Design. As beautiful as it is wearable. Sleek, genteel aluminum. Five brilliant colors.
Its focal body is crafted from a single piece of aluminum and genteel to a beautiful shine, so the new iPod shuffle feels solid, sleek and durable. And the color palette makes it the perfect fashion accessory. Choose gleaming silver, blue, green, orange, or pink. Hundreds of songs to go.
Never leave a favorite tune behind. Along with up to 15 hours of battery life,1 iPod shuffle gives you 2GB of storage capacity, good for hundreds of songs.2 That’s plenty of room for the fundamental songs of your workout or commute. And for multiple playlists, Genius Mixes, podcasts, and audiobooks, too.
iPod nano
Music has a whole new feel.
iPod nano has been wholly redesigned with Multi-Touch — the same technology that makes iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch so marvelous. Now it’s half the extent and even easier to play. And everything you crave to hear is just a tap or swipe away.
iPod classic
Hold everything.
iPod archetypal gives you 160GB of storage capacity, good for up to 40,000 songs, 200 hours of video, 25,000 photos, or any amalgamation. And you get up to 36 hours of battery life, so you can keep on rocking for a long, long time.
iPod touch
Ready and action!
Because your iPod touch — and its built-in HD video camera — go with you universally, you’re always ready to record when the moment strikes. And now you can do it in stunning high definition. An sophisticated backside illumination sensor delivers brilliant video in both bright and low-light settings. And when you’re through shooting, you can edit and allocate your movie in just a few taps. With iPod touch, you’re the only film crew you need.
CANON DIGITAL CAMERAS
Powershot A470 Canon Digicam
• A compact, multifunctional and versatile digital camera made for beginners with an active lifestyle
• Available in 5 playful colors: Gray, Orange, Green, Red and Blue.
• 2.5" LCD screen with extensive viewing angle packed in a compact camera body
PenCam Trio is the innovative PenCam, the device that started a global revolution in digital photography. With its 3-in-1 function, this single-handed, pen-type camera makes digital photography simple, convenient and easy. PenCam is the original killer app in digital photography, combining a Digital Still Camera, Digital Video Clip Recording and PC Camera - unprecedented functionality making the PenCam Trio an peerless product.
FUN Toy Slim and Handy Digital Camera
A new tech-toy that you must have, the new MDC300-DGR8 model. This wiry looking model has digital still camera, video clip recorder and PC camera functions. Take this versatile digicam with you and capture digital images. This is a must-have do-it-all and affordable camera. Package includes Neck Strap, CD Driver - Software and USB Cable.
DC225 - 2 Megapixels Digital Camera with Preview LCD
If you are you the kind of person who is spontaneous, easy and extrovert and a tech loving entity and want to accumulate to get an affordable Digital Camera, then this wonderfully priced cam is for yo\u. A camera with preview LCD, memory slot, built-in memory, flash-lamp that captures megapixel images.
DC3212 Digital Camera 2" LCD Display with 128MB Memory Built-in
A super affordable yet stylish camera carcass that has 3 megapixels sensor. This model can deliver images up to 12 megapixels (interpolated). The increased image size will allow you print large images. inferior resolution settings are good for printing snapshots, posting on blogs or sending to family and friends via email. It has 2 inches TFT Display for picture framing of shots and to preview images. Optional display OFF to save battery power. The camera can record video clips without audio. Never miss those memories again. Later, download videos and formulate your own movies too.
Aiptek Mega PenCam Compact - 1.3 Megapixels
What a diminutive megapixel camera we have here. At just over 1 inch x 1 inch x 3 1/2 inches it can easily be obscured in the palm of your hand. Light enough for you to carry around. It's a fashion statement and digital camera all-in-one! Marvel at the technology of this amazing new gadget. A Branded 1.3 megapixels digital camera at a price you definitely can afford. Operated with just one hand, this stylish camera goes wherever you go. Bundled software packages offer smooth and complete image management, processing, editing and transmission of your photos and albums.
SHIRO SX330 3.3 MEGAPixel CCD Camera with OPTICAL ZOOM
Shiro SX330 delivers high quality metaphors using its CCD Sensor. With 4x digital zoom and now with 3X OPTICAL ZOOM to toil with, best imaging results at all times. Built-in 16MB memory and expandable thru SD or MMC cards. This model records images and does movie recording. Can be used as flash memory storage. Metal made and optimal camera features at a very affordable price.
The so-called 'Travel Zoom' category was effectively invented by Panasonic, with the Lumix DMC-TZ1. Released in 2006, the TZ1 was the first camera with a 10x optical zoom lens that could truly be called 'compact', and although Panasonic had the field to itself for a while, it wasn't long before other manufacturers started to move into the same space. Fast forward to 2011, and almost all of the major camera manufacturers offer compact cameras with at least 10x optical zooms, up to almost 20x in some cases.
Putting a 10x-plus optical zoom lens into a camera small enough to fit into a jacket pocket is quite a feat, and zooms of this type are made possible because the sensors inside these cameras are tiny compared to the sensors inside DSLRs. Because the size of a lens is directly related to its vital imaging circle, the smaller the imaging circle (defined by the dimensions of the sensor) the smaller the lens needs to be. The sensors in these cameras are all the same size - 1/2.3in, which equates to actual dimensions of 6.1x4.6mm - much smaller than the sensors in most interchangeable lens cameras (with the exception of the rather curious Pentax Q)
We know from prior group tests that putting complex zooms of this type into such small bodies can lead to compromises in critical image quality. This being said, the primary attraction of these cameras is versatility. The ability to shoot a sweeping landscape at wideangle one minute and to zoom right in to capture distant details the next is addictive, and invaluable of course when travelling.
This test is not intended to give a detailed breakdown of every single travel zoom compact on the market - there are simply too many at this point - but rather, we've picked out six models which represent a broad cross-section of the available products, from low-cost, low-specification models (like the Pentax RZ10) to the more expensive, feature-rich competitors (like the Sony HX9). Four of the models featured in this review - the Canon SX230 HS, Nikon S9100, Panasonic ZS10 and Sony HX9V, succeed cameras tested in last year's group test and we're interested to see how (or 'if') their respective manufacturers have moved the technology on. The Pentax RZ10 and innovative Samsung WB210 represent new lines, and neither has a clear predecessor.
In addition to the six cameras that we've selected for the full 'review treatment' we have also used, and shot with a much wider selection of the current range of travel zoom-class compact cameras, and you can find our (brief) take on them, plus studio and real world samples, and a summary of key provision in the 'the ones that got away' page at the end of this group test.
Group test: Waterproof Compact Cameras
It's summer in the northern hemisphere, and no doubt a lot of people reading this will be enjoying the hot weather, planning trips to local beaches and lakes. In our recent group test of compact 'travel zoom' cameras we covered 14 of the most versatile compact cameras currently on the market in terms of zoom range, but maybe some of you want something a little more rugged. perchance you want something you can even take into the water, as you take a refreshing dip, or maybe you're the adventurous type, and just want something that you don't need to worry about if it gets dropped or banged against a rock.
That's where impermeable compact cameras come in. Like travel zooms, the waterproof/rugged market has expanded considerably in recent years, and most of the major manufacturers currently offer at least one camera in this division.
Olympus PEN E-P3 in-depth review
The Olympus PEN E-P3 looks a lot like its forebears - not just the E-P1 and E-P2 but, just as significantly, the company's film era Pen F camera. Significantly because, in an age in which the major electronics giants are edifice their photographic presence, Olympus is one of only a handful of companies with genuine heritage to turn to. And, despite modern cameras making high image quality more accessible than ever, there is an undeniable reverence for the look and feel of 1960s cameras.
Just like Fujifilm's X100, the Olympus PEN E-P1 generated a lot of excitement at its launch thanks to its elegant traditional styling. And, in common with the X100, the shooting experience didn't always live up to the high expectations that its archetypal looks might have engendered. The E-P2 was a slight reworking of the E-P1, doing little more than adding the ability to use the excellent VF-2 electronic viewfinder, and could still be a slightly slow and awkward camera to actually use.
