Posted by tim on 7th, 2008
Does size really matter?
In the world of HDTV camera’s it just might.
Toshiba is announcing that it is planning to unveil it’s ‘world’s smallest HDTV camera’ to the world during the NAB show a little later this month. Unfortunately, the Toshiba IKHD1 might not live up to the ‘it’s all about the performance’ aspect of the great size debate. Sure, it’s a cool little gadget, but in today’s world of high-performance and real world functionality, is the IKHD1 going to be overlooked?
You might not want to take the Toshiba IKHD1 out to capture your child’s next birthday party or use it for your next video blog, but it does have a use in the area of security, science, and industry.
Some of the features are;
1080i output
1920 x 1080 output pixels
3CCD (1/3”) interlace
C-mount
Miniature HD Color Camera Head
Digital HD-SDI (SMPTE 292M); Analog RGB or Y/ Pb/ Pr
RS 232C serial interface
Auto & manual white balance
Optional accessories: 3, 6, 10 & 30 meter cables; 4mm or 15 mm lens
For Scientific imaging /diagnostics
For Specialty broadcast
For Homeland security
For Industrial video / inspection
So, all you scientists, security experts, and home inspectors finally have a camera that is ‘big’ enough to handle your job. But, if you’re a home video nut then you’re not going to like the size of this one.
Popularity: 4% [?]
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Posted by tim on 21st, 2008
We live in a technical world. Gadgets make the world go round right now and if you’re disconnected for just a little while you might miss something. When I’m traveling out in the big wide world I have to stay connected for work purposes, but it also helps me stay close to home. Traveling is lonely sometimes and just knowing that I can email, IM, text, watch video, and Skype my family back home is a wonderful feeling. So, gadgets and tech devices play a huge part in my traveling.
While there are those cool things I do travel with (laptop, phone, ipod, and camera) there are those things I’d love to carry in my travel bag. Here’s nine of them.
In the world of mobile gadgets and super lightweight laptop computers it is looking like the MacBook Air is taking a pretty large lead. Of course, I could have gone with one of the micro computers under $500 and save myself $1000, but in the end I like a full size keyboard and 13 inch display. The real deal maker is, let’s face it, how thin it is.
If you haven’t gotten sick of hearing about how great the iPhone is yet, give it some time. The way things are going, with the new improvements that are being announced, iPhone is setting itself up to be the world’s first “must have” smartphone/mini computer. Besides the obvious reason of needing a cellphone (do you really need one?) I can play games, text family, watch streaming video, listen to music, and have access to internet for blogging, writing, and keeping in touch with clients. The iPhone also negates the need for any type of flash drive as it’s capacity is enough for anything I would travel with.
The Sony Xacti CG9 is a compact 9.1 megapixel camera that takes both video and still images. I love taking pictures while I’m out, again for work purposes, and also or showing my family where I’ve been, and this camera is super lightweight, compact and sleek. I realize the iPhone has video and picture taking ability also, but I like to have my camera separate.
While running around with a digital camera chances are you’re going to need a SSD card to house all that video and pictures. The Sanyo Xacti CG9 is HD so I’ll need the ScanDisk 4GB SDHC Memory Card W/SDHC Memory Card Reader in order to be able to upload my videos. Plus, this comes with a handy little USB card reader too. Personally, I take a lot of pictures and am awful at downloading them so I’ll probably need a few of these.
Traveling with a load of gadgets that need to be plugged in, or in need of recharging is a royal pain. I hate it when I forget my charger for something and see it die while on the road. Or, getting to the hotel only to find that they don’t have the right plug in. The Belkin STD11, which is going to be released soon, will take care of that for me. At only $25 it’s a pretty wise purchase for someone who is on the go a lot.
This is something I definitely need while on the go. I don’t usually use cash anymore but I always like to have a little bit of emergency funds available when traveling without putting it into my wallet. So, I picked up one of these Stashcards up for just $10 and stow it in my computer. It can hold cash, credit card, and ssd cards. It’s pretty handy and there have been times when I’ve lost my wallet, had it stolen, or just plain forgot it that I was glad I had this thing. It’s not exactly a safe, and if your laptop gets swiped you’ll lose your cash, but for what I keep in it it’s not that much of a loss.
The Tumi Ultra Slim Universal Power Adaptor Kit is the ultimate moblie gadget. It allows you to plug any of your electronic devices in where ever you are. Hotel, car, and plane this thing has been a major life saver for me on just about every trip. Especially when I’m traveling on the road. Not that I drive and surf at the same time, but when I’m a passenger, stopping to eat, or taking a break from the long drive, it’s nice to be able to plug in the laptop (while saving battery life) and stay in touch with email and/or clients. The Tumi adapter is a little bit pricey but is a pretty good investment if you travel a lot.
