In “normal” mode, the Nikon1Dx rapid-fire shutter sounds rather similar to my 1D Mark IV. It’s loud and intriguing while the Canon 1Dx is slightly toned down from its predecessor. With pictures captured in largest jpeg format, we were told the Canon tipped 412 images before hitting the buffer while Nikon managed just half of that.

Nikon D4 D-SLR

Canon 1DX D-SLR

We aren’t certain of the buffer pipeline, and the factor of CF, as both storage compartments are locked and sealed. The reps have no knowledge of what cards are being used for the demo, but with a Dual Digic 5 image processor dedicated for image processing and a Digic 4 for AF and metering as opposed to a single EXPEED 3, despite higher pixel count, the 1Dx is clearly a winner here.

The new cameras will certainly be the benchmark for London 2012 Summer Olympics sport photographers.

Hardware

Slim and tall is Netgear’s design language right now, with the WNDR4500 a sleekly designed monolith with an integrated transparent plastic stand. Despite the small footprint, it proved stable even with six chunky Cat6 cables hanging off the four gigabit ethernet ports at the back. They share space with a pair of USB 2.0 ports – Netgear tells us this was a performance consideration, rather than USB 3.0 – a gigabit WAN port, power, recessed reset hole and physical power switch.

There’s no shortage of indicator lights, either. Running down the front panel are LEDs for power, internet, 2.4GHz and 5GHz status, along with individual lights for each of the ethernet ports and each USB port. Up top are buttons for WPS and wireless.

The WNDR4500 has a small fan to keep things cool, but it’s a very quiet example. Nonetheless, it does the job well: operating temperature is cool to the touch, and you can barely feel a small amount of warm air coming out of the vents on the top and bottom of the router. The chunky power brick has the same footprint as a smartphone, though is obviously thicker.

Software

Initial setup is straightforward. Netgear prints a default SSID and wireless encryption key on the WNDR4500′s box, and there’s a simple wizard that guides you through the whole process. Netgear offers two different ways of accessing the router: those familiar with networking tech can go the regular way, and log into the WNDR4500′s browser-based interface, while those who’d prefer a little hand-holding can run Netgear Genie.

Genie is a locally-running app that shows the current status of the network in an easily-understood map layout, as well as offering user-friendly controls to restore a lost connection and do other basic tasks. In Q4, Netgear tells us, there’ll be iOS and Android versions of the app, while in the pipeline is more advanced functionality such as indicators of actual performance between the router and each device connected to it. At that point we can see more proficient users actually choosing to install Genie, though at present it’s definitely targeted at the novice home audience.

The two USB 2.0 ports can be used for either printer sharing or hard-drive sharing. Netgear has implemented USBoIP (USB over IP) rather than install a default bundle of printer drivers on the WNDR4500 itself: that means any printer plugged into the router should show up on your computer as if it was locally connected. The upside is that you’re not reliant on generic drivers, and can instead use those that actually came with your printer.

NAS functionality is a little more complex. Each port has enough bus power to drive a 2.5-inch external HDD, and once connected the Network/Device Name shows up as a shared network drive on computers using the router. Alternatively, there’s DLNA support, so compatible consoles like the PS3 see the drives as a source of streaming media.

While the WNDR4500 handled FAT32 and NTFS drives with no problems, HFS and exFAT proved beyond its abilities: the HDDs simply would not mount. You also don’t get the same sort of granular access control as you would on a dedicated NAS. For instance, if you want to share content via DLNA, the read/write access control must be left turned off; that means DLNA content is then not secured for FTP/HTTP remote access.

Similarly, while you can create folders and assign read/write access to them, we were unable to find a way to selectively assign login privileges to individual shares. Instead, we were left using the same admin login, rather than being able to create a set of new users with partial privileges.

Finally, there are parental controls. These use a continuously updated list of banned sites, with various levels of filtering depending on what sort of content you want to block. There’s no per-device filtration – you can’t, say, block adult content on your kid’s iPad, but allow all content through to your own – with a user ID-based login system instead to bypass the restrictions.

Performance

Netgear is boasting greater ranges and faster speeds from the WNDR4500, with up to 450 Mbps rates supported. The company also says its done some clever work with its 3×3 antenna array so as to provide more coverage in the 5GHz band.

In our tests with 2.4GHz connections, from 5 feet away from the router and no blocks in-between we were able to get 59.59 Mbps average TCP throughput. Moving to 20 feet away, with one wall in-between, that dipped to 55.23 Mbps. At 35 feet away, with two walls in-between, it fell to 45.74 Mbps.

So far so good, though wired performance proved more troublesome than wireless. During our testing, wired devices continuously lost their connection; sometimes they would automatically reconnect, while other times they demanded that we unplug the device or, worse still, reset the router itself. This is presumably something Netgear can address with firmware updates, but as it stands it can be a frustrating experience.

Wrap-Up

There’s plenty to like about the Netgear WNDR4500. It’s compact and neatly designed, and the setup process is tremendously straightforward. Right now, Netgear’s Genie app is of more interest to novice users, but if the company can deliver on the upgrades it has told us about, it may prove its worth to the more technically-minded.

Wireless performance proved stable and connection speeds good, and – for basic file sharing and streaming, at least – the USB ports are useful. Those with more ambitious storage requirements should still look to a dedicated NAS, however, which will deliver more control over who can access what, and from where. Wired performance, unfortunately, was less successful; it could have been our test setup – a mixture of Windows and OS X machines – but the frequent dropped connections left us less than impressed with the WNDR4500.

That’s a shame, since as an all-round package there’s a lot of appeal. $179.99 puts it at the premium end for home networking, but you’re getting a broad range of functionality for your money. In the end, though, it’s the great wireless performance that most home users will appreciate, and we can’t fault the Netgear WNDR4500 there.

Aesthetically, it’s a difficult one. In order to accommodate the relatively roomy back seating, the Murano CrossCab has a stretched appearance with the rear three-quarters looking somewhat unwieldy. It also leaves the soft top with a long reach to cover, though it still manages to drop or raise in 25 seconds. Nissan has added not only a glass rear window but a rear skylight to try to brighten up the interior, though the profile of the roof overall seems slightly too low to our eyes.

It’s a balance issue that affects most non-traditional convertibles, however, and inside we have fewer complaints. Available in black, cashmere beige or a camel tan, there’s plenty of soft-touch plastic while double-stitched quilted seatbacks and door-panel inserts are options. The wood-effect trim isn’t going to convince you it’s seen a forest, but neither does it look as plasticky as in many rivals.

Nissan has decided to offer a single model that’s close to fully-loaded, with leather seating front and back. The front seats are heated, along with the steering wheel, and use a slope-shouldered design so that rear passengers can see out of the relatively narrow windows. ICE consists of Nissan’s HDD navigation system, with a 9.3GB Music Box drive pumping your digital music collection through a Bose AM/FM/CD audio system. Eight speakers – including a sub – which automatically tweak their balance whether the roof is up or down, and a rear-view camera are all standard, together with XM NavTraffic. Generally it sounds strong, though despite the sub we felt the audio could do with some extra kick in the bass.

Safety consists of air-bags, side-impact air-bags up front and curtain air-bags linked to the roll-over sensor. The rear head-rests get pop-up roll bars, and there’s active head restraints for the front. Electronically, Nissan throws in the usual acronym-fest of VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) and TCS (Traction Control System) to go with the CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission) gearbox and AWD (All-Wheel Drive).

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet Showcase:

As you might expect, the combination of that electronic nannying and the extra structural support intrinsic in turning a regular Murano into a CrossCabriolet means the Nissan isn’t exactly sports-minded. In fact, the company envisages the new model as “bridging the divide” between the lust-appeal of a convertible and the realities of everyday driving, the opportunity to get the top-down sun while also having plenty of room for passengers and in the surprisingly spacious trunk. The 3.5-liter, 24-valve V6 puts out 265 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque (Nissan claims 17 MPG in the city and 22 MPG on the highway), with complex independent strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension and dual flow path shock absorbers.

The 20-inch wheels get speed-sensitive power steering which is easy for in-town driving but otherwise lacks feel; that’s matched by the reasonably soft suspension which clearly prefers cruising to cornering. Not to say the Murano CrossCabriolet can’t go round corners quickly – the various electronic systems kicking in as appropriate – but this is a cabrio bought for the elevated driving position rather than sports ambitions. Inside, road noise is louder than the regular car but quieter than many convertibles can manage, and the V6 is similarly hushed.

Nissan’s target customer is early-middle-aged and probably female, kids grown up and looking for something more interesting and ambitious than a regular minivan. As treats go, it’s definitely at the premium end of the Murano range: $46,390, though admittedly that gets you a practically fully-loaded model. The camel or cashmere versions will add another $500 onto the sticker price when the Murano CrossCabriolet arrives this spring. All the spec and safety boxes are ticked, but Nissan will need to persuade would-be buyers that the CrossCabriolet’s somewhat awkward looks from certain angles don’t detract from the pure aesthetic appeal expected from a modern convertible.

Ito could not say exactly what specifications the camcorder would offer, nor the price point JVC expects to hit with the new model. Falconbird is able to record 3840 x 2160/60p video, or of course the Full HD 3D the GS-TD1 is capable of, and is billed as being 2.7x as fast as JVC’s previous processing chips.

The Everio GS-TD1 looks bulky, but it’s actually relatively lightweight. Unlike Panasonic’s HDC-TC750 it’s not designed to lose the 3D lens section, but the weight has been well balanced along the length of the camcorder and it doesn’t feel front-heavy. Storage and connectivity are hidden behind the flip-out LCD display. That has a touchscreen layer for control over most of the settings, and it’s crystal clear and responsive. Most importantly, though, is that it uses glasses-free 3D so that you can see exactly what 3D effect you’re getting while recording, rather than – as with the TC750 – having to wait until reviewing footage later. The 3.5-inch panel uses a parallax barrier to split up the left and right images.

Falconbird is a JVC exclusive, and supposedly doubles the power from previous chips. It debuts in the GS-TD1, but will be spreading through the company’s 3D-capable line-up; the same sensor, Kari Bearnarth, senior VP of America JVC marketing told us, is powerful enough to handle 4k2k recording.

It’s obviously tricky to judge image quality from a brief hands-on play, but what we saw in JVC’s booth impressed us. There’s no compromise to the 3D element – you still get HD, unlike other systems which split the resolution of a single sensor – and it looks crisp and bright when viewed full-screen. The JVC Everio GS-TD1 will go on sale in March 2011. For $2,000, it comes equipped with 64GB of internal flash storage space, image stabilizer, 3D sound and a pair of ultra fast, high res, extra-low-dispersion glasses, and a round-iris diaphragm HD GT F1.2 lens.

The only issue is that, SanDisk tells us, there’s no camera out there currently capable of UDMA 7 speeds. Retail product marketing director Susan Park assures us that’s not necessarily an issue, though; the card is backward compatible with UDMA 6 interface cameras and should still sustain the highest possible transfer rates. It’ll also work with existing PCI Express Card readers.

SanDisk expect the new Extreme Pro 128GB UDMA-7 CF Card to retail for $1,499.99; it’s available to pre-order now. We’ll be putting it through its paces as soon as they have a production sample available.

In comparison to the well-received E-P2 the new E-PL1 gets an integrated pop-up flash and buttons to quickly flip into magnified live view and start recording video. Meanwhile, it also has a smaller preview display (2.7-inches versus 3-inches on the E-P2), a slower maximum shutter speed (1/2000 vs 1/4000s), slower maximum flash sync speed (1/160s vs 1/180s), 3-stop image stabilization (versus the E-P2′s 4-stop) and a consumer-grade plastic chassis instead of brushed aluminum and stainless steel construction. The integrated microphone records mono sound instead of stereo, and controls are squeezed into a single dial rather than two. Finally, maximum ISO setting is reduced from ISO 6400 to ISO 3200.

Physically, while the E-PL1 obviously lacks the hand-feel of its metal-bodied sibling, it feels anything but cheap. Build quality is high, and we reckon that – unlike most point-and-shoots – the budget PEN could withstand a drop without undue damage. The buttons, dials and general grip design are very well constructed, with the main mode dial having a strong spring-tensioned feel to it; you need to grip it firmly and twist it hard, which we actually prefer far more than what you’d find on an entry-DSLR. Even the battery compartment opens and closes with a clear snap, neatly done despite the cheaper construction.

The battery itself is the same BLS-1 Lithium-ion rechargeable unit as in the previous PEN. A fully drained battery took less than three hours to charge, and then lasted us three days of shooting short movies and still images while covering the recent Qualcomm Uplinq 2010 mobile conference. Storage, meanwhile, is reliant on SD/SDHC memory cards. In-camera formatting took place at the same speed as our professional Canon Mark IV DSLR, prepping a 32GB SanDisk 30MB/s SDHC card in less than 4 seconds (high level setting).