The E-P3's similarity of appearance to its predecessors could, all too easily, suggest that Olympus has again been subtle with its changes. But this isn't the case at all, and the new model brings with it a whole raft of updates and refinements. Olympus has addressed many of the key criticisms of the older models, to the extent that we'd be tempted to say that the E-P3 is finally the camera that the PEN has always promised to be.
The changes may be fairly hidden but they are certainly there. Physically the biggest addition is a built-in flash - deliberately styled so that the pop-up element doesn't interrupt the front plate of the camera. The accessory port is also more neatly integrated into the body design than before. The other big physical change is a removable hand grip; a large screw now holds the rectangular grip in place, giving users the choice of removing or swapping it for a more substantial design (in a fashion more than a little reminiscent of Olympus's OM-4 film camera).
But it's inside the camera that the biggest changes have been made: the sensor is still the familiar 12MP unit but the camera's processing is greatly improved. The latest TruePic VI processor is much faster than previous designs, allowing the camera to check focus 120 times per second. This, of course, means that it can adjust focus more often and therefore confirm focus more quickly. The dual core processor also means image dispensation and live view can be run in parallel, decreasing the blackout time after each shot.
In addition, the E-P3 has a 614,000 dot OLED screen that is touch-sensitive. This particular panel uses Samsung's Pentile dot layout to give VGA-equivalent resolution, coupled with capacitance-type touch technology similar to the Apple iPhone. The touch screen can be used to set the focus point and optionally fire the shutter, and can operate some of the camera's other functions too. Crucially though this is always in addition to the rest of the camera's controls, rather than attempting to replace them. If you decide such features don't have a place on such a traditional-looking camera, they can be disabled with no overall loss of functionality.
Another very welcome addition is a built-in autofocus illuminator light, in the form of a bright orange LED on the front of the camera (previous PENs were notorious for their reluctance to focus in low light). The autofocus system has been updated too, with 35 zones covering most of the image area. The movie recording specification has also been significantly upgraded, and the E-P3 can now capture full HD 1080i60 movies in AVCHD format.
The control layout has been revised too, most notably by the addition of direct movie record and display magnification buttons - indeed overall it's now much more closely related to the E-PL line than the older E-P models. As is the Olympus way the camera's controls are remarkably customisable - no fewer than five buttons can now have their functions defined by the user. All of the goodies that Olympus introduced in the E-PLs have also found their way across - ranging the beginner-friendly 'Live Guide' control and iEnhance colour mode, through to the ability to display user-configurable shadow and highlight clipping warnings in live view.
The Art Filters have been expanded dramatically too, with a number of additional filters plus the ability to tune their looks and add effects such as frames and even a digital 'starburst' filter on point highlights. There's also a new tonal control that allows you to manually adjust shadow brightness independent of overall exposure. Last, but by no means least, the menu system has finally benefited from a substantial makeover, and is not only much easier on the eye, but easier to find your way around too.
Panasonic DMC-G3 In-depth Review
The G3 heralds the start of Panasonic's third generation of mirrorless cameras. In various respects it's a refinement of previous models; its electronic viewfinder and hinged rear display screen are identical to the G1 and G2, for example. However, behind the aluminium front panel of its slimmed-down, externally-simplified body lies a completely new 16.7MP sensor. This makes it the first mass-market Micro Four Thirds model to move beyond Panasonic's 12MP chip.
While some of the new features of the G3 suggest a move upmarket, many other changes point to an attempt on Panasonic's part to make the G-series more accessible. A number of features have been removed, presumably in order to make this model both less intimidating and less expensive (the recommended price is $100 lower than the launch price of the G2).
Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras are still relatively new. As such, manufacturers are still trying to determine their target audience as well as the balance of features, capabilities and pricing that will have the widest appeal. Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G1, released back in 2008, was essentially a miniaturized version of the company's L10 DSLR, sharing similar features and appearance. More recently, however, mirrorless camera designs are looking to capitalize on the differences the technology can offer, such as compact size and seamless video integration, rather than trying to mimic conventional DSLRs.
