New Samsung Camera Has 14.2 Megapixels, Wi-Fi Capability
I’m chomping at the bit for the new year to arrive. New beginnings, renewed focus, and most of all shiny, new tech. According to Boy Genius Report, Samsung is bringing the new year in a grand fashion with the unveiling of their latest camera. The Samsung ST5500 is a vision of beauty in silver, but it’s what’s under the hood that will have camera geeks grinning from ear to ear.
ST5500 features include 14.2. megapixel sensor, 7X optical zoom, and Wi-Fi capability so you can upload pics almost instantaneously. There’s also 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen, 100MB internal memory, and a microSD slot. The camera also takes video in 1280 x 720 resolution at 30 fps.
We’re still waiting for a press release or announcement from Samsung, so no word on pricing and availability as of yet. The only piece of information is that it’s set to debut sometime during Q1.
Older iPhones Gain Video Recording
The first- and second-generation iPhones are now capable of video recording, and you won’t even need to do any hacking.
Last week, Wired.com reported that Apple released its restrictions on a private API for video capturing. As a result, Apple approved Ustream, a live video streaming app that’s free in the App Store. The extra bonus? In addition to streaming-video capability, the app has a video recorder, too — and that also works with older iPhones.
Permitting the video API in third-party apps should open doors to a host of apps offering video recording for older iPhones. Today, The Unofficial Apple Weblog’s Erica Sadun pointed out a $1 app called Camcorder for shooting video with older iPhones. Its interface is straight to the point: You launch the app, and there’s a Record button to start capturing. However, Sadun noted the frame rate is slow on an iPhone 3G, and you can’t do much with the recorded video except watch it on your iPhone. She added that the GUI is flimsy.
Based on those comments, we’d say “pass.” But look forward to some slick video-recording apps optimized for older iPhones. It’s inevitable developers will capitalize on this opportunity.
This should come as good news for many owners of the previous-generation iPhones. Previously, video recording was exclusive to the new iPhone 3GS. Owners of the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G could only gain access to video recording by jailbreaking the iPhone, but that’s no longer the case.
Camcorder Download Link [iTunes]
Ustream Download Link [iTunes]
See Also:
- 6 Reasons to Jailbreak Your iPhone
- Why the IPhone Doesn’t Record Video
- Apple Hints at Video Conferencing for Future iPhones
- Apple’s Next Media Frontier Will Be Streaming Video
Aimat gun camera makes point-and-shoot serious fun
Franziska Dierschke was definitely having “fun” while creating the Aimat digital camera. Taking no assumptions of structure from the concept of a traditional digital camera, the Aimat carries forward its point-and-shoot functionality by creating the ability to take small, pinhole-shaped images without the aid of a viewfinder. And by being shaped like a gun.
Oops. Did I say “gun”? And that’s supposed to be “fun”? Okay, I am going to shake off the skepticism and allow the playfulness that the designer had in mind while creating this concept camera. The intent behind which was to “put less emphasis on picture quality, and more on the playful act of taking the picture” itself. Cool. No word on when this one is going to find its way into production.
Via Toxel.
Greenhouse’s New Camera Puts Ladies First
Japanese electronics company Greenhouse recently unveiled a camcorder designed with the ladies in mind. The GHV-DV30HDLXW/P comes with 128MB of internal memory that can be expanded to 32GB with a SD/SDHC memory card. It also features ports for miniHDMI and USB. The camera also has a 3-inch TFT LCD screen and can record video at 30fps in 1,280×720 resolution.
The device is currently a Japan only product, but if you’re interested in importing one, it’s selling for $190. As a result of the collaboration between Greenhouse and fashion brand GAUDI (ah, so many jokes, so little time) the camera is available in pink and white. A matching bag comes with the camera to complete the ensemble.
I’m personally not a fan of pink tech on principle, but I wouldn’t mind owning the white version. What are your thoughts on these cameras and pink tech?
Via CrunchGear
LightScoop Rescues Horrible Built-In Flashes
The LightScoop is a $35 plastic gizmo which sits over the built-in flash of a DSLR and reflects the light up at the ceiling. This, in one neat and simple stroke, turns an almost unusable, on-axis light source into a big, soft, flattering sheet of light.
As our strobist readers will know, the bigger a light, the softer it is. This counts for apparent size, too, so a small light pushed close-up to the subject may well be a lot softer than a huge light far away. For instance, the mid-day sun is both huge and hard.
Reflecting the crappy lamp on the top of your camera makes it both bigger and moves it off the lens axis, giving more interesting (and flattering) results. The LightScoop does this by putting a shiny mirror-like reflector in front of the flash. It slides into the hotshoe mount, keeping it in place, and you can buy it in both neutral or a slightly warm color.
As ever, these simple accessories are easy to make yourself, but you need to weigh up the convenience of just buying something you know will work. I’m hoping to test one out, but until then you can check out the LightScoop Flickr Group to see what it can do.
Product page [LightScoop. Thanks, Betsy!]
