A few weeks ago, Olympus and Panasonic announced the Micro Four Thirds system, a middle ground between point-and-shoots and SLRs. Not to be outdone, Samsung revealed today that it is also working on a similar system, but took care to note that it will have more megapixels. Both systems aim to reduce the size and weight of DSLR-form-factor cameras while retaining their large sensors and interchangeable lenses. Lacking a mirror element, it will still have to use an electronic shutter, which is sub-optimal, but you can’t have everything.
I’m glad to see competition in this area, it always makes for better cameras. Can’t wait to get my hands on the first of these little hybrids (probably around 2010).
Lowepro has a metric bushel (you heard me) of bags coming out, new and “new to you.” As always, they look perfectly decent and you know they’re going to be solid. Hit the link below for more info on the new gear. Read More
Casio has announced three new additions to its very-pocketable Exilim line of digital cameras: the EX-Z300, the EX-Z250, and the EX-Z85 (from top to bottom in the above photo). They’ll each be available in October for $299, $249, and $179, respectively.
The EX-Z300 is a 10-megapixel camera, while the EX-Z250 and the EX-Z85 are each 9-megapixel cameras. The Z300 and Z250 each have a 4x optical zoom while the Z85 does 3x. Also, the Z300 is able to capture HD video using the H.264 codec while the other two capture movies at up to 848×480 (widescreen).
Brando, synonymous with weird nonsense, now has a telescopic lens for your iPhone 3G’s camera. The 6X zoom can takes photos like this—not bad, but not something I’d depend on 24/7.
It is cheap, though, and for $20, you could well keep the thing in your pocket and whip it out when you spot, I don’t know, Bigfoot or something.
Ho-lee crap. Now I’ve seen it all (no pun intended). This camera, called the Touch Sight, was developed by Chueh Lee of Samsung China. The basic short and sweet is that you hold the camera against your forehead and when you snap a photo, the camera grabs the image and converts it to braille. So you can actually feel the image against your forehead. It also grabs three seconds of sound, making it easier to find and manage photos later. Unbelievable.
If there’s one thing about camera mounts, it’s that standard run-of-the-mill tripods can be found for pretty cheap but once you take a step into the elaborate realm of steadicams or any other professional mounts that do more than just set the camera at a certain level, prices can get quite high.
Cristophe Caron details how he built an in-car camcorder mount with about $15 worth of materials. It basically amounts to an aluminum tube that fastens to the passenger side headrest with U-bolts and wing nuts. The resulting video (see above) is surprisingly smooth, much more so than having someone in the car holding the camera. Here’s a PDF file with more detailed instructions.
History with CrunchGear! For a long time, the light-sensitive part of a camera has been flat. This is for two main reasons. First, photography originally used glass plates and prints involved a gelatin which would coalesce on anything but a flat surface. This lasted until the digital age, when the new obstacle became that the light-sensitive chips are generally manufactured like other chips: flat. As a result, because of how lenses work, you have vignetting on the corners of the exposure and less sharpness as well, since the plane of focus actually follows a curve and the exposed surface runs tangent to that curve, ideally.
Well, now the sensor can follow that curve, thanks to the work of a couple researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois. Instead of putting the light-sensitive components on a brittle surface, each little photoreceptor is on its own tiny square, held together in a mesh by the wires that carry the information away. Theoretically, this could morph to any shape within reason (it gets complicated for getting things in focus), allowing it to be used in areas (like the eye) where a flat surface would be disruptive or ineffective.
Sometimes… there are so many Nikons in the world, I feel like I can’t take it… and my wallet is just going to cave in. (Adapted fromAmerican Beauty)
Nikon dropped a half dozen cameras on us today, so if you’re in the market for a new point-and-shoot, you’d best come on inside and see what we got. I reckon some are worth a gander.
Has Nikon taken a few too many battery grips to the head? The D90, purportedly the replacement for the sub-$1000 D80 DSLR, is said to feature video recording in its Live View mode. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure video recording is nice to have, but what market are they looking at here? The video will almost certainly be inferior to a dedicated video device, and the people willing to shell out $1000 for a camera and couple lenses are likely to either be in still photography only or have a separate device for video already. Video and Live View on DSLRs seem like selling points at about the $500 price point or below, but once you get into enthusiast territory, consumer features tend to weigh a product down rather cause it to stand out from the pack.
All that said, it’s still unconfirmed (though the tipper is pretty confident), and no one has actually seen the video yet, so it could be great. Here’s hoping.
It has been reported and confirmed that on August 14th, Sony plans to make an “exciting” announcement about a digital camera. There are no details on what the announcement will be, all we know for sure is it’s going to be exciting.
Photoclub Alpha, the ones to confirm the announcement, says it will not be about the Sony A900. They feel that Sony will wait until closer to Photokina.
It’s only a little more than a week away, so we’ll find out soon enough. As always, we’ll keep you posted with details as they become available. I’m so pumped!
Fuji is updating their entry-level point and shoot digital camera line with four new J-series models: Fuji J150w, J110w, J100, J15, and J12. According to the rumors, they were up at the Fuji Canada site, but if they were, they ain’t now. We do however have some supposed specs, and the prices are said to range from $139 to $199.