The compact-camera-like hand grip is the first, most obvious evidence that the G3 fits into this philosophy. Gone is the prominent lump that has become standard for DSLRs, and instead we have a grip that more closely resembles that of the GF2 - a low profile rounded extension that encourages a very diverse hand position on the camera. In fact, the G3 is as close in size and appearance to a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 (with a viewfinder) as it is to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2.
From the GF2, the G3 gains a touchscreen interface that is a vast improvement over that seen in the G2. It allows lots of control over camera settings as well as direct on-screen selection of the focus point - something that no DSLR can offer. Further distancing itself from previous G-series models, the G3 allows you to place the AF point anywhere throughout the entire frame, as opposed to just within a central portion.
The G3 also gains improved video capability, matching the GF2's ability to output either 1080i60 or 720p60 (both from 30fps sensor output). And, while this isn't up to the same specification as the video capability of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, the G3 does gain that camera's image processor and impressive autofocus speed.
Beyond this, the bulk of the G3's new features are incremental improvements - there's a picture-in-picture manual focus magnification option so that you can focus while still viewing the overall composition, and a Pinpoint AF mode that combines a small AF area with a zoomed preview for precise focusing. The G3 also features subject-tracking AF while shooting video.
Regrettably conversely, much has been impassive from the new model, too. Unlike the G2, the G3 doesn't have an eye sensor for its viewfinder, so you'll have to manually switch between it and the rear display screen. It also loses the G2's focus point dial and focus mode lever, along with the option for connecting an external microphone (thus ensuring that it doesn't tread on the GH2's toes).
Taken as a whole, these changes lead us to suspect that the G3 might replace both the G2 and the lower-spec'd G10 in Panasonic's lineup. It's worth noting that its suggested price also sits exactly mid-way between those two models.
Ricoh GXR Mount A12 Hands-on Preview
The aptitude to resuscitate classic manual focus lenses has been one of the unexpected side-effects of the development of mirrorless camera systems. Ricoh has responded to this trend by introducing the Mount A12 module for its GXR system. This module, featuring a Leica-style M mount, allows the fitting of a wide range of lenses onto a GXR body for the first time.
The GXR scheme may originally have aimed to offer optimized combinations of lens, sensor and processor, but the customer demand for the ability to mount other lenses was too much for Ricoh to ignore. There is, after all, a certain appeal to shooting a well-built metal lens on a small camera, but very few of us are willing to move back to film in order to experience it, or to spend considerable sums on a digital Leica. Ricoh clearly isn't content to sit on the sidelines as the mirrorless systems begin to respond to this pent-up demand.
The use of the Leica M-mount brings flexibility in two respects. In part because it is no longer under patent, and also thanks to its age, there are a wide range of lenses available for the M-mount. These include Zeiss, Voigtländer, Konica, Minolta and Rollei lenses, as well as native Leica designs. Just as crucially, because the M-mount has one of the shortest distances from the mount to the imaging plane, there's room to fit an adapter allowing the use of a vast range of other lens types.
The GXR Mount A12 module offers a 12MP APS-C CMOS sensor but, unlike the existing modules, it has a redesigned microlens layout designed to better cope with the wide range of lenses that could be mounted on the camera but, more prominently, it has no low-pass (anti-aliasing) filter. The company says it feels it is more important to convey the full characteristics of the lenses than to suppress moiré. The module's firmware also brings several new functions to the system, including two 'Focus Assist' modes that highlight high-contrast regions in the preview to allow fast focusing.
The ability to quickly and accurately focus manual lenses has been something of a challenge for cameras without an optical viewfinder. Plenty offer fast access to magnified live view but few offer the range of options of the GXR, which offers three levels of magnification, a choice of inset or whole-screen magnification, the two focus assist modes and a jump back to full preview when you half-press the shutter. For the manual-focus-only camera that this module creates, getting this right was essential and our initial impression are pretty positive.