It never fails. I always need a knife, screwdriver, scissors, or piers. Since I don’t carry around a toolbox with me where ever I go, I do keep my leatherman in my bag. Of course, I don’t take it on plane trips, but for road trips it’s a necessity.
Now that you’ve seen all the junk that I would love to take with me, and in most cases do, what in the world 
do you put it all in. Besides a small travel bag for clothes and person affects, I like to keep my other stuff in a Clyde City Gusset bag. It’s waterproof. It’s got sidepockets for the iPhone. Plenty of space with an Air in it for all the other gadgets. And looks cool. Which is the most important part of it anyway.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Posted by tim on 19th, 2008
At first glance it looks like one of those 99 cent flashlights hanging in the checkout isle at Wal-mart. But, it’s something a lot cooler.
Sanyo has released what will probably be a major addition to any video blogger’s toolkit. The Xacti CG9 MPEG-4 digital camcorder is also a 9.1 mexapixel camera that is ready anytime you are. The video is recorded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format encoding technology and can be captured at a rate of one hour of video for every 1GB. Memory can be supported with SD or SDHC memory cards. You can get up to 32GB’s with the SDHC card. That would mean 32 hours of high quality video on just one card. That would even get Scoble excited!
When you’re not interested in taking video you can also take incredibly sharp 9.1 megapixel still images. You can even take up to 10 rapid, successive shots with a 5 frames per second shutter rate.
Don’t let the small frame fool you either. It’s loaded with more than just hours of video and crystal clear pics. The CG9 features a 5x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom. All total, the Xacti CG9 is capable of up to 62.5x zoom. That’ll put you pretty close and personal!
Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted by lexi on 6th, 2008
This is what I found:
Invincibility: The Olympus Stylus 790 SW is shockproof (5ft), waterproof (10ft), freezeproof (14 degrees F), sand/dust proof- this is one tough camera!
Face Detection: Although there is face detection on the Olympus Stylus 790 SW, it can only detect one face (where as other cameras can detect many). But it worked very well at detecting this and wasn’t too big of a draw back.
Storage/ Battery: The maximum card size for this pretty piece is 2GB. Olympus does not to ship the camera with a memory card, instead including 14.7MB of internal storage. The lithium-ion battery is rated to capture 200 shots per charge.
Shooting: The Olympus Stylus 790SW is just about as easy to use as any other point-
and-shoot digital camera. Controls are nicely placed on the right-side rear, and the grip out front does help you keep a hold.
My overall experience: I liked like appearance of the Olympus Stylus 790 SW, but the pictures are not too good for a 7.1-megapixel camera. They are almost always soft and a little fuzzy in part of shot. Its LED illuminator is pretty cool, so is its EV adjustment display, but I think that image quality is most important, and the Olympus Stylus 790 SW is not sufficient. The printed results were okay. There aren’t any more choices in the waterproof and toughness market, but I can’t suggest the Stylus 790 SW unless all you’ll ever print are uncropped 4 x 6-inch pics.
The Basics:
-Resolution: 7.10 Megapixels
-Lens: 3.00x zoom
(38-114mm eff)
-Viewfinder: LCD
-LCD Size: 2.5 inch
-ISO: 80-1600
-Shutter: 4-1/1000
-Max Aperture: 3.5
-Mem Type: xD
-Battery: Custom LiIon
-Dimensions: 3.7×2.4×0.8in
(94×61x21mm)
-Weight: 5.3 oz
(151 g)
-MSRP: $300
Special Features:
-Face-detection Autofocus
-Waterproof, Shockproof, Freezeproof, Dustproof, and Sandproof
-Digital Image Stabilization
-27 Shooting modes
-640 x 480 Movie mode, video capture at 30 frames per second, limited by memory card size
-LED illuminator
Popularity: 4% [?]
Posted by Alex on 3rd, 2008
Fresh from the engineering boards of Canon, the latest addition to the Ixus models promises to be more stable and handy than it’s predecessors. Ixus 80IS boasts a whopping 8Mp resolution, utilizes the face detection technology, and offers a wide range of features found in most powershot models. Slim and unobtrusive, this camera promises to be the tourist’s best friend. It’s size allows easy storage without sacrificing the quality of the photographs. And absolutely no more blurry pictures which will definitely be a plus for camera toting tourists.
Other feautures include:
• A compact, curved design
• 8.0 Megapixels
• 3x zoom with optical Image Stabilizer
• 2.5” high resolution PureColor LCD II
• Colour variations : Classic Silver, Candy Pink, Chocolate, Caramel
Popularity: 4% [?]