Unfortunately, our main ergonomic complaint concerns the new direct movie record button. While it’s generally handy to have, on the PEN E-PL1 it’s far too easy to trigger accidentally; a little more depth or slightly more resistance would make all the difference. As it is, you can remap that button so that it does nothing at all or toggles the LCD backlighting.

As for the LCD itself, it has a sufficiently fast response rate and provides enough shooting information for advanced users, though direct sunlight does wash it out and can make outdoor photography trickier. Ambient lighting, though, is fine. Olympus also outfit the E-PL1 with an accessory port that can be used with an electronic viewfinder, external flash or microphone; there are also two ports on the side, first a combined USB/AV-out and then a mini-HDMI for hooking up the PEN to an HDTV directly.

The new flash is easily triggered with a button just above the top left corner, and presses back into place to switch off. It’s also possible to use the flash for direct control of multiple external flash units wirelessly, such as the FL-36R and FL-50R, through we’re not sure how likely mainstream consumers might use that functionality. Its effectiveness – and indeed usefulness – varies depending on which lens you’re using. With a wide angle lens, for instance, it can be tricky avoiding shadows cast by the lens hood, such as the LH-55B on the Zuiko Digital 9-18mm ultra wide angle zoom. Even with the hood removed, the shadow is well defined at the zoom’s widest end. Still, that’s a common problem photographers have to deal with when they’re relying on pop-up flash units.

i-Auto

Olympus were keen to remind us on numerous occasions that the E-PL1 is tailored for beginners seeking out a prosumer camera capable of high image quality on a budget, and the i-Auto mode is built specifically for that. The Live Guide mode uses basic language for the menus and allows amateurs to tweak saturation, white balance, brightness, background blur and express motion, with the effect of their settings shown in the live view preview before the picture is taken. On-screen guidelines and tips give hints on how best to compose the shot and what sort of settings might benefit from adjustment. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the “express motion” setting, which simulates a motion blur effect on the LCD screen which more advanced photographers would recognize as panning blur. Usually you’d have to play with lower shutter speeds to create a directional blur effect, but the E-PL1 does a fair approximation itself. Unfortunately, even if you’ve found your new favorite settings in i-Auto, they’re only applied once to that particular shot. The camera automatically resets to the defaults for the next frame (unless several images are taken in one continuous-burst).

The PEN E-PL1′s panorama mode is only half managed by the camera itself. Sequences of images are stored in the camera first, with stitching done in post-processing with the bundled Olympus Master 2 image editing software. The app does a good job putting together the scene, though of course nothing is fully automatic; you first have to select images to be stitched, and then afterwards crop off the extra canvas area for a clean frame. Zoomed in to a pixel-peeping level, the edges in-between images are visible but the result is still quite pleasing after being suitably resized.

Performance

The camera goes from boot-to-ready in little over a second, with focusing speed almost instantaneous when in decent ambient lighting using both the 9-18mm and 14-42mm lenses we tested. In low light, it hesitates but not enough to upset an impatient photographer more used to a powerhouse DSLR. In extreme low light and low contrast situations, it didn’t perform any worse than a professional DSLR costing 10 times as much. Overall, focusing speed is fast and reliable.

Image stabilization is sensor-based and can compensate up to 3 stops; it proved especially useful in low light situations without tripod support. We were able to capture San Diego bay’s last light as low as 1/4 s while maintaining usable sharpness. The PEN provides three user-selectable modes of stabilization: Mode 1 for general shooting, Mode 2 for creative high-speed horizontal capture, and Mode 3 for high-speed vertical capture. Meanwhile there’s also Olympus’ SuperSonic Wave Filter system, which shakes any dust particles from the image sensor.

Noise levels are good; many of our sample pictures were taken at ISO 1600, and they’re sufficiently high quality to use that setting freely. For a 2.0 crop sensor, the high ISO noise level is surprisingly good in color performance and sharpness. In addition, there are no excessive blotchy noise patterns as often found when digital cameras attempt to get rid of high ISO noise. Combined with the anti-shake, high ISO capability and lightweight body, the EP-L1 is quite a treat as a low light camera.

Image Sharpness

Image sharpness has more to do with lenses than with cameras; however, the low-pass aka anti-alias filter placed in front of the image sensor does affect the outcome of the image. In the case of the E-PL1, a weaker filter is used thus it actually handles sharpness a little better than its predecessors. We tried the ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm and M.ZUIKO Digital ED 9-18mm ultra wide angle lenses for our review. The former is an entry-level kit lens with plastic construction, and it both looks cheap and feels cheap as though it might fall apart after a single drop. The latter, on the other hand, is a better-built wide angle lens with a with metal mount; like the 14-42mm, it’s a light weight, compact ultra angle with plastic components, but you can definitely tell the difference in quality holding both in your hands. Unlike the 14-42mm, the 9-18mm zoom mechanism doesn’t wobble as you move the inner tube back and forth. As for lens construction, you’re looking at 12 elements in 8 groups, 3 aspherical and 1 ED element construction vs 10 elements in 8 groups, 2 Aspherical and 1 ED element.

On the 9-18mm, image distortion at the widest ends is acceptable, and there’s minimal to no chromatic aberration displayed at the center of the lens but quite visible at the very corners. The same result was observed for image sharpness, but overall it’s a respectable ultra wide angle lens considering the price tag of $475. The compact design is great for landscaping and dropping in a bag while on vacation. Particularly worth mentioning is the lack of vignetting from a 35mm equivalent of 18mm-36mm.

Video Recording

The Pen E-PL1 offers 720p HD video recording at 30fps in 16:9 aspect ratio, or VGA resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio. Sound is limited to mono only as opposed to stereo mode in more expensive models like the PEN P1 and P2, but an optional external stereo microphone is available. Footage is recorded in AVI Motion JPEG format and individual clips are limited to 7 minutes in 720p or 14 minutes in VGA. When used with Olympus’ high-speed quiet autofocus technology MSC (Movie and Still Compatible) micro-4/3 system lenses, such as the 9-18mm or the newer M ZD 14-150mm 4.0-5.6 ED, focussing is faster and almost silent, promising speedy shooting without the mechanical background noises.

You’re locked out of settings such as aperture and shutter speed while footage is being recorded, but you can zoom while continuing to rely on the auto-focus. In Program, Aperture-Priority or Manual modes you can adjust exposure, but it but must be set prior to shooting. Finally, you can apply art filters at hardware level to overlay effects such as Pop Art, soft focus, grainy films, diorama, sepia and pin-hole to motion as well as still captures. The biggest omission, though, is that the E-PL1 doesn’t make the best use of its image stabilizer during movie recording, as it’s not available in video mode. Still, the bottom of the camera does have a full size metal tripod mount for serious shooters.

Video clip from Olympus Pen E-PL1

Conclusion

With an MRSP of $599.99 – and a street price closer to $520 – the Olympus PEN E-PL1 is pretty much half what you’d pay for its E-P2 sibling. That’s despite using the same sensor and the same 720p HD video recording functionality. It’s tempting to see micro-4/3 cameras a teetering in a no-mans-land between point-and-shoot simplicity and proper DSLRs, but the PEN E-PL1 has enough strengths of its own to argue its case. Excellent image stabilization and strong picture quality, coupled with a chassis that’s easy to pocket and long battery life, add up to a compelling option for the photographer who wants DSLR-style flexibility in a highly mobile package.

Video demo of Peer-to-Peer gaming and more after the cut

Qualcomm demonstrated three devices – a Nexus One running Android, an N900 running Maemo 5 and a Dell notebook running Windows – all taking part in a local game, with automatically created peer-to-peer connections made over Bluetooth and WiFi.  As the video below shows, the game could search for local players, send out invites by itself and then manage whatever wireless technology the devices could support.  Play happens in real-time with minimal lag.  CEO Paul Jacobs also sees the peer-to-peer system as being used in multimedia applications, such as automatically showing photos or video on any nearby screen.

As for Unity, they’re working with Qualcomm to add the company’s Natural Feature image recognition system into their gaming development engine.  Natural Feature uses a shots from a device’s camera to calculate an individual signature based on target points on a person, object or glyph; those signatures are then used to track movement in real space, with the device superimposing digital content on top.

Mattel brought back its 40-year-old Rock’em and Sock’em flighting robots to Uplinq, taking advantage of the new AR technology.  The toymaker a printed battle-ring image and a pair of smartphones, with the robots themselves represented on-screen. Mattel developed the title entirely in the Android version of the AR add-on toolkit; however Unity CEO David Helgason says his company’s development engine not only works with multiple platforms – not just Android – but makes AR integration even easier.

Developers interested in taking part in Qualcomm’s AR challenge will be able to download the public beta of the Augmented Reality SDK later this Fall.  The SDK will be free, and will support Android 2.1 and higher.

Introduced about a decade ago, the multi-media card (MMC) based SD card has evolved from Standard 1.1 (SD), 2.0 (SDHC) to 3.0 (SDXC) slowly but surely, with capacity and speed improving from 2GB with a minimum sustained read/write speed of 2.2 MB/s to a whooping 2TB of storage space at a maximum transfer speed of 104 MB/s. While we have not seen such cards on the market with that capability, Version 4.0 is already in development and intends to reveal the full potential of SDXC, tripling data throughput up to 300MB/s.

So far, devices supporting the standard are limited and only one DSLR is known to support it, the Canon EOS Rebel T2i. Though SanDisk has recently shipped a slower-speed Ultra II SDXC 64GB, the speed is fairly basic at 15MB/s. However, Toshiba showcased its first SDXC memory card at CES 2010 earlier this year with read and write speeds of up to 60MB/s and 35MB/s respectively. With video recording on DSLRs becoming increasingly popular – and not requiring much faster – write-speeds – SDXC is an interesting prospect both in terms of capacity and ability to boost performance when needed.

If you have prior experience with SDHC, you’ve probably guessed that backward compatibility for the SD format can be a hassle. Unlike CompactFlash, where cards supporting improved standards are often backward compatible, SD can be more reluctant to play along. Your host devices must support the newer standard, and it’s often been our experience that mismatching such standards could cause permanent damage to the storage card.

SDHC read and write performances

For this review, we repeated the same tests previously performed on the CompactFlash cards to record time consumed to write data onto the same camera and computer – Canon’s EOS 1D Mark IV and a Mac Pro with a 1TB Western Digital Black Caviar HDD – with six Class-10 SDHC candidates from SanDisk, PhotoFast and Lexar Media.

The SDHC reader used to calculate read speed was the SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One media reader with an advertised maximum speed of 30 MB/s read and 27 MB/s write respectively.

• Lexar Professional 133x 8GB SDHC, Class 10, minimum sustain write speed of 20MB/s, $60
• PhotoFast 4GB SLC SDHC, Class 10, minimum sustain write speed of 22MB/s, $69**
• PhotoFast 32GB MLC SDHC, Class 10, minimum sustain write speed of 18MB/s, $179
• SanDisk Extreme 8GB SDHC, Class 10, maximum write speed of 30MB/s, $50
• SanDisk Extreme 16GB SDHC, Class 10, maximum write speed of 30MB/s, $99
• SanDisk Extreme 32GB SDHC, Class 10, maximum write speed of 30MB/s, $190

Pricing based on Amazon online.
**Manufacturer pricing.

From our last test, we’ve seen that top-tier CompactFlash cards could reach 58MB/s on the Mark IV; disappointingly, though, the camera performed around 3 times slower with the SDHC cards. Results are fairly consistently among the cards, data generally being written at 20MB/s with the exception of the 32GB PhotoFast, which trailed around 5MB/s behind the pack.

Oddly, while read benchmarks are normally significantly faster than write rates, the SDHCs on test performed just slightly faster than their write speeds. Again, no significant performance differences were observed among the cards.

As we found in our last review a UDMA card can help in clearing out the DSLR’s frame buffer, managing up to 30-31 frames before hitting the wall. Take the 32GB version of SanDisk’s Extreme Pro CF and Extreme SDHC 30MB/s for comparison. The former held 31 frames and took 10.33 seconds to clear; the latter only managed 27 frames but took as much as 25.17 seconds to clear. To put the numbers into perspective, it extends buffer depth by adding four frames more in continuous burst mode and writes 2.5x faster to clear the queues onto the card and be ready for the next burst.

In addition, if you’re accustomed to formatting your memory card before you start shooting – as you should, allowing your camera to initialize the file system and help prevent write errors – you would have to wait longer with the SDHC cards. The Mark IV camera formatted the SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash in 1.4 seconds but took up to 5.1 seconds on the Extreme SDHC card.

If your priority is camera performance, taking uninterrupted still images of action sequences, you would want to stick with UDMA enabled CompactFlash, preferably a mode 6 card. Our tests show that, right now, DSLRs and card reader compliant with the UDMA standard write and read data far better than with SDHC. Having fast media storage allows for quicker image access, both for capture as well as when formatting. However, with HD video recording increasingly a standard feature for today’s DSLRs, video cinematographers would probably prefer the largest media available, such the upcoming SDXC cards with an outrageous 2TB on offer. Take the Mark IV video recording rate for example: at 5.5MB/s Full HD recording, it would fill a 64GB card in 192 minutes. That’s fine for short interviews, but you’d probably need to pack a few cards to record, say, a short-feature film. Still, for now at least, CompactFlash is ahead of the memory card competition in term of raw performance.

SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash Cards

Among the contestants, SanDisk is perhaps the most trusted brand in the hands of working professional photographers. With the Extreme Pro, the manufacturer raises the bar even further thanks to a new Power Core controller and Enhanced Super-Parallel Processing architecture to boost performance, level memory block data distribution and improve error correction by four times over the previous generation. The circuit board design is also simplified with fewer components to reduce failure rate.

Internally, the Extreme Pro is coated with RTV silicone for added protection against moisture and humidity. In short, you’re getting a professional-grade CompactFlash resilient to wear and tear that’s capable of 90MB/s read and write speeds.

To reach that speed, though, the corresponding devices must support UDMA Mode 6 such as SanDisk’s own Extreme Pro ExpressCard adapter to transfer the images or videos from the card to your computer. Fear not if your devices aren’t capable of the standard; the Extreme Pro logic controller is backward-compatible in slower modes.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro comes in three capacities, 16GB, 32GB and the 64GB with MSRP ranging from $335 to $895. All models are backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

Lexar Professional 600x CompactFlash Cards

Next to SanDisk, Lexar Media is another renowned NAND memory brand and a well-respected CompactFlash supplier for professional users. An update from the 300x series, the newest 600x line-up has improved the transfer rate by up to 50% and 30% in the Canon 7D and 5D Mark II respectively. “The controllers in Lexar 600x CF cards are developed to optimize the data transfer speeds in our cards and provide the best performance to photographers“ Lexar told us, and they reckon they have the patent portfolio to prove it.

Lexar provided us with two of their newest 600x professional series CF cards for this review, including the recently announced 32GB version, which is a hard item to find in the market. The 600x family is UDMA 6 compliant and offers up to a 90MB/s transfer rate and guaranteed minimum sustained write speed at 80MB/s. As for larger capacities, Lexar told us they would bring 600x 64GB goodness to the market when there is a demand and improvement in device compatibility. Keep in mind that older cameras have size limits in terms of supporting large capacity storage cards.

As for product reliability and warranties, the company is confident with its designs, which tested extensively in the Lexar Reliability Lab to reassure compatibility, performance and durability. Also, the professional cards are backed with a limited lifetime warranty and come with Image Rescue 4 software for both Mac and Windows users. Finally, Lexar provide dedicated technical support for all Lexar professional memory card customers. The 16GB and 32GB have an MSRP of $300 and $500 respectively.

PhotoFast G-Monster series CompactFlash cards

Last but not least is a relatively new product to the US market from a Taiwanese solid state memory maker. PhotoFast may not stand out in the big pool of CompactFlash makers but SSD enthusiasts should have heard of their record setting 1,000MB/s throughput G-Monster PROMISE using the PCI-E standard. Yes, both the SSD and CompactFlash G-Monster not only share the same product name but are also manufactured at the same Taipei facility.

The manufacturer assured us that the G-Monster line-up is built in-house entirely, rather than being a rebrand from other firms. PhotoFast products are not widely available in the US, though, and are currently only sold though one online reseller. You would probably find the same vendor offering the same product at eBay and Amazon.

We also wanted to put another high performance product in the mix, but with price points more affordable to a wider range of consumers. So, we contacted DV Nation and they found us four G-Monster CF cards, ranging from 16GB to 64GB for this review. Two are rated 533x or 80MB/s and the others use PhotoFast’s Plus technology, which “simulates the write performance of the SLC.” We were also told that they would add 64GB cards in the Plus range when their 25nm class NAND is ready, expected to be around the end of 2010.

All PhotoFast cards have a limited lifetime warranty, and the only place you can get them in the US is DV Nation. The reseller told us they will service warranty replacements for the first three years after purchase.

PhotoFast 533x 16GB, 85/75 MB/s, MSRP : $99
PhotoFast 533x 64GB, 90/60 MB/s, MSRP : $299
PhotoFast 533x Plus 16GB, 90/90 MB/s, MSRP : $159
PhotoFast 533x Plus 32GB, 90/80 MB/s, MSRP : $259

CompactFlash Read Speeds

The data transfer rate supplied by manufacturers is based on the time required to copy data from your memory card to your computer, not data in or out of the camera itself. Technically, conducting such a test is challenging as the outcome varies from one computer to another, on the type of card reader used, together with interface controller and hard drive speed.

To benchmark the nine cards, we ran read tests in three different rigs with a total of 4GB RAW image files, and measured the time taken to copy those files to each system. The first test used an Apple Mac Pro with a 1TB Western Digital Black Caviar hard drive and a Lexar FireWire CompactFlash card reader, before repeating the process with a 15-inch MacBook Pro equipped with a 120GB OCZ SSD but with a SanDisk Extreme Pro ExpressCard reader instead. Finally, using the same ExpressCard reader and the 15-inch MBP, we measured again to write data to an external Western Digital Raptor 150 drive though the notebook’s FireWire 800 connector.

As you might expect, the results varied across the three tests and nine CompactFlash cards. To our surprise, the SanDisk Pro Extreme lineup achieved more than the advertised rate of 90 MB/s on the unibody MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard 10.6 (with the OZC SSD drive and the company’s own ExpressCard reader). However, all three of them posted rather disappointed throughputs on the Mac Pro setup using the Lexar FireWire 800 reader. Looking at the 32GB card as an example, the SanDisk Pro is 29-percent slower than the chart leading Lexar 600x, at 79.29MB/s, and 21-percent slower than the PhotoFast 533x Plus at 71.57 MB/s.

Second place is jointly held by two cards, the regular-speed 533x 64GB PhotoFast and Lexar’s 600x 32GB. Data copied at a rate of 90MB/s from the ExpressCard to the SSD. A similar outcome was also observed using the FireWire reader; the pair performed ahead of their competition, but still dropped about 10 MB/s when using the FireWire interface.

The last chart simulates a user with a typical workflow, transferring images from the cards to an external FireWire drive. Here, we didn’t see any major advantage from one card to another. 60MB/s is around the bottleneck for the FireWire interface in that system, but to our surprise the last sample that arrived for this review, the Lexar 600x 32GB, pulled ahead with a clear lead.

With Full HD motion capture becoming a standard feature in DSLR cameras, a high capacity storage card is indisputably necessary to store high-resolution recording. At the Canon 1D Mark IV‘s capturing pace of 5.5MB/s, you’d need around 3.5GB of storage space for 10 minutes Full HD recording; question is, do you need really need all that speed, too? If you only use the camera for video captures then the answer is no: only an 8MB/s minimum write speed is required for uninterrupted recording. If the camera is to be used for action photography, however, such as asking the 1D Mark IV to photograph full resolution still images at 10fps, then yes, a high speed CompactFlash card would improve performance by decongesting the integrated buffer for more uninterrupted action.

Let’s not forget the tiresome wait involved in transferring photos and videos to your computer. No matter your area of expertise in photography, at the end of the day you want to get your hard work – amounting to gigabytes of content – from the storage card to your computer in the shortest time possible. Having a fast card will require a reader of a similar standard; you will need an UDMA-capable FireWire or ExpressCard reader to get the full bandwidth, since a USB 2.0 reader is not going to cut it. To leverage UDMA 6 technology for maximum workflow performance, Lexar have a Professional ExpressCard for CompactFlash reader that promises up to a blistering 133MB/s. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available at time of testing.

Worth noting is that the Lexar FireWire CompactFlash reader has a second-connector on the back of the unit, which allows FireWire devices to daisy-chain. The unit is much bigger than SanDisk’s version, so frequent travelers would probably prefer the latter. We also had some concerns at first as to how the card is inserted. On the SanDisk, it’s a clear snap with little or no effort to put a CompactFlash card in the reader; Lexar’s unit has a larger opening and an eject button with a blue LED indicator, and you need to push the card in hard to get it in. We weren’t sure at first whether it was designed that way, since we know how the pins could easily bend if the card and reader channel aren’t correctly aligned. Turns out that’s how Lexar intend it and you simply have to push harder than with the SanDisk reader.

CompactFlash In-Camera write speed

For our in-camera write testing, camera settings such as ISO, white-balance and lighting were kept constant. We ran three rounds of tests, each with twenty images taken with these fixed manual settings and using a stopwatch to clock when the camera LED write-indicator turned off.

The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV we used to measure real-world performance supports UDMA mode 6, which permits sustained write performance at high levels for continued burst photography, and it didn’t let us down. While read speeds varied between 96.2MB/s to 73.8MB/s in the MacBook Pro SSD system, write performance is much slower in a DSLR. That’s to be expected, but still, the average write throughput of 58.47MB/s marked the highest write speed achieved on a DSLR.

Both the Lexar 600x and SanDisk Extreme Pro series delivered fast writes, but the PhotoFast 16GB 533x plus stood out as a hair faster than the rest. However, the company’s larger capacity 533x Plus card couldn’t sustain the same level of performance compared to Lexar and SanDisk. The Plus version of the 32GB CompactFlash from PhotoFast dropped roughly 6MB/s weighed against its 16GB sibling.

As for SanDisk, the Extreme Pro trio posted the most consistent throughputs. In fact, the write transfer rate actually increased with capacity, something we don’t usually see. In our experience with flash media, the smaller CompactFlash usually perform faster in the group of similar class cards. The same level of consistency was also observed in various read tests.

The 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro has certainly exceeded our expectations. If money were no object, we would want the 64GB in our Mark IV: no more portable multimedia storage, no more card holder and no more missing the shot while swapping out cards. With an estimated street price of $600, however, it’s way out of the price range even for many working professionals.

If you are on a budget, then, give the PhotoFast cards a shot. Their Plus technology 16GB 533x is essentially 600x spec, and in fact a lead candidate in this category but half the cost. Meanwhile the regular-speed 64GB – while 30 percent slower than its SanDisk counterpart in write performance – proves to be excellent when it comes to read rates.

For cards in the 32GB storage bracket, Lexar is our pick for best-in-class. It performed better than its smaller sibling but, most importantly, topped our two reading tests and was just a hair slower in in-camera write tests against the others.

Evidently, it’s difficult to declare a clear winner out of this review, as the top-tier CompactFlash cards dialed in no more than one megabyte faster than the next for in-camera performance, while the card-to-computer performance is more often constrained by reader, interface and overall system than the media itself. Our advice would be to take a close look on the charts, select a suitable card of a capacity you want, and then pick a reader that’s appropriate to your system and budget.

Either way, if you’re coming from the last generation of CompactFlash cards, you’ll notice a significant improvement in formatting, “chimping” and buffer-clearing in your camera.

On a final note of durability, we loaded those cards one by one on the Mark IV, both in the office and outdoor shooting Bird In Flight (BIF) action sequences, thousand of frames and counting, and never once did the cards give us any trouble. It was a pleasure to be able to capture BIF sequences of 30 frames with no buffer stuttering and the write indicator clear in a blink! We included a few waterfowl in action shots taken with the cards in the gallery below.

About the Canon 1D Mark IV Buffer

The shooting buffer on the camera is rated at 121 JPEG or 28 RAW images in continuous burst mode. However, the actual number of frames that are stored in the buffer is dependent on the ISO setting. Generally, the higher the value, the larger the image captured and thus it fills the pipeline much quicker. On a generation old (30MB/s) 16GB CompactFlash, the SanDisk Extreme III, the camera managed 26 frames before hitting the buffer, while the newest Extreme Pro series cards (90MB/s) boosted that up to 30-31 frames at an ISO setting of 400. Four to five frames gain may not sound much considering the unit cost, but these monster-speed flash media allow the camera to write quicker and so offload the queue onto the card faster. In real-world applications such as action sports with extended plays, the sequence of events is often unpredictable and you would want the buffer to clear up more rapidly, pushing a fast camera even faster so as not to miss a single shot.

Note

We also managed to score a few high performance and high capacity SDHC samples for our next Mark IV benchmark. If you’ve been considering picking on up compliment a dual-card Canon 1D series rig, come back next week when we’ll have full benchmarks and more!

Update : SDHC review here

Also include in this upgrade are new histogram display, manual audio level control, enhanced audio sampling from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, and improving camera-lens communication when manual sensor cleaning is in use.

The firmware download is not yet available and no exact date has been released at this time, but we expect couple more weeks of wait.

update : Firmware 2.0.3 is now available.

The THX-certified nine channel powerhouse uses class AB amplification with a massive toroidal transformer and 22,000uF power supply capacitors. In addition, each channel is fine-tuned with audio-grade capacitors and WRAT technology to maximize signal accuracy. At the back of the unit there are balanced and single-end inputs with input trigger switchers, both of which are gold-plated, together with a 12v power trigger switch and speaker impedance switch to flip between 4 and 6 ohms.

The unit looks “ready to go” to our eyes, but according to the Onkyo rep we spoke to there’s no full specification information they can make public. Neither would they mention pricing and availability; looks like we’ll have to wait this one out.

The Atlantic Technology AT-1 is the first production speaker to utilize the H-PAS bass technology developed jointly by the company with Clements/Solus Loudspeakers. The breakthrough is a proprietary acoustic technology capable of delivering extended bass from an enclosure half the size of conventional speaker cabinets: that means Atlantic can use smaller drivers and lower costs.

The AT-1 Loudspeakers at the show floor were driven by Parasound Hola series setup; the system’s bottom end moved air one rarely hears from such compact floor-standing speakers: 1.6 cubic feet. They’re finished in a glossy black metal-flake, each housing a pair of 5.25-inch drivers and a one-inch low-resonance tweeter with high quality crossover components. Atlantic expect them to begin shipping at the end of Q1 2010 at $1995.

Interestingly for more mainstream users, we were told that H-PAS technology will soon making an impact on compact PC speaker systems to provide a new level of audio performance in gaming and digital entertainment. The company is apparently working closely with PC speaker manufacturers who are licensing the technology, though right now they’re not revealing any specific brands or timescales.

Part of what makes the Beam so distinctive from the netbook rank-and-file is its twisting hinge section, which flips down to prop up the keyboard at a comfortable angle as well as to reveal the ports.  Since Tegra 2 supports 1080p Full HD, Mobinnova have fitted the Beam with an HDMI output along with the usual USB 2.0 and audio in/out; there’s also a multifunction connector which – with a dongle – adds ethernet and VGA.

Of course, one of the billing points of smartbooks is that they offer all-day connectivity and battery life, and so the Beam gets WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and integrated triband UMTS/HSPA (850/1900/2100).  When it launches later this year it’ll be available exclusively with AT&T service in the US.  As for that battery, thanks to the frugal ARM Cortex A9 processor NVIDIA have picked for Tegra 2, Mobinnova still maintain you’ll see a full-day’s use despite the compact 232 x 186 x 20.5 mm size.

In use, Mobinnova’s OS – a custom UI built on top of Windows CE – proved smooth and responsive, and we were able to open up several Firefox tabs as well as play media simultaneously without any slowdown.  NVIDIA also showed us the Beam playing 1080p footage on an HDTV, which played without a pause.  Later on there’ll be an Android version of the Beam too, though that wasn’t ready for CES 2010.  The pay-off to the bag-friendly scale is a relatively small 8.9-inch (1024 x 600) LCD and a keyboard that’s a little on the cramped side for our liking, but there’s no arguing with the portability.

No word on pricing or specific release dates, but we’re hoping AT&T subsidies bring the Mobinnova Beam down to a sub-3G-netbook level.  More photos and a video demo below.

Mobinnova Beam with Tegra 2 hands-on:

Up until now Boxee has required users to either install it to their own PC, Mac or Linux box, or onto an Apple TV.  With the advent of the Boxee Box by D-Link that DIY option will still be there, but for those more interested in watching 1080p content than tweaking installation settings the standalone product seems ideal.

Thanks to NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset – also announced at CES 2010 this past week – the Boxee Box is capable of Full HD with an HDMI output for easy connection.  As well as making sure local and streamed media – whether it’s coming from your local network or from the internet – looks its best, the Tegra 2 also keeps the menus moving swiftly.  We were impressed by how easy to use and responsive the set-top box is, particularly Boxee’s neat dual-sided RF remote control which has straightforward navigation keys on one side and a useful QWERTY thumb-board on the other.

That thumb-board can be used to navigate through a packed media library as well as the full internet, with Boxee using a standard Mozilla-based browser that can play Flash video such as streaming Hulu content.  The Boxee Box by D-Link is set to go on sale in Q2 2010, with a price hovering somewhere under $200.  The company is also planning on announcing new content partners at the launch.

Boxee Box hands-on:

JVC kicked off with a clip from the film Couples Retreat projected onto a 10-foot wide 16:9 aspect 1.3 gain screen, and frankly the image is stunning, completely blowing away the RS2 we use to benchmark projectors.  Shifting to a 16-foot 16:9 screen and the single DLA-RS4000 4k, JVC showed various clips of Japan filmed with a 4k video camera.  Here, detail and color particularly shone, with an instant boost in brightness and image quality when they switched from the HD990 to the RS4000.

Last up was the 3D test, which required dual 4k projectors and a special 3D-enabled projection screen.  Obviously we had to wear anaglyph paper glasses to see the 3D effect, and while there was no noticeable loss of image quality we did at times see a hint of red/cyan double image on 3D objects.  At times there was a little eye-strain and discomfort, too, which we hadn’t noticed when watching the home-grade 3D HDTVs JVC are showing on the CES showfloor.  Frankly, given the price of setting up two RS4000 4k projectors, until JVC’s unibody version debuts sometime later in 2010 we’d plump for one of the company’s 3D HDTVs if 3D is a must-have.

Panasonic helpfully supplied the man on the left for size-comparison purposes (and also to make sure we didn’t drop the HDTV into our bag and make a run for the exit), and the good news is that picture quality is, like the scale, jaw-dropping.  As for the 3D system, that uses a new frame-at-a-time image switching technology (rather than line-at-a-time) which, they say, makes for reduced crosstalk reduction and less double-image blurring.

Unsurprisingly there’s no price tag attached to the 4,096 x 2,160 display, but Panasonic are positioning the unnamed HDTV – or at least its smaller brethren – as not only suited for home entertainment but in business, medical, education and commercial settings.  We’re just not sure we have enough space to push out couch back to accommodate it.

Press Release:

PANASONIC DEVELOPS WORLD’S LARGEST 152-INCH FULL HD 3D PLASMA DISPLAY

The ultra-large, 4K x 2K quadruple full HD plasma panel creates a true full HD 3D world, delivering an overwhelming immersive experience

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 6, 2010) – Panasonic Corporation, a world leader in the HDTV technology, has developed the world’s largest1) 152-inch 4K x 2K definition Full HD 3D plasma display. The display features a revolutionary new plasma display panel (PDP) Panasonic developed with its new super-efficient quadruple luminous efficiency technology2). The technology enhances PDP’s unique advantages as self-illuminating device, contributing to delivering an overwhelming immersive experience to viewers. The Panasonic 152-inch Full HD 3D PDP creates a true Full HD 3D world by faithfully reproducing 3D content such as Hollywood 3D movie titles11).

Self-illuminating plasma panels offer excellent response to moving images with full movition picture resolution3), making them suitable for rapid 3D image display. By employing the newly-developed ultra high-speed 3D drive technology, which adopts the super-efficient quadruple luminous efficiency technology, the new panel achieves a higher illuminating speed, about one fourth the speed of conventional Full HD panels4). This technology enables high-quality Full HD 3D display on the ultra large 152-inch 4K x 2K (4,096 x 2,160 pixels) panel.

The panel also incorporates a crosstalk reduction technology, essential for producing clear 3D images. Compared to other display technologies that use line-at-a-time driving method5), PDPs use frame-at-a-time driving method6) that gives PDP TVs an advantage in crosstalk reduction in principle. Panasonic has successfully developed a unique technology to minimize double-image that occurs when left- and right-eye images are switched alternately. The development has resulted in the 3D compatible plasma display that can render clear and smooth high-quality pictures by accurately reproducing video sources.

The ultra-large 152-inch Full HD 3D PDP, which delivers true 3D movie-theater experience, follows the development of the industry’s first 103-inch Class size Full HD 3D PDP Panasonic introduced in 20087) and the home theater size 50-inch Class Full HD 3D PDP in 20098).

This year, which is really the first year of 3D Television, 3D TVs are expected to accelerate the growth of the flat-panel television market by providing new values to customers.

Television has evolved over the years through technological innovations. It started as a device to produce images to be simply watched and then it became a tool when connectivity with other AV devices is added. Now, with the 3D technology, it has developed into a device that delivers an immersive viewing experience, moving into literally an era of “next dimension.”

Panasonic launches its first Full HD 3D TVs in 2010 with PDP technology, which is highly suitable for 3D TVs, to offer the utmost picture quality. Panasonic’s new 3D TVs will deliver a true full HD 3D quality to create new and exciting television experiences.

Because 3D plasma displays can reproduce highly realistic images, they are considered ideal not only for home theater use but also for a wide variety of uses such as business, medical, education and commercial applications.

Panasonic will make the First Year of 3D Television as a springboard to boost its popularity, capitalizing on the company’s ability to offer complete end-to-end solutions from professional 3D camcorders and Blu-ray Disc authoring service to consumer use 3D TVs and displays and 3D-enabled Blu-ray Disc players.

Furthermore, Panasonic strives to accelerate the spread of 3D products and drive growth in the the flat-panel television market, focusing on the development of a 3D infrastructure including 3D content through increased cooperation with Hollywood studios and broadcasters. The company hopes to contribute to the enhancement of 3D related business and the development of a new industry, which may be called 3D economic system that can be brought about through interactions among the related businesses.

For more information on Panasonic’s Full HD 3D Technology, visit www.panasonic.com/3D.

1. Newly developed ultra high-speed 3D drive technology enables 3D display on ultra-large (152-inch), super high resolution (4K x 2K) panels

Using the super-efficient quadruple luminous efficiency technology, Panasonic developed 3D ultra high-speed drive technology. Compared to the conventional full HD panels4), the technology allows the new panel to achieve the same brilliance at about one-fourth speed. The new 152-inch panel also uses a new technology that enables even and stable discharge. Thanks to this discharge technology, the new panel can provide full HD images for left and right eyes formed with twice the volume of information as regular full HD images across the vast expanse of the screen equivalent to nine 50-inch panels with super high resolution (4,096 x 2,160) – four times the full HD (1,920 x 1,080) specification – while maintaining the brightness.

The new advanced PDP delivers high-quality 3D images, with virtually infinite 5,000,000:19 contrast ratio, accurate color reproduction and subtle gradation tones, on the ultra-large screen. With characters in the screen approach the viewers in life size, the new panel creates an overwhelmingly immersive experience.

2. Cross-talk reduction enables clear, high-definition 3D images

Because displaying 3D images involves alternate displays of left- and right-eye images, reducing the overlap (cross-talk) between these images is essential for high-quality 3D images. Unlike 3D LCD panels that use line by line scanning method, PDPs use frame-sequential method that displays images frame by frame very quickly, giving PDPs a tremendous advantage in crosstalk reduction. Incorporating newly-developed phosphors with short luminescence decay time – one third the time of conventional phosphors4) – as well as illumination control technology, the cross-talk reduction technology has succeeded in minimizing double images.

Enhancing the video reproduction capability of PDP, which has full moving picture resolution, the technology enables crisp and clear, high-quality 3D images by faithfully reproducing video sources.

3. Full HD x 2 frame sequential method
To reproduce 3D images, the new PDP uses the full HD x 2 frame10) sequential method that displays time sequential images, alternately reproducing discrete full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) images for the left and right eyes on the display frame by frame. By adopting the method which is used in showing Hollywood 3D films in theaters, the new panel accurately reproduces high-quality 3D images in the living room.
Notes:
1) As of January 7, 2010; research by Panasonic
2) Comparison with the brightness of Panasonic’s 2007 full HD panels at the same power level.
3) Moving picture resolution indicates the motion display performance by number of lines which human eyes can recognize. (Measured by Advanced PDP Development Center Corporation Method). Full moving picture resolution has 1080 lines.
4) Compared with the brightness of Panasonic’s 2009 full HD panels.
5) A method to produce images by illuminating one line of the frame at a time.
6) A method to produce images by illuminating all lines of the frame at a time.
7) Announced by Panasonic on September 24, 2008.
8) Announced by Panasonic on September 28, 2009.
9) Contrast of dark areas that can be simultaneously displayed on the screen.
10) A unit of pictures in a video signal. In digital high-definition broadcasts in Japan, 30 frames are transmitted per second.
11) Current 3D content will be limited and may include certain Blu-ray Disc titles and satellite programming. Additional equipment and/or subscription fees may apply. 3D Blu-ray Disc player and discs sold separately. 3D Eyewear required for viewing. One pair included with purchase.

As expected the GT540 is a touchscreen-only device with no physical keyboard (unlike LG’s existing GW640), running at 320 x 480 and using a resistive touch panel.  Connectivity includes 3G HSDPA along with WiFi and Bluetooth, plus the usual GPS and microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphones jack.  Around the back there’s a 3-megapixel camera with face detection and tagging.

LG have slapped their S-Class UI buttons onto the regular Android homescreen, and made some changes to the dialler, but otherwise the install looks relatively stock.  However they’ve loaded a new media player app with native DivX support, among other codec types, and their Motion UI software which maps media and speed-dial shortcuts to various physical motions and gestures.  Finally there’s their “social media manager”, which gives easier access to Facebook and other networks via a widget.

Availability is apparently set for April 2010 with a global release, though LG aren’t saying anything about specific carriers or pricing.  Still, being billed as “your first smartphone” suggests they’re looking at entry-level markets.

Sadly the projectors themselves were trapped behind glass, and LG didn’t have a working demo in action for us to check out.  Still, the specifications hold up: 2,500 limens brightness, 7,000:1 contrast and Full HD 1080p resolution, while ports include two HDMI and a USB 2.0.

The magic in the CF3D is LG’s Dual Engine processor, which both controls the 3D signal and automatically keeps everything in focus.  According the the LG rep, the CF3D should go on sale in May 2010.

Press Release:

LG ELECTRONICS THINKS OUTSIDE OF THE BOX: UNVEILS WORLD’S FIRST FULL HD 3D PROJECTOR

Portable LED Projector Allows Consumers to Enjoy Excellent Display Quality – Anytime, Anywhere

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2010 – LG Electronics unveiled its new versatile 2010 video projector series, including CF3D, the world’s first Full HD, 3D Single Lens Type Projector and a new compact, lightweight projector (model HX300G), at the International Consumer Electronics Show this week (Booth #8205).

“Consumers are continuously looking for creative new solutions for both entertainment and business video display needs, and LG projectors provide the versatility and portability options for multiple applications,” said Jeff Dowell, vice president, business solutions, LG Electronics USA. “Whether customers desire compactness and portability for presentation use, or theater-like performance for a home installation, LG has the right solution.”

CF3D – More Life-Like Viewing
LG’s versatile CF3D is the world’s first Full HD Single Lens Type 3D Projector featuring an amazing brightness rating of 2,500 ANSI-lumens and a high contrast ratio of 7,000:1. This model also features TruMotion 120Hz for smoother images – a technology previously only seen on flat panel HDTVs.

LG’s CF3D enhanced technology gives consumers a more life-like viewing experience. Incorporating both Dual Engine and 3D Auto Picture Calibration technology, the CF3D offers superb color correction to help ensure images are displayed naturally. HDMI upscaling on the CF3D reduces on-screen color banding, providing smoother tonal transitions and more subtle gradation between colors. Specifications include:

• 0.61-inch SXRD™
• Full HD 1080p (1920×1080)
• 3D Auto Picture Calibration
• Dual Engine
• 2 HDMI 1.3, USB Input
• ISFccc
• Real Cinema

HX300G – Perfect for Presentations
The HX300G uses an LED light source to boast distinctive, clear color imaging and offers increased durability with long lamp life of approximately 30,000 hours. With an output brightness of 300 ANSI-lumens, the HX300G allows users to view video content in a darkened room with reduced distortion.

The HX300G is good travel companion for those executives that are frequently on the road as it is compact and lightweight at just 1.7 pounds. The All File Viewer function supports all Microsoft Office® files and includes a USB port and support for “HD” DivX, MP3 and JPEG files, making it ideal for presentations. Specifications include:

• 0.55-inch DMD
• XGA resolution
• 300 ANSI-lumens
• Contrast ratio: 2,000:1
• Life time: 30,000 hrs (typical)
• HDMI 1.3, USB 2.0 input (“HD” DivX, File Viewer)
• Green Technology (does not utilize a Mercury containing CCFL lamp)
• Wireless FM Transmitter

Video demos after the cut

As you’d expect there’s plenty of connectivity to choose from.  The NVS2500, for instance, has FireWire, eSATA, USB Host and mini-USB, along with a multiformat card reader hidden under a rubber flap.  There’s also a separate Sony SxS card slot, and the internal HDD has free-fall sensors to park the heads should you accidentally drop the unit.

Production models will support Sony SxS, Panasonic P2 and RED formats, along with multiple video codecs, and you can set it to automatically back up any inserted card with no user intervention.  What they’re not is cheap: expect to pay $1850 for the 320GB NVS2500 or $440 for a 160GB NVS2700 series model.  Still, if you’re a professional photographer your clips are probably worth a whole lot more than generic holiday snaps.

NEXTO NVS2500 and NVS2700 intro:

NEXTO NVS2500 demo:

Press Release:

NEXTO DI Launches Backup Drive for Professional Video Cameras at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show

The NVS2500 Works With Sony SxS, Panasonic P2, Ikegami GFPAK, JVC and More

Inglewood, CA (For Immediate Release) — From the makers at NEXTO DI comes a new portable storage device designed specifically for professional videographers. With revolutionary features like an LCD Screen to actually preview footage, Sony SxS and Panasonic P2 compatibility, USB-OTG, internal free fall sensor, and extremely fast back-up, this new device is the hottest accessory to hit the digital video and high definition professional market. It is called the NVS2500 and you can check it out at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show at International Supplies’ South Hall 3 Booth # 31946.

Like its predecessors, the NVS2500 is a reliable, easy to use and extremely fast backup solution for when you are in the field or on location. It can back-up hundreds of hours of raw footage from hard drive camcorders, including high definition, via USB or memory card so you do not need your laptop. You can back-up OTG (On-The-Go) wherever you are. But, what makes the NVS2500 stand out from all the rest is that it is the first licensed storage device to backup directly from a Sony SxS memory card. Users simply insert their SxS card into its designated slot in the hard drive and backup their footage. The device also works with Panasonic’s P2 and P2E cards (using an adaptor), Ikegami GFPAK via USB, JVC cameras and all standard memory cards.

“When the marketing director at NEXTO DI told us about this new model they wanted us to launch in the U.S., we were all very excited because aside from what Sony and Panasonic makes for its products, there’s nothing else on the market that can backup directly from a Sony SxS card or a Panasonic P2 card,” says Doug Pircher, the general manager at International Supplies. “The NVS2500 also has so many new features that really address the needs of our customers. They want speed, convenience, reliability, efficiency and peace of mind, and the NVS2500 offers all that and more. We are even working on the decoding for the RED camera so production models will allow RED users to backup and view video clips the same as Sony and Panasonic users.”

The NVS2500 uses patented technology, called X-Copy, to give users the fastest backup speed possible. The NVS2500 can backup an SxS card at an average speed of 80 MB/s; whereas the average backup speed of an SxS card using an SxS card reader and a laptop is about 20MB/s. So with the NVS2500, it would only take 3.4 minutes to backup a 16 GB SxS card compared to the 13.7 minutes it would take if you were to use a laptop with a 20 MB/s transfer speed. The maximum transfer speed of an SxS card is 100MB/s. Meanwhile, the average backup speed of P2 cards is 56MB/s, and 70MB/s for P2E cards. The NVS2500 also features an eSATA, USB 2.0 and FireWire interface for fast transfer speed to and from the computer, which is ideal when downloading hours of raw footage.

In addition, the NVS2500 allows users to preview their video footage via its 2.4” Color LCD screen. The NVS2500 supports video formats from a number of video products including XDCAM (XDCAM MPEG2 4:2:0), P2CAM (AVC-INTRA, DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRO), Sony HVR Series (HDV, DV, AVI), and Ikegami GFPAK (MPEG2 4:2:2). It also features a multiple backup function so when you insert a memory card into the device, you can backup simultaneously to the built-in hard drive and to an external hard drive, which can be connected to the NVS2500 using a USB cable.

Another revolutionary feature is its internal free fall sensor so in the event that you accidentally drop the device, it will automatically lock the data on the hard drive the second you drop it so you will not lose any footage. It also has internal shock absorbers to further ensure that your information will stay safe. The device automatically checks the integrity of your footage bit by bit to ensure 100% backup success. It will verify when backup is complete and if something is wrong with the video or file, you would know immediately. It will also notify you if the memory card is corrupt or if the hard drive is faulty.

The NVS2500 can store all types of files from video footage to photos, data, music, movies and games, so it can easily serve as an external hard drive for backup at home or work, although you won’t be able to preview photos. It is compatible with PC, MAC and UNIX. It is also so compact and lightweight, it fits in the palm of your hand so you can conveniently take your raw footage with you wherever you go.

The NVS2500 will be available in 320 GB and 500 GB so you get to choose the capacity that best fits your specific storage needs. Prices start at $1850. It is also forward compatible to 2TB if desired. The device comes with a two year warranty, a shock protection rubber jacket, USB cable, eSATA cable, FireWire cable, an extra AA battery holder, a car charger, and an AC adaptor. Auxiliary batteries are sold separately.

Press Release:

NEXTO DI Showcases Affordable Storage Drive for Backing Up Raw Video at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show

Inglewood, CA (For Immediate Release) — Storing hours of raw footage shot on a high definition camcorder can be costly and very time consuming. But thankfully, there is a new product at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show that will allow you to store hundreds of hours of footage for a fraction of the cost and save valuable time. It is called the NEXTO Video Storage, ND2725, and you can check it out in person at International Supplies’, NEXTO DI’s sole distributor here in the U.S., Booth #31946 in South Hall 3.

The NEXTO Video Storage is a battery-powered portable storage device that at the touch of a single button, can quickly back-up footage from most hard drive camcorders, including the professional high definition camcorders such as the Sony PMW-EX1 and PMW-EX3, which uses the Sony SxS memory card, and the Panasonic HVX200, which uses the P2 memory cards.

“Video Storage is a practical and more affordable solution to backing up raw footage,” says Henry Moon, the Marketing director for NEXTO DI. “For instance, rather than spending large amounts for additional Panasonic P2 or Sony SXS memory cards, you can easily get 320GB of storage for around $800 with NEXTO.”

NEXTO Video Storage is also easy to use and extremely reliable, which is important when you are out in the field. You do not have the time or luxury to work with complicated devices. With NEXTO Video Storage, you simply connect the device to your camcorder via USB port or memory card to backup OTG (On-The-Go) wherever you are. The device checks the integrity of your footage bit by bit so if something is wrong with the video or file, you would know immediately. Its browse function enables users to verify if back up is complete, and the device even detects any faults or possible future hard drive errors.

In addition, NEXTO Video Storage uses patented technology, called X-Copy, to give users the fastest backup speed on the market. It can backup 16 GB or 15 minutes of footage from a Panasonic HVX200 camcorder in 11 minutes and 30 seconds, which is practically 1:1. From a Sony PMW-EX1, it can backup the same amount of footage in 20 minutes and 50 seconds. NEXTO Video Storage also features an eSATA interface that increases the data transfer speed to and from a computer by three times that of a USB 2.0, which is ideal especially when downloading several hours of footage. This advanced support feature makes transferring footage less frustrating and time consuming for the user.

The NEXTO Video hard drive is available in 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB or 500 GB, so you get to choose the capacity that best fits your specific storage needs. It is also forward compatible to 2TB (terabytes), which can store approximately 31 hours of raw video. NEXTO Video Storage can store all types of files: video footage, photos, data, music, movies and games, so it can easily serve as an external hard drive for backup at home or work. It is compatible with PC, MAC and UNIX. It is also so compact and lightweight, it fits in the palm of your hand so you can conveniently take your raw footage with you wherever you go.

Prices start at $440 for a 160 GB NEXTO Video Storage and it comes with a one year warranty, a carrying case, long and short USB cords, a USB extension cord, and an AC adaptor. Auxiliary batteries and car chargers are sold separately.

Our test Z400 came fitted with Intel’s 2.93GHz Xeon W3540 Bloomfield Quad-core processor paired with the X58 chipset, together with 6GB of DDR3 1333MHz ECC unbuffered memory (up to 16GB is supported) and a 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor SATA hard-drive. It also came with an NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 video card, which we switched out for an FX3800 for our second set of testing. The specifications are certainly decent for an entry-level workstation, though it’s worth noting that you don’t get the trick casing of the Z600 or Z800.

That’s not to say that there are no improvements over the xw4600 we reviewed back in November 2008, only that they’re more subtle. HP have switched the standard hard-drive fixings for new, rubber edged screws, and the door latch and overall fit is far improved and sits more securely against the case. The Z400 is extremely quiet, too, compared to the xw4600, though part of that is down to the new, cooler-running Xeon CPU versus the older workstation’s desktop-grade Q9650.

As for power management, the new HP Z Workstation line is ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualified and registered as Electronics Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold – 90 percent of the system is recyclable. It minimizes power costs with a new WattSaver feature and choices of high efficient power supplies (85 or 89 percentage). The system consumes less than one-watt when switch in “off” mode.

Of course, the proof is in the performance, and the Z400 put in a strong showing across all of our benchmarks. Its overall PCMark Vantage 64-bit score of 5307 – when tested with the FX1800 – matched exactly with the xw4600 with its FX1700 graphics, but that belies significantly higher scores in memory, music, productivity and HDD, and more than double the performance in gaming. When we switched out the FX1800 for the FX3800 the overall PCMark score shot to 8605.

Turning to Geekbench 64-bit, the Z400 scored 7578 with the FX1800 and 7613 with the FX3800, while in SPECviewperf 10 64-bit the distance it put between itself and the older xw4600 widened as the thread count racked up. The Nehalem series chips are known for their multi-threaded potential, and the 2.93GHz example in the Z400 is no different. In a more real-world test, we ran some retouch-artist processing in PhotoShop CS4 64-bit, which the Z400 managed in 17.5 seconds no matter the graphics card.

