Hasta La Gadget!

It’s official, Olympus’ first MIcro Four Thirds camera is up and dancing upon the global stage. Dubbed, E-P1 “digital Pen” (reflecting the camera’s Olympus Pen-series heritage) this MFT shooter aligns with the looks and specs that came our way yesterday in leaked format. In other words, we’re looking at an image stabilized (sensor-shift) 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor with TruePic V image processing, ISO 100-6400 sensitivity, a 3-inch LCD, 20 shooting modes (5 exposure, i-Auto, and 14 automatic scenes), an SDHC slot, and HDMI TV-out for playback of 720p (1280×720 pixel) recorded video at 30fps. The 14-42 lens kit retracts into the barrel when not in use and Olympus’ Supersonic Wave Filter helps keep dust under control when swapping-out the lens for Micro Four Thirds, Four Thirds, or OM lenses. A few advanced previews of the E-P1 are already available — peep those in the read links below if you can’t wait for the July launch or the full-blown reviews due in a few weeks.

Update: Priced at $749 (body only), $799 (with 14-42mm lens), and $899 (with 17mm pancake lens and viewfinder). Honestly, those prices are better than we had hoped for especially in a camera measuring just 121 x 70 x 36-mm (4.7 x 2.7 x 1.4-inches) playing host to a DSLR-sized sensor.

Read — LetsGoDigital
Read — DPReview
Read — Photography Blog
Read — Official E-P1 product page

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Olympus E-P1 ‘digital Pen’ gets official, so does our lust originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s pretty remarkable the speed at which new DSLRs are emerging these days, so it’s ever more important that you really know what’s what when selecting your first (or next) shooter. Sites around the web have already begun to scrutinize the newest cam from Nikon, the mid-range D5000. DPReview has an outstanding chart that breaks down the features, similarities and differences between this one, the D90 and the D60. It seems the biggest differentiators between the D5000 and the pricier D90 is the complete lack of an in-body focus motor and the pentamirror viewfinder (versus pentaprism on the D90). Oh, and while that 2.7-inch articulating display is nice, it can’t hold a candle to the D90 in terms of resolution. For folks hoping and praying for autofocus in movies, keep on kissing the ground; early reports suggest that the 720p footage looks eerily similar to that put out by the D90 — no shock there. Needless to say, there are far too many nuances to cover here, so dig in below if the D5000 hopped on your short list earlier this morning.

Read – Imaging Resource preview
Read – LetsGoDigital preview
Read – DPReview preview
Read – DPReview sample images

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Nikon D5000 DSLR preview roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Much like the S101, the T91 isn’t exactly “Eee PC” material. Sure, it’s small and ASUS-branded, but design wise, it’s a pretty bold departure. bit-tech was able to sit down and take an early look at the Eee PC T91 convertible tablet, and while the machine is still a few months out from release, it seems that you can curb your enthusiasm in the meanwhile. Critics found the touchpad to be a hair less awesome than those on other Eee PCs, the lack of multitouch to be a real bummer and the uncanny ability of the LCD to attract fingerprints as just plain annoying. Of course, their unit was still subject to alterations, so the crew isn’t completely giving up hope that things won’t improve by launch day. In fact, it noted that the inclusion of a DVB-T tuner, WWAN support and GPS functionality were very nice touches, but it still maintained that a standard netbook would likely suit you best unless you’re just head over heels for touching.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

ASUS Eee PC T91 sits down for photo shoot, early critique originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

According to a remarkably lengthy review penned in Russian, the NC20 is a real stunner. Somehow, Samsung managed to stuff six hours of battery life into a machine with a 12.1-inch display, which ought to please anyone truly looking for ideal netbook functionality. Of course, it didn’t fare so well under intense gaming pressure, and even the art of multitasking with three or more applications seemed to bog it down. That said, we are talking about a netbook (and not an ultraportable), and its ability to handle HD video was rather impressive in its own right. So far as we can tell, reviewers were pretty pleased with the overall package given the relatively low anticipated price (we’re hearing $500 or so for the US market), but you can draw your own conclusions by giving the read link a visit.

[Via Slashgear, thanks Brian]

Filed under: Laptops

Samsung NC20 sees foreign review, universal appreciation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments