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I see what you're saying - NEC's ‘Tele Scouter’ retinal-display translation glasses
By Darren Quick
20:13 October 29, 2009 PDT
The days of a Universal Translator like the one that made chatting between alien species a non-issue in Star Trek might be some way off yet. But a new device from NEC is definitely a step in the right direction for those of us on planet Earth looking for a way to communicate with other language speakers that doesn’t involve a human translator or a well-thumbed phrase book. The prototype device called a “Tele Scouter” is a glasses type display that translates the foreign language being spoken by a partner and projects the translation onto a tiny retinal display. Read More
Pentax gets colorful with Korejanai K-x D-SLR
By Paul Ridden
21:56 October 28, 2009 PDT
Black may not be the new black in the world of digital SLR cameras. Last month Pentax announced its intention to add a splash of color by offering its new K-x camera in white, red and blue as well as black. Now the company has announced a very colorful limited edition K-x based on the design of the popular Korejanai robot. Read More
Cyclops - the visually-impaired robot
By Jeff Salton
19:32 October 22, 2009 PDT
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a remote-controlled robot to help test the effectiveness of visual prostheses, such as an artificial retina, which are implanted into visually-impaired patients. Cyclops the robot - or, rather, the mobile robotic platform, or rover - lets scientists “see” the results that human patients could expect without having to test the device on them first. It is hoped that this approach may spare them some unnecessary procedures and one day lead to giving blind people the freedom of independence. Read More
Canon bounces back with the EOS 1D Mark IV
By Paul Ridden
16:21 October 21, 2009 PDT
Canon didn't allow Nikon to enjoy the limelight for too long after all, announcing the forthcoming release of its new EOS 1D Mark IV professional D-SLR camera before the fanfare that accompanied Nikon's D3S had even died down. As well as slightly improving the huge ISO range of the D3S, Canon looks to have seized the opportunity to further raise the standard a little by opting for a 16.1 Mp sensor and 1080p high definition video. Read More
Casio to release Exilim CA003 phone with 12MP camera
By Mick Webb
17:13 October 20, 2009 PDT
Those who like a camera phone to pack some serious specs will be very pleased to hear of Casio’s upcoming release of the Exilim CA003, featuring a 12.2MP camera with autofocus and a 28mm wide angle lens with 3X optical zoom. The phone will boast a 3.3” WVGA OLED screen as well as GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM radio. It supports microSDHC cards up to 16GB and will be available in four fashion colors including “champagne gold”. Read More
Nikon D3S DSLR - fast autofocus, HD video and six figure ISO sensitivity
By Paul Ridden
10:30 October 16, 2009 PDT
Nikon seems to have once again raised the professional digital photography bar with details emerging of the upcoming D3S DSLR. Rather than try to wow with megapixels, the company hopes that excellent noise reduction and a huge ISO sensitivity range will better serve its customers. The new camera also boasts low light capable HD video, fast and accurate autofocus, a burst frame rate of 9fps and in-camera RAW image editing. Read More
Memory chips could lead the way to gigapixel cameras
17:51 October 14, 2009 PDT
Image sensors embedded in digital cameras are expensive, and issues with their circuitry limit the quality and resolution in the pictures they produce. Now a research group from the Netherlands believes a cheaper solution could be right before our eyes - the team's "gigavision" technique exploits the high light sensitivity of memory chips to produce inexpensive gigapixel sensors that perform very well, especially in extreme lighting conditions. Read More
3D cryo-imager can identify a single cancer cell
By Mick Webb
10:22 October 1, 2009 PDT
Recent developments in the fight against cancer have promised better ways to both identify and treat the disease. Adding to the ever growing list of advancements is Dave Wilson, a Professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Frustrated by blurry low resolution optical images of diseased tissues, he has developed a cryo-imaging system which can identify and pinpoint the exact location and number of cancer cells in a particular area while displaying the findings as a detailed three dimensional color cyber model. Read More
Go live! Livestream Livepack puts a satellite truck in your backpack
By Jeff Salton
22:50 September 30, 2009 PDT
A new backpack from Livestream called the Livepack puts a broadcast TV truck on your shoulders without the weight or cumbersome dimensions – but with the same broadcast capabilities. If you get A-list invitations that put you up close and personal with celebrities, or just fancy yourself as part of the paparazzi, this is a must-have device. The Livestream Livepack crams into a backpack the hardware unit to encode and transmit HD video, a Firewire cable, and six load-balanced built-in 3G modems in order to get the highest possible available bitrate. The system even comes with a dedicated IP address to stream to your Livestream channel - you’ll be a professional roving reporter before you know it (as long as you can provide your own Firewire DV camera). Read More
Phase One announces 645DF medium format camera
By Paul Lester
17:51 September 30, 2009 PDT
Danish firm Phase One, a leading digital imaging technology company, has unveiled the most recent result of its partnership with Japanese camera manufacturer Mamiya, boasting that its medium format 645DF can claim a number of unique benefits. Read More
SurroundSense uses your phone's sensors to figure out where you are
17:02 September 30, 2009 PDT
Smartphones use GPS locating for a variety of functions but mainly they're used on the road where their accuracy - only within 10m - is basically a case of 'near enough is good enough'. But try using one indoors. They don't work! Nor can they distinguish between two adjacent environments, however different. And 10m can make a big difference inside a shopping complex or multi-roomed office block. In a research jointly sponsored by Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and the National Science Foundation, a group of computer engineers from Duke University is working on achieving better indoor localization using a combination of sounds, lighting and accelerometer data picked up by a mobile phone. They hope it will supplement the use of GPS systems, which most users know, have their limitations. Read More
Smarter CCTV system to be used to recognize and prevent crime
By Jeff Salton
07:34 September 29, 2009 PDT
The negative impact surrounding terrorism, crime and anti-social behavior has resulted in an escalation in the amount of remote surveillance undertaken around the world, but especially in the UK, which, according to the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), has deployed more than 4 million CCTV cameras. Putting aside privacy issues for another article, the increase in CCTV usage has had very little success in preventing crime. The main problem seems to lie in the amount of video captured versus the amount that can be viewed and interpreted by trained staff. To overcome these shortcomings, UK researchers are investigating the use of computer technology that recognizes suspicious behavior in live Internet-enabled CCTV feeds from buses and trains, allowing control room staff to intervene and protect drivers and passengers from assaults, thefts and other incidents. Read More
Anti-paparazzi lasers being fitted to the world's biggest private yacht
By Loz Blain
05:34 September 22, 2009 PDT
Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich rose from obscurity and successfully navigated the shady world of early Russian privatization to become one of the world's wealthiest self-made billionaires. His 40-man private army of security personnel make him one of the best-protected businessmen in the world, and when his private gigayacht the Eclipse is handed over in time for Christmas this year, it will be the largest (at a staggering 560ft) and most expensive (at US$1.2 billion) private yacht the world has ever seen. Security will be as tight as you'd expect, with missile defence and intruder detection systems - but the Eclipse's most notable feature is a privacy system that can detect the digital cameras of snooping paparazzi and blind them with laser bursts, ruining spy photos. Read More
The Weisscam HS-2 digital high speed camera - shoots 2000fps in full HD
By Mick Webb
17:36 September 20, 2009 PDT
After several years of development, Weisscam has finally unveiled its HS-2 digital high speed camera. Building on the success of their previous outing, the HS-1, Weisscam has this time upped the ante with a camera capable of capturing an unprecedented 2000 frames per second in full HD. Read More
OceanoCam can record hi-def videos of the ocean depths on a budget
14:54 September 20, 2009 PDT
It's often said that we know more about the depths of the Universe than the ocean floors of our own planet, but this might soon change with OceanoCam, a newly-developed cheap underwater camera for capturing high-definition video at great depths, aimed at both research community and the entertainment industry. Read More
Canon VB-C500VD vandal resistant mini dome network camera has you covered
By Jeff Salton
21:30 September 15, 2009 PDT
Unfortunately for society today, there is an increasing need for quality surveillance - it’s almost mandatory that businesses incorporate security into their list of ‘must haves’. Canon’s new VB-C500VD vandal-resistant mini dome network camera is suited to a wide variety of applications where discreet high quality surveillance over a network is needed, and its wide angle lens means it’s ideal for positioning in tight places, like around ATMs, schools, lobbies, and shopping malls. If set to motion-activation mode, this PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) camera can send emails or cell phone messages instantly, and being a PoE (power over Ethernet) device, it uses a single LAN cable to power the camera and transfer video and audio data when connected to a PoE switch, saving on installation costs. Read More