As a workstation, then, the Z400 offers decent entry-level performance and reasonable flexibility. Sometime in Q3 this year HP will offer optional liquid-cooling, though with the noise-output we’ve experienced from this air-cooled model it would only be the most noise-averse office that would demand it. SSDs are also optional, should speed of data access be a particular priority, together with a Blu-ray drive, and there are plentiful ports front and back.

Balancing cost and capability, there are significant advantages to stepping up from the xw4600, which remains on sale underneath the Z400. Prime among those reasons is the Xeon processor, which comfortably bests the Core 2 Quad in the maxed-out xw4600 we tested last year. However it’s also a more flexible machine, with broader talents as the benchmarking shows, and easier to live with thanks to careful case design and quiet components.

In terms of cost, the range starts from $929 for preconfigured models, which nets you the 2.4GHz Xeon dual-core; quad-core models start from $1,499, and a rig comparable to our test unit – with the 2.93GHz CPU – will be more in the region of $2,500. For that, though, you’re getting a solid, reliable and eminently capable workstation.

In terms of appearance, while this may be billed as a budget LCD display it doesn’t necessarily look that way.  The piano black front bezel and decorative rear and side effect are much more attractive than your typical low-end monitor, and though the stand isn’t height-adjustable it does at least have a relatively small footprint.  There’s also a standard VESA mount on the back, meaning hanging the 2230Fh on a wall or off a riser arm shouldn’t be too much struggle.

Setting up the 2230Fh is a straightforward matter too, involving choosing between its single HDMI, DVI or VGA D-Sub inputs.  There’s also a stereo audio-in port, taking a standard 3.5mm jack, for using the 2230Fh’s discretely integrated speakers.  AOC use a simple OSD with easy access to the main settings, though we imagine most people will use it as it comes out of the box.

That’s a shame, because the default settings seem to prioritize eye-catching brightness rather than usability.  The dynamic contrast is aggressive and hard on the eyes, especially when the 2230Fh is stood next to a properly calibrated display, and the standard contrast setting proved beyond the comfort zone for web surfing and reading.  Admittedly, with its 2ms response time and 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, AOC are targeting the 2230Fh more at gamers and movie-addicts than regular desk users. 

Step through the preset modes, however, and there are a number of toned-down settings far more suitable for everyday use.  Each preset can be tweaked, too, meaning even without a proper calibration tool you’re likely to find a reasonable setup.  Slightly disappointingly – but unsurprising given our experience with TN panels – even with a calibration tool we were unable to get accurate colors across the panel.  Color-shift particularly is noticeable from edge to edge.

Unlike some manufacturers who have stuck with TN panels, AOC have not given the 2230Fh a better glass panel to improve on color shift and increase color gamut.  That’s likely a cost-saving measure, but it does make the display more aesthetically appealing at least.  Sound quality is surprisingly good for integrated speakers, though anybody coming from a 2.1 setup with a standalone subwoofer will notice the lack of bass.

Still, with minimal ghosting and a decent breadth of connectivity thanks to that HDCP-compliant HDMI port, the 2230Fh proves itself a flexible and pleasing option for the budget buyer.  Given the limits of its TN panel, we’d shy away from recommending it to graphics professionals or anybody doing video editing, but gamers will find plenty here to appeal. 

At its MRSP of $299.99 it’s a reasonable choice; when you factor in online prices of around two-thirds of that, complete with a three-year manufacturers warranty, the AOC 2230Fh presents a very tempting offer indeed.

Starting around $1,800, you can have the computer configured with latest Intel mid-range rig – X58 plus Core i7-750 – The Vector Z35 combines advanced graphics and attentive hand assembling to deliver both quality and speed home office system further into the gaming world.

For much intense gaming and digital media editing professionals, Velocity Micro offers the fastest yet i7-Extreme professors on their award-winning Raptor, Edge and ProMagix’s workstation powerhouses – with extra cost, no less.

Press Release

Velocity Micro® Announces the Availability of Intel® Core™ i7-950 and Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Processor Powered PCs

Intel Core i7-950 and Core i7-975 Extreme Edition processor-based systems immediately available on a number of gaming, workstation, and home and office systems from the boutique builder

Richmond, VA — June 3, 2009 — Velocity Micro, the premier independent builder of premium, high performance desktop computers, notebooks, and peripherals, announces the immediate availability of desktop PCs powered by the newest additions to the Intel® Core™ i7 family of processors, the Core i7-950 and Core i7-975 Extreme Edition. With configurations starting at around $1800 , the Core i7-950 and Core i7-975 processor powered desktops promise extreme performance that’s just the right fit for gamers, digital media editors, and PC enthusiasts.

“Velocity Micro has always made it a priority to make the very latest technology available to our customers,” said Chip Lowell, Vice President of Velocity Micro. “With the introduction of the Core i7-950 and Core i7-975 processors to our lineup, we continue to offer some of the most powerful, bleeding edge PCs on the market.”

The new performance king of the Core i7 family, the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition runs four cores at a whopping 3.33GHz each. An unlocked multiplier makes it a highly overclockable processor, great for users looking for the most intense gaming or digital media editing experience available. At 3.06GHz, the mid-range Core i7-950 is available at a price point perfect for enthusiasts looking for serious computing power at a more mainstream value. Core i7-950 and Core i7-975 Extreme Edition processor options will be available on select Raptor™ and Edge™ gaming systems as well as theVector™ Z35 home and office desktop and the ProMagix™ HD60 workstation.

“These new additions to our Core i7 processor lineup are a big step forward for microprocessor technology,” said CJ Bruno, VP, GM Americas Sales & Marketing. “Hardcore gamers and media enthusiasts will love the extra headroom and we are thrilled that Velocity Micro is able to offer these new processors in their ultra-performance desktops at launch.”

All Velocity Micro PCs are hand built and supported in the USA. To configure a Core i7 processor based system or another ultra performance desktop, notebook, or netbook, visit www.VelocityMicro.com

The announcement made no mention of other features rather than the video control-functionality. The new firmware will be available for download from 2 June 2009 to enable –

1. Full aperture selection
2. ISO speed: Auto, 100 – 6400 and H1
3. Shutter speed: 1/30th – 1/4000th second

Kudo to Canon’s support, answering the must-have movie recording ability to change exposure parameters for fellow 5DM2 users. So, what’s next? 24fps?

The newest SanDisk ImageMate All-in-one reader has a unique magnetic base to offer vertical placement when used with the supplied metal tripod stand. The stand itself has a rubber base to prevent scratching that precious bird-eye inlay workstation of yours, and fits comfortably but does show a tendency to come loose easily. We also found that the metal plate peeled off after just a few uses; frankly, it’s not the best magnetic fixture design we’ve seen, but it does offer instant portability on-the-go. The chassis is shiny black plastic and has a very thin profile for a multi-card reader; there’s just enough room to squeeze in the blue LED light used to indicate transfer activity. It works with all popular memory card types, with a claimed top speed of up to 34MB/s when used with SanDisk’s own Extreme IV 45MB/s CompactFlash.

Digital content can be transferred quickly and safely by the conventional drag-n-drop method, or alternatively a user-defined app can be launched from a button on top of the reader. We’ll skip this “juicy” feature from our review and go straight to performance in the speed tests, since most image or video editing apps are capable of similar tasks but with extra clicks of the mouse.

SanDisk also provided us with their 16GB CompactFlash Extreme III 30MB/s Edition card, and with that – plus a bag full of SanDisk Extreme Edition CompactFlash cards I’ve learned to trust over the last few years – we have enough to report both the host device and cards performance in camera and computer transfer speed.

To carry out the test fairly, camera settings such as WB and lighting are customized and constant. Across three round of tests, ten images are each taken with these manual settings and a stopwatch used to clock when the camera LED write-indicator turns off. On our Canon EOS-5D Mark II test-rig, the SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s CF card tipped 23MB/s; there wasn’t much difference with its smaller 8GB sibling but the rate declined to 15MB/s on the previous-gen PIO-mode Extreme III 2GB CF card.

The Canon 5D Mark 2 supports UDMA though Mode 6, when used with a UDMA-enabled CF card like the SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s Edition, for continuous shooting with the fastest possible buffer clearing. On a scene tested with ISO 400, F2.8 and 1/400s shutter speed, the camera captured up to 15 undisturbed Raw files written to the SanDisk, an extra image more than Canon’s claim of 14 Raw files burst speed. Keep in mind that ISO settings make a difference in image capture size, so your mileage may vary; generally, the higher the ISO, the bigger the file size.

On card-to-computer and computer-to-card performance tests, we transferred and clocked the time taken to write to the card from the computer via the SanDisk ImageMate and vice versa. A folder of 68 Raw images from the 5D Mark II, each shot with an average size of 22MB, amounted to 1.5GB to transfer. The speed of the reader is also dependent on the components inside your computer. The read performance above was achieved with a newer P45 logic board with 1TB of Western Digital Black Caviar storage; we saw rates of only half those speeds when we switched to an older, Santa Rosa based MacBook Pro with a 5400RPM drive.

On paper, the ImageMate is advertised as offering up to 30 MB/s read and 27MB/s write speeds with a SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s card. In our tests, it achieved near those figures: 27MB/s in reads but falling ~6MB/s short in computer writing, and 4MB/s shorted in camera writing, making it easily the fastest USB reader I have ever used. The older Extreme III 20MB/s cards, both the SDHC and CF standards, proved significantly slower compared to the 30MB/s Editions, which is no great surprise.

The magnetic fixture stand doesn’t work for us, but who needs it? On the other hand, we like the idea of a detachable stand: it’s convenient being able to simply toss it into a backpack when we travel, not to mention the impressive transfer rate. In short, I have found the perfect USB reader to replace that bulky Firewire reader of mine. With a street price coming in under $30, it’s a bargain.

Who are Pro Cyc and what do they do? We first met the Oregon-based company at the PMA Sneak Peek press event. They manufacture modular backdrops, large-scale green or blue screen virtual sets for many of the major networks such as CNN, NBC and ESPN. MyStudio 20 is a miniature tabletop cyclorama, corners are rounded to eliminate unwanted corner lines — typical background problems encountered in product photography — thus an infinite background can be achieved even with wide-angle perspectives or small aperture settings.

Unlike most studio tents with multiple high-power light sources and translucent fabric to diffuse light, MyStudio 20 employs a single fluorescent light. The seamless base is made of a lightweight but durable matte-white ABS material with a washable surface; it makes for a versatile and cost effective photo studio to catalog photos of small items, from toys, camera equipment, jewelry and timepieces to food. Forget making money off online auctions; with interesting subjects, MyStudio 20 can help you start a career in “iStock”.

The design is simple and energy-efficient; the 15-watt fluorescent light is capable of 590-lumen output, and lights the whole setup though a plastic diffuser to reduce hotspots and harsh shadows. Light is bounced though an overhead reflector and hard-paper bounce cards to provide soft and even lighting on subjects.

Setup

Setup is straightforward. Parts and pieces are supplied but you’ll need a Philips and a flathead screwdriver to mount the light fixture on the aluminum cross-bar, then attach the bar to the legs. Pro Cyc include an illustrated assembly guide and we ran into no issues at all in setting it up. The holes for the screws are tight-fittig, though, so we would recommend loosening them first by screwing just the screw in alone before mounting. (see setup video below)

Test and detail

Ten screws and 7 minutes later, the MyStudio 20 was ready to go with a flip of the integrated switch on the light-fixture. Careful observation turned up a small hotspot patch right in the center of the cove, but Pro Cyc told us that it could be easily reduced using Soft Scrub. The abrasive cleaning product can be purchased at any grocery store for $2-$3 and is highly recommended, not only to remove surface sheen but also for generally cleaning the cyc background, maintaining the white color for the perfect “Kodak moment”.

Unlike in a softbox, the set is linearly diffused with a single 15-watt fluorescent lamp on top, so any subject with reflective surfaces has to be careful angled to avoid hotspots showing from the top. The light stand is not designed to be easily adjustable; it’s possible, but to do so you’ll need to remove the thumbscrews and Phillips-head screws to fiddle with the height. The low power lamp demands that shots are taken with longer shutter speeds and a tripod, preferably with mirror lock-up and shutter delay if your equipment supports it. To be fair, this kind of semi-precise camera support is a must for a dedicated product shot, regardless of kind of studio tent you’re using.

We first followed the suggested “daylight” setting (5,000k) from the guidelines, but images appeared slightly warmer than we’d have liked. Evidently, the slightly off-white top reflector cast a few degrees warmer overall tone to the lighting – an purposeful choice, according to Pro Cyc’s research, since people apparently responded better to photographs of products with warmer tones.

Next, we tried shots with the camera’s auto white balance (AWB) and then a custom white balance using ExpoDisk; the outcome from both settings were fairly close, color temperature fell to around 4600-4700 but with far more accurate neutral tones than in the daylight settings. We discussed our findings with Pro Cyc, and they concurred that better results were reported with the camera’s AWB running the show, and that they’ll be updating their “Helpful Camera Hints” accordingly.

