eK-gadgets info

Apple Inc. this week began shipping its petite wireless Bluetooth headset for iPhone and we’ve got about four dozen high-quality photos to prove it.

The $129 add-on turned up at several Apple retail stores earlier this week, many of which have since sold out of their initial inventory. Several stores contacted by AppleInsider said they expect additional shipments to arrive in the coming days. However, we luckily managed to snag a couple on our way back from SoHo.

Each Apple Bluetooth headset comes packaged quite elegantly in the same black retail packaging constructed for the iPhone itself. Outside of the imagery on the front and rear of the box, it’s otherwise identical to the iPhone packaging.

Inside each box is the Apple Bluetooth Headset, Apple iPhone Duo Dock (for charging the iPhone and headset simultaneously), a User Guide, a warranty pamphlet, two earpads, and a USB travel cable that includes its own Bluetooth headset mini charger (recessed into the rear of the dock connector plug). Therefore, the USB travel cable can also charge both the iPhone and Apple Bluetooth Headset simultaneously.

On the far end of the Apple Bluetooth Headset is a minute MagSafe connector that magnetically secures the accessory to the charging port in either the Duo Dock or the USB travel cable — there are no pins to bend or break. The headset itself also includes a single LED that glows green when the unit is fully charged or red when not.

When both the iPhone and Bluetooth headset are connected to the Duo Dock at the same time, the iPhone will display the battery level of both the iPhone and the headset on its display screen (last photo, below).

We’ll have some initial impressions of the Apple Bluetooth headset in the coming days, followed by a thorough review sometime thereafter.

Some subset of photographers would like a compact camera with lots of higher-end features and manual controls. But a vastly larger quantity want their cameras to take photos with the correct focus, exposure, white balance and other factors without having to do more than press the shutter button.

Which is why Panasonic’s three newest cameras, the Lumix FX-33, FX-55 and FZ18 are notable. For one thing, Panasonic is catching up with competitors such as Fujifilm and Canon by introducing face detection, which lets the camera guess more intelligently about what the photographer is trying to shoot and adjust settings accordingly. But more novel is what Panasonic calls Intelligent Scene Selector.

Intelligent Scene Selector, if switched on, replaces a common set of broad parameters that otherwise must be manually activated. It lets the camera take its best guess about whether the scene is one of five modes: portrait, landscape scenery, macro close-up, night scenery and night portrait, said Alex Fried, Panasonic’s national marketing manager for imaging in North America. And when the camera is in portrait modes, it uses the face-detection technology for further refinement.

“All that takes place without touching a button,” Fried said. “Consumers don’t utilize scene modes to their fullest capability. A lot don’t go that deep into the manual or into the menus.”

All three of the new cameras feature the face detection and automatic scene selection as well as two earlier technologies, Panasonic’s Mega OIS, which shifts the image sensor to counteract camera shake, and Intelligent ISO, which increases the camera’s sensitivity to try to deal with moving subjects. Boosting ISO lets the camera use a shorter exposure to freeze action better, but it produces more off-color speckles called image noise.

Collectively, Panasonic calls the four features Intelligent Auto Mode. I suppose camera makers can be excused for attaching official names to their features, and now metafeatures, in the effort to distinguish their models from the herd. But I fear it causes brand exhaustion among camera buyers.

The three new cameras are 8-megapixel models due in September and sporting zoom ranges that begin at a nice 28mm wide angle. The FX33 and FX55 are smaller, with 3.6x zoom lenses and LCDs measuring 2.5 inches and 3 inches, respectively. The FZ18 has a huge 18x zoom range, a notch longer than the predecessor FZ8, which began at 35mm and spanned a 12x zoom range. And for control freaks, it offers manual control and raw image support, Fried said. Prices, in ascending order, are about $300, $350 and $400.

Summer is in full swing and the season is heating up with new camera announcements. Fuji steps to the plate with five new models that follow the trend toward more megapixels and slowly growing zoom ranges, while adding to the company’s set of signature features. As with the company’s PMA introductions the new cameras will all be able to store images to both xD Picture Cards and SD or SDHC cards.

With the Finepix F50fd, Fuji is introducing a new version of the company’s face detection technology, which Fuji calls Face Detection 2.0. While the old version could deal with faces that faced different angles in the horizontal plane–such as someone turning her head from side to side– Fuji says the new version can also accommodate faces that vary in the vertical plane, such as a person laying down. The system can detect up to 10 faces at a time and will set autofocus based on the primary face, while adjusting auto exposure so that all the selected faces are properly exposed, if possible. Fuji says that Face Detection 2.0 should be able to detect faces even in profile, which should be interesting, since most face detection systems we’ve seen so far need to detect two eyes to identify a face.

The Sigma Electronic Flash EF-530 DG SUPER

Advanced features and high performance with a powerful Guide Number of 53.

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new ELECTRONIC FLASH EF-530 DG SUPER.EF-530 DG SUPER features a powerful Guide Number of 53 and is designed to work with the latest TTL auto exposure systems of all popular manufacturers’ digital SLR cameras. Among the advanced features of this flash are modeling flash function, multi pulse flash, TTL wireless flash, FP (high speed) flash, rear-curtain Synchro flash and manual flash mode which allows the photographer to set the flash power level by up to eight stops. The Auto Power-Off function automatically shuts off the LCD panel to help save battery power. When the flashgun is fully charged, a confirmation ‘ready’ light will be emitted. The auto zoom function automatically sets the optimum illumination angle in accordance with the lens’ focal length in a range from 24mm to 105mm. When the built-in Wide Panel is used, the flash can cover the angle of 17mm.For bounce flash, the flashgun head can be tilted up by 90 degrees, to the left by 180 degrees, or to the right by 90 degrees. It can also be tilted down by 7 degrees allowing ease of use for close-up photography.

Sigma EF-530 DG SUPER features
• Features a powerful guide number of 53.
• Designed to work with the new TTL systems of all the popular manufacturers.
• Covers a focal length from 24mm to 105mm.
• Autozoom function automatically sets the optimum illumination angle.

The Sigma Electronic Flash EF-530 DG ST

Fully automatic flash photography for easy operation with a powerful Guide Number of 53.

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new ELECTRONIC FLASH EF-530 DG ST.EF-530 DG ST features a powerful Guide Number of 53 and is designed to work with the latest TTL auto exposure systems of all popular manufacturers’ digital and film SLR cameras. It features TTL automatic flash exposure control for easy operation. The auto zoom function automatically sets the optimum illumination angle in accordance with the lens’ focal length in a range from 24mm to 105mm. When the built-in Wide Panel is used, the flash can cover the angle of 17mm.For bounce flash, the flashgun head can be tilted up by 90 degrees, to the left by 180 degrees, or to the right by 90 degrees. It can also be tilted down by 7 degrees allowing ease of use for close-up photography. In addition to automatic mode, the flashgun also features a manual flash mode, making it possible to set the flash power level to full or 1/16. When the flashgun is fully charged, a confirmation ‘ready’ light will be emitted and the flash exposure level can be checked through the cameras viewfinder. Other features incorporated into this flashgun include the Auto Power-Off function to help save battery power.

Sigma EF-530 DG ST features
• Features a powerful guide number of 53.
• Designed to work with the new TTL systems of all the popular manufacturers.
• Covers a focal length from 24mm to 105mm.
• Built-in Wide Angle Diffuser Panel allows the flash to cover an angle of 17mm.