Beyond this, the Mount A12 module also includes options for correcting geometric distortion, vignetting and 'color shading,' which, along with the lens name and details, can be stored as custom settings to the camera or off to a memory card. These routine settings can then be manually recalled next time you re-mount a specific lens. The lens name and details are also included in EXIF image metadata.
Also distinctive to this module is an electronic shutter option, for completely silent shooting at up to 1/8000th of a second. The sequential read-out from the sensor means this mode isn't ideal for fast moving subjects (it also can't be used in Bulb or Time modes), so is available only as a scene mode.
Olympus PEN LITE / E-PL3 Hands-on Preview
Olympus wasn't the first company to commence a mirrorless interchangeable camera but it was the first to develop a simplified, cost-reduced model with an easy-to-use interface to allow point-and-shoot upgraders to get the most out of their first large-sensor camera. Olympus has a history of developing new ideas and technologies, only to watch them become popular across the industry, so won't have expected the field to itself for long. Its response to this challenge are two new models - the PEN Lite and PEN Mini.
The PEN Lite is the third generation of the company's simplified PEN model. And, where the E-PL1 felt like an E-P2 shoe-horned into a cheaper body (and the E-PL2 a slightly more satisfying version same concept), the E-PL3 is more perceptibly a model in its own right. Although it shares much with the co-announced E-P3, the Lite has more distinct styling and better feature differentiation than we've previously seen.
In terms of similarities, the E-PL3 shares the same updated 12MP imaging sensor and dual-core TruePicVI processor as the E-P3, providing the camera with many of the same capabilities as its big brother. However, its styling is more obviously reminiscent of the company's flagship XZ-1 compact than of previous PENs. There's also a flip-out rear LCD that helps set it apart from the retro-styled E-P3. Beyond this, a close look at the Lite shows that, with the exception of the thumb dial and Fn2 button, it offers a analogous degree of control to the more expensive model. It even retains the built-in stereo microphones of the bigger PEN - one of the first features to go missing from many such cameras.
Having recurrently acted as a trailblazer (Olympus was an early exponent of DSLR liveview, in-camera image stabilization and art filters), and subsequently watched other manufacturers produce very similar beginners' user interfaces, the PEN Lite sees Olympus getting to borrow ideas for a change. There's something decidedly NEX-like about the Lite's protruding lens mount and tilting LCD screen, not to mention its separate clip-on flash.
Frustratingly, the Lite's flip-out screen is in the 16:9 aspect ratio - perfect for shooting video but pretty disastrous for a camera with a native shooting ratio of 4:3. The problem is that a 4:3 chunk of a 16:9 frame leaves black bars down either side of the screen - throwing away a troubling 25% of the screen's area. This area can, of course, be populated with shooting information but it still means your preview is much smaller than you'd want it to be.
Pentax Q Hands-on Preview
The Pentax Q is the negligible interchangeable lens camera on the market. And, just like the company's famously diminutive Auto 110 SLR from the late 70's, it achieves this by embracing a smaller format than its peers. Being built around a 1/2.3" sensor, the Q is a fraction of the size of even the smallest existing mirrorless cameras and is the first really pocketable model (though the protruding lens still means that'll have to be the pocket of your jacket, rather than your shirt or trousers).
To make apparent what the rather opaque 1/2.3" figure actually means, it equates to a surface area of around 28mm2. This is around 1/8th the size of the sensor used in Micro Four Thirds cameras and 1/13th the size of the the APS-C format sensor in Sony's NEX. The advantage of this is that the lenses for the Q mount can be made a lot smaller than those for other systems, but the downside is that the image quality is more likely to resemble that of a compact camera than a DSLR.
You can glean a lot about Pentax's approach to the Q from the lenses it has announced: a 47mm equivalent F1.9 prime lens for the enthusiasts but accompanied with a healthy dose of fun in the form of two fixed focal length 'toy' lenses (a wide-angle and a telephoto version, both sub-$100). On the fun side of things there will also be a fisheye lens or, at the more serious end, a 28-83mm equivalent standard zoom with a built-in shutter, allowing flash sync at any shutter speed.