The MyStudio 20 is designed for basic operation – turn the switch, pop in your product and you’re ready to take a picture for eBay listing with little or no Photoshop work. Experienced users can do more if they wish. The samples we’re showing here are not straight out from the camera, but close, with white balance corrected and only minor adjustments with basic level and contrast to fully whiten out the background. To reproduce such shots yourself on non-reflective and darker-tone objects, simply over-exposuring then bringing the mid-levels back in post-processing, you’ll find you don’t need the extra selective work to separate out the background.

Conclusion

Back in my college days, I used to scoop up Abu Garcia and Shimano fishing reels from eBay; most of them were terribly advertised with wacky images, badly set-up flash or, equally off-putting, with no images at all. After a thorough service and greasing, they were back in auction with a better description and images, and usually sold more than twice what I paid for them. A picture speaks a thousand words, but a better one improves your profit by significant margin; that’s the truth about online shopping.

The MyStudio 20 Tabletop Photo Studio by Pro Cyc is not sized sufficiently for large products such as desktop PCs, TV sets or fishing poles, but would be a great companion to cataloging smaller items without demanding a professional photographer, oversized softbox and extensive setup. Retailing at $250, it’s not the cheapest product photo studio out there, but I’m sold on the unique cyclorama background and energy-efficient lighting system. It works and it doesn’t dent your power bill in the long term.

Even better, if you shop around, Amazon is selling it at under two Benji’s and, for $160 more, you can get the larger MyStudio model, the MyStudio 32, which features a larger cyc and two of the lights set side by side. Based on our experience with the MyStudio 20, we’d have no issues recommending that model for larger items.

Right out the box, the lightweight pico-projector doesn’t look like much – a clean, piano-finish hard plastic that tips the scales at a mere 6 ounces, with optics offset to the side and protected with a handy rubber cover. There’s also a focus knob for the lens, ventilation along the side panels and an exhaust fan next to the lens. Unfortunately there’s no tripod thread on the back or base of the projector, unlike the BeamBox.

Physically, though, if it wasn’t for the chassis and finish, one can hardly tell the AAXA P1 and BeamBox Evolution R1 apart. Both are close in size, weight and feature-sets. Like the Beambox, the AAXA is a natively 4:3 VGA pixel-resolution pico projector, built upon a LCoS-based microdisplay with a single white LED light source — courtesy of CREE LED technology — that can last up to 30,000 hours over the course of its working life.

An integrated PMP chipset allows for media playback of various video, music and picture formats, with 1GB of onboard storage. There’s also a built-in speaker, small but enough to deliver adequate sound output or music in a quiet and small-sized room. If 1GB isn’t enough for you, there’s a microSD card slot for extended storage, and it has the usual I/O connectivity from Mini USB (to access the internal memory), a 3.5mm composite A/V jack, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and an AC power connector; AAXA included an optional accessories adaptor, for hooking up your iPhone/iPod iTouch/PSP, and they also offer a VGA convertor for linking your computer to the projector.

The main differences between the two projectors are the contrast and lumen outputs. The AAXA boosts a whooping 1,000:1 contrast ratio, at the expense of lower luminous intensity – it’s only rated at 12-lumen, as opposed to 30 from the Beambox. However the latter only offers a 200:1 contrast ratio.

Power is courtesy of a 1,900mah, 3.7v rechargeable battery, meaning you can use the P1 with or without the AC adaptor. The battery/charger indicator could be more informative though, unfortunately: it lights green whenever the AC adaptor is connected and turns red when the unit runs off the battery, and that’s all there is to it. There’s no easy way to check charge status. According to AAXA, a full charge should take about one hour depending on how drained the battery is. From our own experience, a single charge was enough for around 110 minutes of mp4 video looped on continuous playback and with onboard sound playing, surpassing the manufacture’s claim of 45-60 minutes by around twice as much! But wait, there’s more: it will run even longer if the sound is off.

Operation and GUI are no different than the Beambox – pressing and holding the play/pause button turns on the GUI, offering a simple interface with a choice of Music, Video, Photo, eBook, Explorer and Settings which allow the user to browse multimedia files, each of which are arranged vertically in a folder and split across onboard or microSD storage. Audio can be played in the background while you navigate though the menus. As for music, the app displays song details along with a real-time 14-band equalizer. Pictures, meanwhile, provides basic JPEG, BMP and GIF format support, with slideshow and zoom features, while Video supports basic controls such as fast-forward, rewind and pause.

In our tests, the P1 projected a standard size 60-inch (48” x 36”) diagonal picture from a distance of approximately 78-inches. Unlike a conventional projector, the mechanical lens of the pico-projector doesn’t incorporate a zoom, so the throw ratio is fixed at approximately 0.77x.

A common business-class projector provides somewhere around 1500-2000 lumens, boasting enough light to view a presentation in strong ambient lighting conditions. A home theater unit, on the other hand, requires only 300-500 lumens in a dim and light-controlled media room (after the D65 standard calibration). A perfect picture output is a balance of optimized contrast and brightness with accurate color reproduction. So how does a 1000:1 contrast ratio and 12-lumen pico-projector fit into the equation?

After viewing a few video clips and images on a Draper M2500 2.1 gain angular reflective screen, we shifted to a neutral matte white screen surface to ensure the overly contrasty images weren’t the result of the high-contrast off-white Draper material. Video color temperature looks cool, definitely above D65 standard. We didn’t put our light calibration tool into good use here, since the unit doesn’t provide custom settings for the picture, nor has it picture presets for alternate viewing materials.

The video is dim but tolerable in a dark room, enough to keep kids in their seats, but it wouldn’t endure any light present. Photo display is slightly out of whack, with too much contrast for my preference. Audio levels are muted for normal movie playback, even turned up to their at maximum level, but sound from the headphone output leveled out just right. Movie clips might need to be recorded or re-processed with higher sound levels to get the best out of the tiny mono 0.5-watt speaker. Unsurprisingly, then, it’s not much use for business presentations; furthermore, with 25db of high-pitched fan noise, we don’t really see how this device could be useful for playing music.

Using the supplied 3.5mm cable, we were able to get our iPhone hooked up to the P1. Once connected, the plug-n-play setup shut off all activity on the iPhone’s display, and displayed content directly to the external projector, without having to go though any troublesome setup or menus. In video playback, we noticed panning jerk was present in mp4 material, but we’re told the AAXA engineers are working on a solution to address some of these playback issues. An option in the P1′s settings menu allows you to update the firmware, which has to first be loaded into the pico-projector’s internal storage.

If jerkiness wasn’t frustrating enough, there’s also evidence of discoloration at the edged of the picture. LCD projector users will likely be familiar with the polarizer elements that tend to wear out with age and excessive heat exposure — a tint color overlays the edge of projected image. The P1 image looked a little like that; however the LCoS-based technology is more resistant to those shades of discoloration. The image edge distortion, according to the manufacturer, is “normal for the current generation of LCoS-based pico projectors due to the output lens being shrunken to the smallest possible size. The LCoS panel is slightly oversized for the optics and results in slight distortions at the extreme edges/corners.”

It’s an exciting technology but not practical. It lacks the essential – adequate lumen output — to fulfill either mobile professionals’ business applications or living room entertainment. It’s quite a disappointment and that’s how I feel about pico-projectors in general, not particularly toward the AAXA. I can’t get past the feeling that the technology is not ready for prime time — I doubt I would sit still for a minute looking at a muted picture, trade in my iPod for an MP3 player with a high-RPM fan and, most certainly, decline to showcase my media portfolio on any display with imprecise color settings. On a cheerful note, the battery power is inspiring, but there’s a lot of work to go before pico-projectors generally live up to their promise.

The AAXA P1 pico projector is available now to order online for the discounted price of $239. (As of 4/28/2009)

AAXA P1 Pico Projector Spec.

1. VGA (640×480), 4:3 Aspect Ratio
2. 12 ANSI-Lumens
3. 1000:1 Contrast Ratio
4. 25dB Noise level
5. 7 ~ 50 inch project-image
6. Single Chip White LED Lamp with 30,000hrs Lifespan
7. 50° Projection Angle
8. Onboard 0.5w speaker
9. Stereo speaker/headphone mini-jack
10. 105 x 58 x 26mm Dimension
11. 180g in Weight
12. Power Consumption 0.9-1.5 watts
13. Power Supply: DC 1900 mAh battery
14. AC100~240V(Free Voltage), 50Hz/60Hz
15. Supported Formats: MP4/MP3/WMA/OGG/WAV/AVI/WMV/SMV/ BMP/JPG/GIF/TXT
16. Video In: Composite A/V (3.5mm Jack)
17. Audio Out: 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Jack
18. USB: 5 Pin Mini USB

Also introduced is a step-down version of the 955 with a locked multiplier, a 3.0GHz Phenom II X4 945 with 8MB cache in a similar AM3 package. The memory controller and HyperTransport on these AM3 Phenom IIs runs at 2.0GHz, faster than the previous Phenom II 940 and 920 which each had a bus speed of 1.8GHz.

The new Phenom II X4 AM3-based 955 combines with recently released ATI Radeon HD 4890 GPU, codenamed “Dragon” refresh platform, are AMD’s attempt to rival the lower-end Intel Nehalem and Yorkfield quad-cores. With MRSPs starting at $245 the new CPU is not only more affordable, but, according to AMD’s benchmarks at least, stands out in handling multimedia when compared to the Intel Core i7 920 and Core 2 Quad Q9550.

As a Black Edition chip, the new Dragon is equipped with an unlocked multiplier to facilitate overclocking. Additionally, PC enthusiasts should be thrilled with the update of the AMD OverDrive 3.0 app (Windows 7 Ready), loaded with an optimized AMD Black Edition memory profile, completely customizable and pre-tuned to enhance overclocking performance with a number of starter configurations.

OverDrive 3.0, to be released soon in beta, also now uses the XML file format to make swapping system settings in-between users straightforward. In addition, it means vendors are able to post and update hardware profiles online, such as CPU frequency, voltage, clock memory and timing, so to provide end-users with optimum system throughput through safely “sanctioned” settings.

Both the AMD CPUs, Phenom II X4 AM3-based 955 and 945 are available now at local and online retailers for $245 and $225 respectively. Meanwhile, AMD has informed us that the MSRP of Black Edition Phenom II X4 940 will drop to $195.

NEW Phenom™ II X4 Processor Specifications:
Model Number & Core Frequency: X4 955 Black Edition = 3.2GHz
Model Number & Core Frequency: X4 945 = 3.0GHz
X4 955 Black Edition OPN: TRAY OPN# HDZ955FBK4DGI
X4 955 Black Edition OPN: PIB OPN# HDZ955FBGIBOX
X4 945 OPN: TRAY OPN# HDX945FBK4DGI
X4 945 OPN: PIB OPN# HDX945FBGIBOX
L1 Cache Sizes: 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
L2 Cache Sizes: 512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
L3 Cache Size: 6MB (shared)
Total Cache (L2+L3): 8MB
Memory Controller Type: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller *
Memory Controller Speed: Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
Types of Memory Supported: Unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)
HyperTransport 3.0 Specification: One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth:
Up to 37.3GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR3-1333) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
Up to 33.1GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR2-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
Packaging: Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
Fab location: GLOBALFOUNDARIES Fab 1 module 1 in Dresden, Germany (formerly AMD Fab 36)
Process Technology: 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
Approximate Die Size: 258 mm2
Approximate Transistor count: ~ 758 million
Max Temp: 62o Celsius
Nominal Voltage: 0.875-1.5V
Max TDP: 125 Watts

Aside from D90, the D5000 is the second DSLR from Nikon incorporating a video capture mode, but only up to 720P and still stuck in Motion JPEG format. New model also introduced a Vari-angle rear LCD that can be swiveled into various orientations.

In a nutshell, both models share many features and functionality from image sensor, movie mode, autofocus and metering system with rather close speed in shooting rate. D90 is slightly higher in price tag, but is loaded with larger and clearer viewfinder, in-body focus motor, bigger but fixed 3-inch rear LCD and more flexible with custom setting, as well as the Speedlights commander Mode option.

In addition to the D5000 entry-level DSLR, Nikon also revealed a new DX-format lens – a wide angle zoom lens — 10 – 24 mm F3.5-4.5 AF-S lens with a Silent Wave Motor for quiet focusing and is constructed with a pair of ED elements, and a rounded diaphragm for better image output.

The lens will ship in May for $900 while the Nikon D5000 will set you back $730 in late-April 2009. Bundle kit will be available as well, for $850, which comprised of the D5000 and AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR.

