eK-gadgets info

* 21.1 MP 1.0x* DIGIC IV* ISO 100-6400 L:50 & H:12800* 5 FPS* 3.2″ High Resolution Screen (LCD)* 19 point AF* HDMI Out* Liveview* HD Movie Mode* Viewfinder: 100% Coverage* Full weather sealing* EF Lenses onlyFrom Northlight“The 50D sensor and image processing are a major step forward in what has been a multi-year strategy for Canon to take sensor technology to the limits of physics, simultaneously achieving higher ISOs, lower noise and higher dynamic range. Note Chuck Westall’s announcement that the 50D sensor has 1 to 1 and a half stops better noise than the 40D sensor despite the smaller pixels. Several core strategies have been pursued simultaneously for this:* Reducing the micro lens gap to capture all the light hitting the sensor. This has been highlighted in the 40D, 1D III and 1Ds III sensors and the new 50D sensor now achieves effective 100% coverage. Only very minor improvements are expected from this point on (e.g. shaping the lenses towards the corners of the frame to capture angled light.* Reducing the noise level of each pixel. Canon have made changes over several generations of sensors to achieve this, bringing the amplifiers closer to each pixel, changing micro-circuit configuration and lowering voltages so the sensor runs colder. Again the design of the 50D is a big step forward here from the 40D and 1D III etc. Canon have one more big jump lined up, with low voltage cold running CMOS designs to gain at least an additional stop in lower noise at higher ISOs or long exposures.* Better digital noise reduction. These are the changes in DIGIC noise processing. First with the Chroma Noise reduction in DIGIC III and now with more advanced multi-level noise reduction options in DIGIC IV. Canon believe they have made most of the gains possible via processing algorithms but do still have some areas to develop. The next focus will be faster noise reduction processing so that it does not come at an impact on frame burst rates (look to the 1D3 replacement for example)* Pixel binning for high ISOs. A new technology enabled by the complexity and processing power of DIGIC IV where they can bin 2, 4 or 8 pixels together at the raw level and average out the noise between them. This is seen by Canon as a key technology in balancing very high resolution sensors (in the 50mp range) with low noise at very high ISOs. Right now they are not pushing this too much with the 50D so as to not create confusion in the market (they see more potential for the technology as sensors get larger and in the pro-market).* Increased image resolution – This is a newer strategy (most evident on the 450D where they have changed the anti-aliasing filter (thinner and closer etc) so as to achieve a crisper image per pixel without loosing the benefits of anti-aliasing filter on diagonal edges etc.. The 50D has the same technology. One further option for the future is for Canon to drop the anti aliasing physical filter and do it in a future DIGIC generation where there can be smarter allocation of colour values than the blurring achieved by a light based filter.* Increased raw bit depth for improved dynamic range. Here Canon have made the jump to 14 bit and will move to 16 bit in their future sensor technology generations. Canon see the main usage of extra bit depth as providing the dynamic range to translate the sensor image into a printable or viewable image with a higher dynamic range. In other words mapping the 14 or 16 bits into an 8 bit viewable or printable image that mimics the dynamic range in the scene.* Dynamic range preservation options – Canon are putting a lot of focus into how to provide the photographer with the best options for preserving the dynamic range of the original image in both a RAW file and the 8 bit JPEG. The highlight tone preservation option on the 40D, 1D III etc was the first step. The new ‘automatic brightness’ options in the 50D are another, where they try and optimise the brightness of various parts of the image to reduce the dullness from shadows. Canon are planning much more in this area, down to the equivalent of varying the ISO level across the different parts of the sensor when the image is taken (easier in live view mode of course).

Our week of big camera announcements comes to an end with a new ultra-compact camera from Sony. The Cyber-shot DSC-T500’s biggest features are undoubtedly its 3.5″ LCD display and 720p HD movie mode (with stereo sound). Here are the specs:Cyber-shot DSC-T500 

• 10.1 effective Megapixel CCD
• F3.5-4.4, 5X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 33 - 165 mm
• Optical image stabilization
• Ultra-compact brushed metal body (comes in black only)
• 3.5″ LCD display with 230,000 pixels
• Point-and-shoot operation, with requisite face detection feature
• Can record movies at 1280 x 720 (30 fps) with stereo sound
  • Movies are saved using the H.264/AVC codec
  • You can take three still photos while capturing video (albeit at 1280 x 720)
  • Recording time limit is 10 minutes per clip
• Included camera cradle offers HDMI output
• 4MB (!) onboard memory + Memory Stick Duo slot
• Uses NP-BD1 lithium-ion battery; 180 shots per charge
• Shipping in late September for $400

The MSI Wind U90 is a 8.9 netbook which we’ve been waiting for quite a while. So let’s cut the chance and virtually inspect it. The U90 will have an Atom N270 processor, 512MB or 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB hard drive, a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam, stereo speakers and a microphone. There’s 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, three USB 2.0 sockets, VGA out and a 3-cell or 6-cell battery. All that will weigh only 2.2 pounds.There’s no word on pricing and availability for this MSI yet but as always, we can’t have all the details can we?

Nokia has finally updated what stood as an icon for money and luxury until now with a few improvements that should have CEOs and fat-walleted friends that you know all excited. But 3G is not the only improvement this richboy toy is getting as WiFi is onboard too with a few changes in its outward design. We know specs don’t matter if you are fixated on buying it, but for us less mortals, the Vertu Signature has a QVGA OLED display of 320×240 pixels with 16 million colors, Bluetooth, WAP 2.0 browser, email support, and VoIP. It also has a SIM tray allowing for easy swapping between your work and personal SIM cards with support for WCDMA dual-band 2100/850 MHz and GSM quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies. We don’t know when Nokia will decide to spit this out and for how much, but I for one will add this to my steadily growing list of cell phonesI can’t afford.