Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Sony HX1's Superzoom's Secret Sauce: Taking Lots of Pictures Really Fast [Tomorrow's Cameras]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/BiJ13AUO6ns/sony-hx1s-superzooms-secret-sauce-taking-lots-of-pictures-really-fast

Sony's HX1 can do everything but make pancakes in the field it seems: Fast and easy panoramas, low-light anti-blurring, and don't forget 1080p video. But how does all that work?

The way the Sony rep explained it, the heart of all of the HX1's whizbang camera features (HD video aside), like iSCN Advance or the anti-handheld twilight mode (which gives you a clear shot in low light, where usually a handheld camera would give you a blurry mess) all use the same basic technology, just applied differently for each feature. They all take a burst of shots really quickly—and combine them or pick out the right shot to come up with a clear one.

The sweep panorama shooting process is surprisingly easy, the way it should be. You flip to panorama mode on the dial, and when you press the shutter down, a scrollbar pops up on the bottom that starts at the left and slides to the right as you swing the camera. On the camera, all of the results look really smooth, but we'll have to see one at full res before we're truly blown away.

At first shot, we like what we see, though we can't wait to do a full head-to-head against Canon's SX1 in the ultimate superzooming, 1080p video recording camera battle to the death.

PMA is an annual show where we get to see tomorrow's digital cameras—the ones that'll be populating pockets and purses for the rest of the year. We'll be here for the next couple of days.



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Pretec 128GB ExpressCard SSD Is The Largest, Most Paranoid of Its Kind [Peripherals]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RAxURm5OJ54/pretec-128gb-expresscard-ssd-is-the-largest-most-paranoid-of-its-kind

Something about plugging accessories into card slots feels kind of, I don't know, 90s to me. That is, unless the accessory is a 128GB, hardware-encrypted SSD.

As the steady increase of integrated laptop features renders expansion ports like ExpressCard less and less relevant, only their most practical applications survive. This is definitely one of them. In both 64GB and 128GB varieties, the Pretec ExpressCard SSDs offer hardware AES256 encryption, near-flush integration with whatever host machine they're connected to and an additional mini USB connector for non-slotted machines. Pretec hasn't priced the units yet, but I don't expect they'll come cheap. [ExpressCard Info]



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AgfaPhoto debuts seven new cameras of varying compactness

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/agfaphoto-debuts-seven-new-cameras-of-varying-compactness/


Not to be outdone by GE and its onslaught of ordinariness, AgfaPhoto has now rolled out seven new compact cameras of its own on the eve of PMA, which range from the most basic of point-and-shoots to a ruggedized, underwater cam. Arguably the most interesting of the lot are the OPTIMA 1438m (pictured above), 1338mT, and 8328m, which boast between 8 and 10 megapixels, 3x and 4x optical zooms, and a 32mm wide-angle lens on the 1438,, which also packs an all-metal body and a more than reasonable $210 price tag. Rounding out the offerings are the sub-$100 sensor 830S and 530S, the HD video-capable DV-5580Z, and the rugged OPTIMA 830UW, which will work up to ten meters underwater, operate in temperatures of -5°C, and survive a fall from up to one meter (it runs $350). Looking for more? Then dive into the links below for the complete rundown and plenty of pics.

Read - PhotographyBlog, "AgfaPhoto OPTIMA 1438m, 1338mT, 8328m"
Read - PhotographyBlog, "AgfaPhoto DV-5580Z"
Read - PhotographyBlog, "AgfaPhoto sensor 830s and 530s"
Read - PhotographyBlog, "AgfaPhoto OPTIMA 830UW"

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AgfaPhoto debuts seven new cameras of varying compactness originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-off with ASUS' Dual Panel Touchscreen PC at CeBIT

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/03/hands-on-with-asus-dual-panel-touchscreen-pc-at-cebit/


It may be snoozin' time on the East Coast of America, but things are already getting heated in Hannover. Live from the CeBIT floor, we present to you ASUS' Dual Panel touchscreen PC. The show models were still very much conceptual, with the hinges showing signs of imperfections and the interface not quite ready to be touched by onlookers. We did spot that the units on hand were humming along on Windows 7, though. The on-screen keyboard looked great from where we stood, but it's tough to say how hard it would be to get used to banging out dissertations on a flat panel. At any rate, feel free to browse the gallery below -- and stick around, we'll be bringing you lots, lots more where this came from.

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Hands-off with ASUS' Dual Panel Touchscreen PC at CeBIT originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI debuts three new limited edition laptops for Japan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/03/msi-debuts-three-new-limited-edition-laptops-for-japan/


MSI's more budget-minded offerings may be attracting most of the attention as of late, but the company has also been known to produce the odd premium laptop, and it's just let loose its latest batch in Japan. Leading the way is the leather-wrapped 15.4-inch PX600 Prestige Collection model, which is limited to a mere 30 units and packs a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, GeForce 9300M GS graphics, 4GB of RAM, and an equally stylish 4GB USB drive. A bit less limited is the 12.1-inch MSI PR201 YA! One, which is available in your choice of pink, green, or blue, and boasts some decent if unspectacular specs, including a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T4200 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. Rounding things out is the 16-inch MSI EX620, which mixes things up with some ATI Radeon HD 3470 graphics and a Blu-ray burner, among other fairly standard specs. No word on a price for the PX600, it seems, but the PR201 and EX620 will apparently run ¥88,000 and ¥130,000, respectively, (or $900 and $1,340), so you can pretty safely bet that it'll be well above that.

Read - Akihabara News, "PX600 Prestige Collection"
Read - Akihabara News, "MSI PR201 YA! Limited Edition"
Read - Akihabara News, "MSI EX620 100 Limited Edition"

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MSI debuts three new limited edition laptops for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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