Nikon D5000 main features

• 12.3MP DX Format CMOS sensor.
• 12-bits per color EXPEED processing
• 2.7in display, 233,000-dot Vari-angle rear LCD screen
• D-Movie video capture at 720p 24fps, mono audio and no continuous AF
• LiveView with 4 autofocus mode options including Face Priority AF
• ISO range of 200 – 3200, expandable to 100 – 6400
• Shutter rated at 100,000 cycles
• Optical viewfinder features 0.78x magnification and 95% coverage
• 4fps maximum still photo shooting rate
• 11-point autofocus with 3D Focus Tracking
• Compatibility with the Nikon GP-1 GPS Unit
• Full manual controls, plus 19 scene modes
• Dust reduction system
• SD/SDHC memory card slot
• HDMI port
• EN-EL9a lithium-ion battery


Physically the device is wider than the Iomega DVR Expander we reviewed not too long ago. The unit is well ventilated with air holes in the plastic front cover, an aluminum case, and a small fan helping to cool the eco-green series Samsung HD502Hi 500GB hard-drive (16MB cache; 5,400RPM). We had no problems with heat at any time, but the drive does have a noticeable whine even when idle. In a busy environment you wouldn’t be able to hear it, especially if it’s next to the jet-engine PS3, but in a quiet atmosphere it could be distracting for some users, even up to 4-5 feet away.


Set-up
 


Getting the Home Media Network drive to work is fairly straightforward: plug the drive into your network hub or router, install the Manager Console from the included CD and it’s ready to serve. In a nutshell, the software utility installs shared folders to your systems – mounting essential folders from movies, music, photos to public – making it easy to drag and drop your media files from any workstation to the media drive.

The manager console worked flawlessly on windows XP SP2 Pro and Vista, shared folders were quickly mounted upon installation, but it was slightly challenged by OS X when we first set it up. The app was unable to locate the drive across the network, whether connected to either our Linksys WRT54GX2 or WRT610N test routers. Kudos to Iomega support, they went out and bought their own WRT610N to try to replicate the problems we were having, and the issues were swiftly resolved. If you are experiencing some router issues with the Iomega Media Network drive on your Mac, try the new discovery tool here.


The web interface has a clean and simple layout. In the left panel there are Home, Folders and System tabs, with sub categories listed in right panel. Changes made to the settings are handled in an ajax-like way, and the whole thing is intuitive and very user friendly. 
 


The Home tab shows information about the multimedia NAS drive from capacity, status, and space occupied to its current IP address. It also has disk format and repair functions if needed. After loading around 50GB of data onto the disk, we formatted it; that didn’t take more than 15 seconds to complete. 
 


The System tab allows you change the admin login, network settings, drive name, workgroup name for your home network and reset all settings back to factory defaults.  It’s also where you can apply firmware updates, and shut-down or restart the drive. Under System is where you’ll find the “Reset iTunes and DLNA” button; according to Iomega, after adding new files to your DLNA server, you must reset it to see the changes. Basically, a click of the button disconnects and reconnects the drive from the DLNA server, which took just a few seconds of reconnection; we’d prefer to see this automated or at least have a schedule option, though.



Files and sharing settings are addressed in the Folders tab. Folder access can be switched between “Everyone” – where there are no limitations – or “Secure”. For the latter, users can be individually assigned using the checkbox list next to it. Iomega have also added out-of-the-box compatibility with common DLNA clients such as games consoles, TV, multimedia players and digital photo frames. To enable multimedia content streaming to DLNA devices or iTunes, it’s a case of simply hitting a button and you’re good to go.
 


In our tests, folder security worked just ok. You can assign, delete and edit users, and once created the new user will be added to all folders.  All folders are visible to guests within the network but they only have access to content when they’ve been assigned it.  We’d prefer a slightly more pleasant and descriptive message when access is denied, though; throwing up an unexpected error code or “Folder cannot be found” is hardly informative.


It’s also worth noting that turning the DLNA service off doesn’t block the access immediately: content previously indexed is still accessible, but new files added to the folders are not visible. We reset the DLNA settings after each change in the System tab, but still had no luck. Deleting content, on the other hand, worked just fine. In summary, accessing the content is not the problem here, it’s just that preventing it is somewhat tricky. 
 


Extras 



Iomega bundle the NAS with EMC Retrospect Express, an automated and schedulable backup app for your Pc and Mac, together with 2GB of free Mozy online backup.  There’s also a USB port on the back of the unit which can either take an external hard-drive to augment capacity or let the Home Media Drive act as a print server. 
 


Performance
 


The Iomega doesn’t come equipped with WiFi connectivity, just a gigabit Ethernet socket for network connection. We’re not too concerned with the lack of wireless, though; in our experience the patchy performance and relatively low throughput of WiFi means you’re far better off going for a wired link between router and NAS.   
 


To test the NAS’ performance we ran several backups to the drive, first with a large number of small files and then with a single large file, all over the Linksys WRT54GX2 router. The small file package contained digital images range from 15MB to 25MB, for a total of 4.45GB, while the large file was a single 4.36GB DMG image. 
 


Using a wireless connection between our test computer and the router, the smaller files were copied at 1.37MB/s; this improved slightly with a hardwire connection, up to 3.59MB/s, but still pretty disappointing.  The large file transfer managed a far more cheerful 14.53MB/s write and 28.34MB/s read rates respectively.
 


Streaming video over wireless is manageable for compressed files, but you can forget about viewing the 5D Mark II’s Full HD capture; with a bit rate of 42.32Mbps (or 5.29MB/s), more than the average 40Mbps Blu-ray video, it’s just not happening! Wired connections had no stutter issues, though, and we were able to stream the same HD video to two locations with ease. Note that with a read speed of 28.34 MB/s, I should be able to stream up to five high bit rate 5D Mark II videos simultaneously.
 


Conclusion
 


Anybody particularly serious about either backup or home media servers, especially the Mac users, may find the Iomega Home Media Network Drive underkill; it’s a typical NAS device with average transfer speed, and the DLNA server, while functional, lacks finesse and is occasionally buggy.  Also, there’s room for improvement in managing the file-sharing. At $160 for the 500GB and $230 for the 1TB versions it’s reasonably priced, though, for a single-drive system with no hardware redundancy.  For home users looking to double up on their everyday files, together with serve some content around the house, it’s a decent choice.

The 22.3mm x 14.9mm 15Mp CMOS sensor is identical to ones that’s featuring in EOS 50D, that including the Live view features and functionality from two grid overlays and three AF options: Quick Mode, Live Mode and Live Mode with Face Detection. For shooting speed, it’s rated at 3.4fps, capable of capturing 170 Large Fine JPEG or 9 RAW CR2 in a fast shooting sequence. Sadly, there’s no micro AF adjustment on the new Rebel.

Of all the new features, the main attraction here is probably the video mode. But unfortunately, Canon is not given up the best of 5D Mark II has to offer, at least not at $799. The new Rebel tops at 720 30fps but does offer full HD option with 20fps constraint. RG’s preliminary report on the full HD feature is rather disappointing.

“For all but static scenes, the stutter of the 20fps 1080p mode in the Rebel T1i will be unwelcome”

Though offers similar video functions and limitations like the 5D Mark II, the Rebel’s Full HD capture at 20fps stuttered while the 720P is great but not as sharp as downsizing-720p video capture from 5D sequel. Also, at nearly $2000 less, they took away the external stereo mic. Additionally, in comparison, the build-in microphone from the new Rebel appeared “slightly muffled”.

In addition to the Rebel T1i, Canon has released a new compact flash – the 270EX, which replaces the 220EX runs on two AA batteries. The EOS Rebel T1i is expected to ship in early May 2009 at suggest retail of $799.99 in the U.S, or $899.99 in a kit with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.

• 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• Full HD movie recording with HDMI connection for viewing and playback on an HDTV
• ISO 100-3200 (expandable to 12800)
• 3.4 frames per second continuous shooting
• Max. 170 large JPEG images in a single burst
• 3.0” ClearView LCD with Live View mode
• 9-point wide area AF with cross type centre point
• High speed DIGIC 4 performance and superb image quality
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• 95% coverage viewfinder
• 35-zone metering
• 1/4000s shutter speed.
• Power options, including Battery Pack LP-E5 and AC Adapter Kit ACK-E5
• Accessory options, including Battery Grip BG-E5
• $799, or $899 with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens

Chang was able to capture the screenshot of the Cnet podcast before it went down. A new video mode now appears on main dial. Here’s another one that confirmed the podcast from reported by photograhybay, but that’s all to it, Folks. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

update : [ Today on Cnet ] [ official release ]

Technically, the SP AF 60mm is a medium telephoto macro lens with 35mm equiv. focus length distance of 90mm for 1.5 crop sensor, or 96mm for 1.6 crop sensor APS-C size digital SLR cameras; but based on Tamron’s conversion, the value is 1.55X.

It’s a true macro lens with life-size magnification from working distance of 100mm and first-of-its-kind to realize the fast maximum aperture of f/2 at that focus distance. Also, the optics features an internal focusing mechanism (IF), two special Low-Dispersion glass elements, and lens-construction from 14 elements in 10 groups with Broad-Band Anti-Reflection coating.

For macro works, a fast aperture is not practical when getting close to the subject. DOF reduces as the aperture gets largest (smallest F value), and most macro lenses are lacking sharpness at wide open. However, it would be useful for Abstract Macro photography where the artistic presentation is often expressed with much shallow DOF.

Tamron has not announced price and availability for the new macro lens. Initial rollout will cover the mountings for the Big-Three — Nikon, Canon and Sony.

The news broke from German but reveled little technical details to go about if the most important audio feature – the SACD playback — is indeed DSD bitstream enabled, or it will be equipped with a DTS-MA decoder. However, It will feature company’s proprietary Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module (HDAM) technology, dual-SHARC HD audio processing, BD-Live, 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta Chipset, 36-bit color / 297MHz/14-bit Video DAC and has a SD card slot.

Price and availability have not yet announced for the UD9004, and we don’t think it will be out in a short period of time. Based on the description and the tout on reference class component: Here’s my wild guess; try at least $5000 price tag!

Most LAN cases lack airflow due to inadequate space, but not the Panzerbox. Inside the all black interior, there are two oversized 190mm and one 120mm fans that churn out a combined 300 Cubic Feet per Minute air flow, along with oversized heatsinks to optimize component cooling. Motherboard tray is removable, conveniently designed for much easy installation, and storage option is available from three external 5.25 inch and four internal 3.5 inch drive bays. A top-mount external I/O panel offers connectivity from USB, Audio to e-SATA ports.

The new NZXT Panzerbox Lan case is slated to ship next month for a suggested retail price of $120. More detail of the product is listed here.

This is the second time Denon puts off the launch of the long-awaited flagship Universal desk. The Japanese release was first set to be shipped in February, but later delayed to March and today announcement will put in further back to October. That means US buyers will have to wait much longer (again) and the same goes for European release.

The Denon DVD-A1UD, originally retailed at $4,200 for US market and €4,000 for Europe regions, now has raised to $4,500 and €5,000 respectively. Who knows how much it will cost again in October?

It’s a great deal if you are in the market for an iPhone but afraid of the two years commitment. The term also restricts sale to just one device per line, meaning only one per customer. So there, what’s AT&T up to with the new offering? Just another general sale or flush out stock, anticipating a new product?

Sony Insider dug deep into UK Amazon and reported a new release date for the X-series Walkman is now projecting at May 10th. Interestingly, there’s no press cover on the X-series in motherland so far; nothing is certain at this point, though I have gut feeling that it will first debut and ship immediately in Japan when the time comes.

In the meantime, enjoy the quick video review of the new X-series Walkman.

But considering it retails at $1,199, the 4210X is quite decent for its features. It does provide a HDMI output and a dual VGA connectivity which could be useful to switch in between presentations. Of course, it also could be easier and faster to set up a VMware-machine than having two separate sources for presentation.

The Dell 4210X DLP projector is up for ordering now at company’s online store.

Last time we briefed the USB graphic duel in between the LancerLink and Displaylink, few details were left out on system compatibility. Displaylink has cleared with us that their technology now supported MAC, Vista 64-bit and a beta version of Windows 7 is already out for beta tester. In fact, we got our hands-on the Samsung’s Lapfit to try it out, the embedded DisplayLink chip worked as advertised on Both OS.

Also, unlike the counterpart emphasizing on HDMI connectivity, DisplayLink has no plan to offer similar outfit due to the HDCP compliant, but LancerLink somehow managed to pull it off. Regardless of the copy protection licensing issues, the business direction is quite clear for both companies: one focuses on business computing, the other is betting on home entertainment displays.

Update: Further investigation suggests that the Lancer Link device is based on the DisplayLink DL-160 chip which, by itself, is not HDCP compliant.  The iconography shown in the Grand HD Cinema user manual reportedly comes from DisplayLink; however, Lancer Link tell us that the chip – and the functionality - is completely independent from DisplayLink. 
 
This could be a case of misconstrued specifications or even just old illustrations used in a new user guide.  However, SlashGear would suggest that anyone counting on HDCP compliance should try to test out the Grand HD Cinema before purchase, or speak to their home cinema adviser or retailer about its capabilities.

Without an actual hands-on time with the Lancer Link product – and a chance to see what’s going on inside the box – we can’t tell whether the Grand HD Cinema is a competitor to DisplayLink’s range.  Certainly, it’s the only device of its type to currently claim HDCP support.