity to check out Canon’s new $6,800 18.1 megapixel full-frame model since first getting word of the beastly camera last week, and just had a chance to go hands-on during the company’s Pro Solutions event in London. Jump past the break for our impressions and a video walkthrough.

Continue reading Canon EOS-1D X first hands-on (video)

Canon EOS-1D X first hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Red Hot 16 GB model of the Lytro camera looks completely different from what you'd expect a camera to look like. Image: Lytro

Shooting an image in proper focus is a challenge for most budding photographers. Lytro’s revolutionary light field camera, which was officially unveiled today, aims to solve all the pain and heartache.

The Lytro camera is a light-field, or plenoptic, camera. An array of micro-lenses sits over the camera’s sensor, capturing all the light in the scene being photographed (11 million rays of light, to be precise). The Lytro then saves your image in a proprietary file format to deliver a “living picture” that you can manipulate on your computer, much like a raw file. By manipulating key attributes, you can effectively change the focus of the image. That’s right: After the image has been taken.

“There’s something about light field photography that’s just magical,” Lytro founder Ren Ng said in a previous interview with Wired.com. “It very much is photography as we’ve known it. It’s what we’ve always seen through cameras — we just had to fix it.”

Lytro was founded in 2006, but we first got a peep at its camera and the living pictures it produces in late June.

The Lytro’s industrial design will stop you in your tracks. The camera is essentially a 1.61-by-1.61-by-4.41-inch rectangle with a backlit touchscreen LCD display for composing your shot and setting exposure. On the front, you’ll find an f/2 lens with 8x zoom. The camera has only two buttons: one for power and one for the shutter. All the processing is done with software, which enables the camera to assume a super simple, petite shape.

The camera’s pictures aren’t measured in megapixels. Instead, photographs are 11 “megarays” — the number of light rays captured by the light-field sensor. In actuality, this works out to about 22 megapixels, and if you’re worried about storage space, photos can be stored for free on Lytro’s online servers. The camera comes with editing software to interact with photos, but currently it’s Mac-only (a Windows version is in development).

Two models are available: a $400, 8GB camera (available in electric blue or graphite chassis), and a $500, 16GB version (pictured above) that’s clad in a “red hot” casing. The 8 GB model can store up to 350 photos, while the 16 GB model can store up to 750. The Lytro camera is available for pre-order on Lytro’s website, but won’t begin shipping until early 2012.

Stick a piece of gaffer tape over the unmistakable X, and Canon’s latest EOS-1D pro-level camera will look virtually identical to every 1D model that came before it. But once you flip up the power slider, this new king of the jungle will hum like no other. Canon’s phenomenally powerful EOS-1D X really sounds like the DSLR to rule them all. Its 18 megapixel full-frame sensor uses oversized pixels to battle noise and is supported by a pair of Digic 5+ imaging processors, which also help drive a 61-point high density reticular AF system, a top ISO setting of 204,000 (51,200 native), a 252-zone metering system, a 14 fps JPEG (or 12 fps RAW) burst mode and a built-in wired gigabit LAN connection, for remote shooting and image transfer. The camera’s curious single-letter name represents a trio of industry milestones: the X is the 10th generation Canon professional SLR (dating back to the F1 in the 1970s), it’s a crossover model, filling in for both the 1D Mark IV and 1Ds Mark III (which has been discontinued), and, well, it sounds to be pretty darn “Xtreme.”

The 1D X is being marketed to every category of professional photographer, from commercial studio shooters to newspaper photogs. It’s familiar, with a similar control layout, yet different, thanks to its completely redesigned system menu — accessed using the 3.2-inch, 1,040,000-dot LCD. There’s also an incredibly sharp intelligent optical viewfinder, with an on-demand grid, AF status indicator, a dual-axis electronic level and a shooting mode readout. Video shooters can choose between 1080p video capture at 24 (23.97), 25 or 30 fps, or 720p at 50 or 60 fps. Canon has also eliminated the 4GB clip limit, though individual clips are limited to 29:59, in order to avoid European tax rates affecting HD cameras that can capture single HD video clips longer than 30 minutes. We’re anxiously awaiting a chance to go hands-on with the EOS-1D X, and you’ll have to wait until March before adding this $6,800 beauty to your gear collection, but jump past the break for the meaty rundown from Canon, and click through the rather thin product gallery below.

Continue reading Canon announces EOS-1D X: full-frame 18MP sensor, 14 fps, 204,800 top ISO, $6,800 price tag

Canon announces EOS-1D X: full-frame 18MP sensor, 14 fps, 204,800 top ISO, $6,800 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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