Video cameras are adding huge zoom capabilities. Optical zooms with image stabilization. The Pansonic SDR-H90 above is 70x true optical (think of it as a 37.9-2650mm (4:3) still camera telephoto range). The camera has a builtin 80GB drive and takes SD card with up to 32GB of memory for combined long play record of over 100 hours. Although not an HD camera it deliver 705 x 576 MPEG2 images and has specialized image stabilization.
The Sony DCR-SR67 has 60x zoom, with 80GB hard drive, image stabilization and a price tag of $450 in 3 colors. Not quite the reach of the panasonic but the camera does provide for direct to DVD recording (Sony extra cost option), easy on by opening the twist screen panel.
The camera will record up to 3ohours of video using the LP option at 720 x 480 and can take still images at 250K at 16:9 (roughy 800 x 350 pixels) or 340K at 4:3(roughly 750 x 450 pixels). Given what still cameras like the Casio EX-F1 can do and deliver HD video, these are prosaic numbers. So it is likely the monstrous zoom along with light weight(only 10 oz) and relatively long battery life of 2-4 hours of recording per charge that will be the attraction for these units.
In effect low price, YouTube size videos with huge zoom assisted by image stabilization plus handy size and weight will be the attraction of these units. And I know many a Web site developer that would be more than willing to live within these dimensions.
In the longer term superior image stabilization, low lux and huge zoom ranges coupled with either handy size and weight may be the only way camcorders can fend off the invasion of digital SLRs with HD video recording capabilities like the Nikon D90 and Canon Mark 2D. I have suspicion the convergence of video and still will leave a market with asymmetry - I just can’t tell who comes out on top - video or DSLRs.
Benq
The unit can also record 10.5Mpixel still camera shots starting at the top of the line 120GB hard disk drive. Its “3MOS” sensor system consists of three 1/4.1-inch CMOS sensors, each with a gross pixel count of 3,050,000 and an effective pixel count of 2,070,000. the cameras have auto-image stabilization and touchscreen triggered autofocus feature. Users touch on the screen an object they wish to track and the camera works to keep that figure or object in sharp focus no matter camera movement or zoom effect. Finally the camera is able to record 50 hours of images given the
The basic idea is to be able to bring TV broadcast interaction with Internet connections by means of synchronized TV with Yahoo made Web widgets. The Yahoo Widget API is produced in a collaboration between Yahoo! and Intel. The Widget Channel API provides access to popular Internet technologies such as Konfabulator (JAVASCRIPT® and XML), and HTML. The Yahoo! Widget Engine and Widget Channel frameworks implement different levels of functionality from the Widget Channel API.
I have been checking some of the feature changes between Adobe Photoshop CS3 and CS4 with particular attention to the animation capabilities and performance. In CS3, for example, I have found that a number of Photoshop editing commands are applied to all of the frames and that you have to think differently from Flash and other animation tools to effectively create animations in Photoshop.
The Pentax K-m is Pentax’ response to the Canon XSi and the Nikon D60 among other mid to low priced SLRs. And the K-m has some very worthy features like 10MPixel images with a 16 point auto-focus, a 2.7″ TFT LCD viewer, image stabilization and two mode dust clearing system. This camera has borrowed artfully from it Pentax K-200 but has added smaller size and lightweight to its attributes.
Well here are two more cameras that should be of interest to digital camera buffs. First, there is the new Canon 50D which continues the vintage camera line starting with the breakthrough Canon D30 of early 2000 (at $1700, it brought digital SLRs well under the $5-9000 barrier)that I bought and still have in working order over 50,000 photo later. The new 50D, like
Sony, which has filled out its SLR is not unaware of the competitive pressures. So out comes the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T500 which is a point and shoot 5x optical zoom camera that has video recording capabilities like the new Nikon D90. Well let me correct that - video recording capabilities better than the Nikon D90. First it records in MPEG4 at about 1/8 the size of the NIkon’s whopping AVI videos. Second, the Sony matches the Nikon’s 720P but at 30fps versus 24fps for the Nikon. Finally, the Sony’s zoom lens is image stabilized and sits right in the sweet area of 33mm to 165mm - wide angle to early telephoto. It will be available in late September for $400.
So it was with a bit of surprise that I saw the recent announcement of the new Nikon D90 as the first Video SLR. Nikon is claiming that honour because the EX-F1 does not allow for mountable and interchangeable lenses. What readers need to know is that the D90 is also a very good update to Nikon’s popular D80 model. Here are some of the key new features:
RIP JPEG2000
JPEG2000 has shrivelled and not quite died but certainly is not what it promised to be as a replacement for the JPEG image format. Here are the ugly facts:
Browsers used in these tests (except SVG) are the latest available as of March 18th, 2009
IE8 - final release 8.0.60001, Chrome 1.0.154, Firefox 3.07, Opera 9.6, Safari 4 public beta 528.01
But equally ominous is the change in support of JPEG2000 in key photo edit programs:
Adobe Photoshop CS3 & CS4 - write but not read JP2 files with plugin that needs to be installed
Corel Paintshop Pro 12 -read and write still in
Corel Photo Impact - read and write still in
Gimp - no support
Linux GNOME’s GTK++ - read no write
Photoshop Elements 7 - write but not read
Windows GDI - read no write
Xara Xtreme ro 4 - read and write still in
Clearly JPEG2000 has failed to make it where one would think it would have the most support - in Web Browsers where I have seen designers and developers use all sort of advanced slicing and dicing of images just to gain 5-10% reductions in image size. Given that JPEG2000 delivers in the 20-40% range one would think that at all of the browsers would catch on. But the only way you can use JPEG2000 in a browser is with plugins. Here is the Lizard Tech one for Mac and Windows, and the Linux one for some distributions here.
Why does JPEG2000 continue to languish in browsers while it gains support in a broad array of specialty applications:
Historical archives
Use with scanned and redacted documents.
Digital Cinema for key space savings
Digitization programs in major world libraries
Health Care’s move to digital records
A variety of other large scale imaging applications.
Perhaps the most important is the starting success of JPEG2000 in mobile devices and communication apps where high quality plus minimal size are prerequisites. In these environs it is is easy to ensure that browser/display devices are preloaded with the right JPEG2000 display software. perhaps the role of Microsoft’s IE which had 95% market share during JPEG2000’s introduction period was critical. Microsoft was aware of the demand for JPEG2000 support on their browsers, maybe it just didn’t make the grade … or Microsoft had plans for its own WMP file format. Only the Shadow knows what evil lurks in the minds of Redmond.