Coupled with the 47mm equiv. prime or the standard zoom the Q, with its sturdy magnesium-alloy build, appears to be offering an alternative take on the photographers' compacts such as the Canon G12, Olympus XZ-1 and even the Ricoh GRD. However, the fact that it can take different lenses means that in a matter of seconds it can be converted into a fun little camera that should still offer a more satisfying shooting experience than a mobile phone and image processing app.
And the Q is no toy camera, despite its modest sensor size it boasts a magnesium alloy cadaver with rubber front coating, a 460,000 dot LCD on the rear and raw output in the DNG format. Interestingly, Pentax bucks the recent trend of trying to attract point-and-shoot users by removing those intimidating buttons with all those mysterious symbols on them, and includes plenty of external controls.
Leica is working on its own mirrorless compact camera range, and it will be launched at Photokina in 2012. The news comes from Leica CEO Alfred Schopf, who spoke to UK magazine Amateur Photographer during an interview yesterday.
Schopf was circumspect, but told AP that the cameras would have sensors at APS-C sized or bigger, and most likely feature a built-in electronic viewfinder. He also made the point that its the lens, not the camera which is important. “Our philosophy is that the best lenses will lead to better images,” he said. Leica chairman Andreas Kaufmann, also present, added that “Sensors are becoming a commodity, like film was. It’s happening now. APS you can buy rather cheaply.”
Of course, you can get a small, mirrorless body with Leica lenses now if you buy a Micro Four Thirds camera. What I’d love to see, but probably never will, is a cut-down version of the M9. The same lens-mount, the same rangefinder focussing and the same (presumably commodity) sensor, only in a less-solid body that doesn’t cost $7,000. Because if Leica just makes a Lumix GF1 with a red dot and a $2,000 price-tag, I’ll stick with the one I’ve already got.
Leica 25mm ƒ1.4 Lens for Micro Four Thirds
Oh hello! In accumulation to the less-than-inspiring GF3 announced today, Panasonic has redeemed itself with the new Leica DG Summilux 25mm ƒ1.4 ASPH lens. This fixed lens, which works as a 50mm equivalent “standard” on the Micro Four Thirds bodies, is likely to be one sweet chunk of glass.
First, the statistics. The lens has a seven-blade orifice for the nice, circular out-of-focus highlights (bokeh) characteristic of Leica lenses. It also comes with aspherical elements, a “nano coating” (for less reflection from the lens’ surfaces) and one “ultra-high refractive index” elements to bend the light equally to all parts of the image.
And because it opens to ƒ1.4, you’ll not only be able to take photos of anything you like in the dark, you’ll also be able to focus on somebody’s pupil and have the corner of their eye be blurred. Finally, a metal escalate should mean it outlasts several cameras.
The lens, available in August, has yet to be priced. Being a Leica, it won’t be cheap. In fact, Amazon’s pre-order page — according to Photography Bay — was briefly listing it for $1,100.
Leica M3 and Fujifilm X100 Side-By-Side
We called the hot-and-almost-here Fujifilm X100 Leica-like, but if you didn’t believe use, take a look at these photos from Flickr user Nokton. They show the classic Leica M3 and the new Fujifilm hybrid rangefinder together, and they could have been separated at birth.
Well, not quite at birth: the M3 was born back in 1954, while the X100 isn’t even close to its first birthday. But it’s clear that, as Nokton says, the new camera has some Leica DNA. In fact, I had to double check the first time I saw the side-by-side shot to see which was which.
Under his real name of Pieter Franken, Nokton has also reviewed the X100, and he pronounces it as good, with high ISO performance at the level of the Nikon D700, a good, fast lens and a great viewfinder (this is arguably the main point of the camera, with its instant switch between optical and electronic modes).
It also has, somewhat amusingly, a much quieter shutter than the current Leica M9. Up until the Leica started putting metal shutters into its M-series cameras, they were known as the quietest cameras around.
03:55
Chaeden
Design. As beautiful as it is wearable.
Music has a whole new feel.
Hold everything.