Flying-cam goes electric
By Darren Quick
05:09 September 14, 2009 PDT
We write a lot about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in military use but, as is so often the case with technology developed for the military, this kind of equipment is increasingly finding its way into civilian applications. The latest example to catch our eye is the Flying-Cam III E Special Aerial Response Autonomous Helicopter (SARAH) – a fully electric quasi-UAV camera platform for getting those majestic soaring shots for film and television shoots. Read More
Sony Ericsson’s PS3 Remote Play-ready Aino mobile phone
By Darren Quick
03:47 September 12, 2009 PDT
Sony Ericsson’s new Aino mobile phone lets users access media content on their PS3 via Wi-Fi or over the Internet with a feature called Remote Play. PSP owners may already be familiar with this feature, which allows users to remotely access their PS3’s XMB interface and play music, videos and photos stored on the console. Although the PSP is also capable of playing (a few) games using Remote Play, the Aino won’t have this capability, but it will let users browse the Playstation Store and chat with friends on PSN. Read More
Never forget where you were with the JOBO photoGPS
By Jeff Salton
01:55 September 9, 2009 PDT
What’s worse than having to watch Aunt May’s and Uncle Stan’s ridiculously long digital ‘slide show’ of their recent European vacation? Listening to them argue over where each photo was taken, and what it is. If they’d had a JOBO photoGPS attached to their camera's hot-shoe, your saga would be over in six hours, not 16! The JOBO photoGPS fits most cameras and captures the geo-data of each photo's location. This allows photographers to know the location of each shot and automatically search, sort and organize their pictures according to country, city, street using the Organizer software that comes with the unit. Read More
Aiptek's tiny PenCam Trio HD records 720p video, 5MP stills, and audio
By Darren Quick
22:27 September 8, 2009 PDT
Looks like Aiptek is trying to put an entire movie production and screening system in people’s pockets. Complementing its new range of pocket-sized pico projectors at IFA 2009 was the PenCam Trio HD, an ultra-slim camera that boasts 1280 x 720p HD video resolution, 5MP still image resolution, and a dictaphone function for recording audio. Read More
Olympus µ TOUGH-6010 flexes a bit more muscle
By Alan Brandon
22:58 September 7, 2009 PDT
Whether you’re a snow-sports adrenaline junkie, inveterate beach goer, or just like gear that can take a few bumps, Olympus µ TOUGH-6010 may be the camera for you. Shockproof, waterproof, and even freezepoof to -10°C (14°F), the µ TOUGH-6010 combines compact style with a rugged chassis and an arsenal of shooting features including dual-image stabilization, advanced face detection, and i-Auto scene selection mode. Read More
Frankencamera: Digital cameras get the open source treatment
By Darren Quick
02:15 September 4, 2009 PDT
Open-source started with the Netscape Navigator browser and has expanded to include operating systems for PCs (Linux) and mobile phones (Android). Now photo scientists at Stanford University are out to bring the advantages of open-source development to digital photography with the creation of an open-source digital camera giving programmers around the world the chance to create software that will teach cameras new tricks. Read More
The Samsung HZ25W 12.5MP camera with 24x Mega-Zoom
By Paul Lester
19:32 September 3, 2009 PDT
Recent developments in the digital camera market have given amateur photographers that require a decent optical zoom some reasonably priced point-and-shoot alternatives. Following announcements earlier this year by Kodak and Olympus, Samsung has released its own model - the HZ25W, a 12.5MP, 24x optical zoom camera that sports the most powerful lens ever offered on a Samsung compact digital model. Read More
Sony adds new Alpha DSLRs
By Alan Brandon
21:55 August 31, 2009 PDT
Sony has announced two new cameras in its Alpha range of consumer-oriented DSLRs. The DSLR-A550 and the DSLR-A500 feature two live-view focus modes, in-camera high dynamic range (HDR) capability, and low-light performance with sensitivity of up to 12800 ISO. The new Alphas also feature tilting 3in (7.6cm) LCDs as well as a new in-camera SteadyShot feature. Read More
Camera cube puts you on the level
By Alan Brandon
23:12 August 17, 2009 PDT
In photography, sometimes you want to shoot from the hip and capture the moment as it happens. Other times you want everything in perfect alignment, with straight verticals and flat horizons. This camera cube level can help you keep your shots, well, level. Read More
Jonathan Cole
- November 6, 2009 @ 16:15 UTC