Three of the cam’s feature 10MP sensors and 5x optical zoom lens. The J150w, J110w, J100 vary otherwise by room range and LCD screen size. With the price range being so close, zoom lens is going to be your main consideration.
The other end of the J-spectrum features two entries, the J15 and the J12, both with 8MP sensor and 3x optical zoom. Smaller zooms and screen sizes round out these lower end entry-level cameras.
Also being thrown about is the advanced compact F60fd. It hasn’t shown up on the Fuji site either, however it does appear to be available for $299. The camera features a 12 MP sensor and 3x optical zoom. More feature packed than the others, it incorporates Fuji’s face detection technology and is capable of ISO 3200 sensitivity.
I don’t have any children but from what I’ve heard, they’re quite a nuisance. If you have kids that are just starting to drive a car, why not purchase this dash-mounted camera with built-in GPS logger and Google Earth compatibility? You’ll be able to playback video of recent trips complete with a nice little GPS overlay on the right-hand side of the screen. Aside from keeping the driver of your car honest, you can also capture the A-hole that just cut you off, the other A-hole that just slammed into you, or the third A-hole that’s doing 45 on the highway while talking on his BlackBerry.
You can either manually record certain aspects of your trip or the camera will automatically start recording when it detects “sudden acceleration, braking, and sharp turns, as well as back and forth, right and left and up and down vibrations.” Video is recorded onto SD cards for easy playback. The whole getup costs $450 – looks pretty cool if you need a system like this. Full specs after the jump…
The Casio EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150 is a 8-megapixel camera with a 4x optical zoom and anti-shake system. No pricing but it will come in red, pink, green, silver, and black.
Norderstedt, July 14, 2008 – CASIO Computer Co., Ltd., announced today the release of the newest model in its EXILIM® digital camera series – the stylish, slim EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150, which features a wide-angle zoom lens, a CCD-shift anti-shake function, a very large LCD monitor and an 8.1 effective megapixel resolution.
* As at July 14, 2008, for a digital camera with a wide-angle 28 mm equivalent 4X optical zoom lens. Based on CASIO survey.
The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150 has the features and functions needed to meet the demanding requirements of today’s digital camera users, all in the slimmest camera in the world with a built-in wide-angle 28 mm (35 mm film equivalent) 4X optical zoom lens, at just 20.1 mm thick (18.9 mm at the thinnest section).
To complement the slim, stylish look, the new EXILIM offers all the premium functionality you would expect in a much bigger digital camera, including a CCD-shift anti-shake function and face detection technology. It also features a large 3.0 inch LCD monitor, a first for the EXILIM series, making it even easier to compose shots and adding to the fun of viewing the images taken.
The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150 is available not only in silver and black, but also in colorful red, pink, and green.
In what can only be described as a grand experiment, Fujifilm has teamed up with Ning.com to create a social network, ZSpotNow.com, based around a single digital camera. The Z20fd is a 10-megapixel point and shoot that comes in multiple fun colors and a special blog mode that reduces and resizes images for upload to blogs and email lists. It also records MPEG4 video and can upload directly to YouTube. Read More
This 10.2-megapixel from Samsung has a 3x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD, and face detection, self portrait, and image stabilization. The camera costs $169.95 and takes SD/SDHC memory cards.
The TL9 cameras from Samsung will feature portable media player functionality in the off chance that you want to listen to music or watch videos on the camera’s 2.7-inch screen. Yes, there is a headphone port and even “an external speaker boasting SRS 3D acoustic technology.”
As far as using the TL9 as a camera, it shoots at up to 10 megapixels and features a 5x optical zoom. It’ll also shoot MPEG-4 video at an 800×592 resolution. The cameras will be available in September for around $279.99. Full release below…
Samsung has recently announced the TL34HD line of digital cameras, featuring 14.7-megapixel imaging, 720p HD video capture (H.264), 28mm wide-angle Schneider lens with 3.6x optical zoom, and 3-inch touchscreen LCD. They’ll be available in September with an MSRP of $329.95.
The cameras will come in the two colors shown above and appear to be pretty portable, especially given the almost-15 megapixels packed into them. The 3.6x optical zoom seems a bit anemic, though, especially for a $330 camera. The added HD video capture is starting to appear on more and more cameras, so it’s a welcome addition to this line of Samsung point-and-shoot units. Full press release below…
Now here’s a nice-looking camera.It might even take nice pictures! With an FPS of 1 and max ISO of 400, it’s obviously not for action shots or taking to the club, but if you’re a product or portrait photographer, this might be a nice investment — if you’ve got the lenses to go with it. After all, with an image of that size (they’re 300MB each, compressed, lossless, proprietary), especially if you’re going to be blowing up pieces of it for print media, defects in your lens (or defects with your wallet, leading to a cheap lens) are going to be amplified quite a bit. Head over here for a lot more information on this beast of a camera.
Update: I didn’t notice this. I wonder how they compare? Kodak certainly seems proud of its sensor. I’d like to see some comparison shots.
