Wize Blog

Sony Offers Entry dSLR Alpha DSLR-A100

Move over Nikon D40x (rated 96 at wize.com) and Canon EOS Rebel XTi (rated 90 at wize.com), Sony's come out with a new entry level dSLR camera, the Alpha DSLR-A100. This is Sony's first dSLR. The camera is the result of a Sony/Konica Minolta collaboration.

Here's what you get with this dSLR, the first in Sony's Alpha line:

* 10 MP, 23.6x15.8 mm CCD sensor

* Sensor mounted on 'Super SteadyShot' platform to prevent blur from camera shake

* Compatible with Konica and third party lenses

* Anti-static coating and anti-dust vibration to keep dust away from sensor

* Eye-start AF, auto-focus starts the moment your eye hits the viewfinder

* Raw file capabilities

* Av, Tv, Auto and Manual shooting modes

* Macro mode

* up to ISO 1600

* Noise reduction for exposures > 1 second

* Built-in flash and red-eye reduction

* 40 segment honeycomb metering

* Lithium-Ion battary

The Big Three Defined--Wii, PlayStation, Xbox 360

Three Video Game Players lead the pack—Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Each is compatible with a variety of games and each offers a place online to get free demos of new games (except PlayStation 3) and songs.

Here’s a condensed version of what the Game Players are all about.

PlayStation 3 (rated 87 at wize.com)  costs $400 Online Content: PlayStation Network Games: Rock Band and God of War II

Wii (rated 94 at wize.com) Cost: $250 Online Content: Catalog of older games as paid downloads Games: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure and Super Mario Galaxy

Xbox 360 (rated 81 by wize.com) Online Content: available through Xbox Live    Games: Rock Band and  BioShock

Great Camera for Nighttime Photography

The DSC-H7/B Cybershot by Sony (rated a 92 at wize.com) is one heck of a camera. I have its predecessor (the A model)  and can recommend it without reservation
For starters the camera has:
a large 2.7 aperture lens
a huge 15 X optical zoom
8 MP
Red eye reduced because flash is far from lens...

That's just the beginning...here's more specs...

...and a video about it pasted below.

Sony Ericsson P1i Not Recommended

Check out the last video I posted about the Sony Ericsson P1i.

I found another that goes into more detail about the many problems users have had operating the phone.

First the good things: It's referred to as the "other" phone on par with the iPhone. It often has been ignored. It has a good 3. 2 MP camera, a music player with a FM radio.

It also has handwriting recognition.

But...lots of problems abound, menus to specify exactly what you want to do.

Web browser not as good as iPhone, and couldn't get Wifi to work.

The Gadget show asks...Why can't Sony get this right.

The video review detailing all these things is below.

Twirl N' Take Camera Meets Curious Eyes

Twirl N' Take Digital Camera was introduced at Eco Products 2007, a green gadget convention in Tokyo.

Before you take a picture, you roll a wheel on top of the camera for 10 to 15 seconds to charge it.

To transfer images, the 3 MP camera is plugged into a planter pot-shaped base that hooks up to a PC.

Sony Ericsson P1i Video Review

Want something different than an iPhone? Think Sony.

The phone is priced according to the contract you sign.  The phone comes with a 3.2 MP camera with autofocus, a camera better than that in the iPhone, music player with great sound quality and a FM radio, no head phone jack, and handwriting recognition on keyboard and more...

Drawback: Wifi hard to get to work; browsing the Internet not nearly as good an experience as browsing with an iPhone.

Watch here:

Does Internal Storage Only in a Digital Camera Create Problems?

Throw away those memory cards most cameras need in order to take even a minimum number of pictures.

The new Sony CyberShot DSC-T2 carries it's memory inside, just as a laptop or desktop computer does.

What that means is that you need a USB cord to move your images from the camera to the computer. You can't just take out the memory card and insert it into another device to transfer your images.

PopPhoto.com reviews the camera saying that having a memory card that's removable "allows you to use other devices to easily transfer images (to) without relying on the camera's USB 2.0 connection."

I can't say that I've ever taken out any memory card from any camera I have to transfer data.

Maybe other people do and would find the need for a memory card.  At any rate, I find the internal memory appealing.

The article goes on to say: "Even though the camera transfers images using a standard mini-USB cable, the cable connects to the camera through an easily mis-placeable proprietary dongle connector; if you manage to lose this thing, your images aren't going anywhere!"

Now that is a problem, why didn't Sony just do what other camera companies have done and have the connection wire for transferring images go directly from the camera to the computer?

The camera also lets you transfer images to a memory stick. Now, that's convenient. That and the fact the camera is a de facto storage device that lets you take images from your computer and store them in the camera.

Carrying a camera around to share your picture is a lot less cumbersome than carrying a computer to show them.

 

Which is Better--Sony or Slingbox NoLocation TV?

Slingbox and Sony are competing in the NoLocation TV market. NoLocation television lets you control your  TV source from anywhere in the world on your laptop or cell phone.

NoLocation televison (also called playshifting) is having the ability to stream TV programming from a source in your home to another device via the Internet.

The Slingbox SOLO (on left in picture)  is about $185. Sony's LF V30 (on right in picture) is about $250. Both are used to take your TV source online.

Cnet said today that "The LF-V30's flaws are even more glaring in comparison to the comparable Slingbox models, the Slingbox Pro and the Slingbox Solo. Sony's setup process still ranges from mildly to excessively frustrating -- especially if you go wireless -- and the viewing software and control options get the job done, but just don't offer the same degree of ease and intuitive design found on the Sling counterpart.

Looks like Slingbox is the way to go if you want everywhere-TV.

Top 5 Laptops from Wize.com

Here's the top 5 rated computers at wize.com.

Hewlett Packard HP Pavilion dv9010us 17 Widescreen Entertainment Notebook PC ...rated 99....$1070

Sony VAIO VGN-AX580G PC Notebook..........................................................rated 98....$1200

Apple MacBook Pro (MA611LL/A) NotebookApple MacBook Pro (MA611LL/A) Notebook rated 97....$2199

ASUS G1S-A1 (90NLBA6132413CQL400T) PC Notebook....................................rated 97....$2038

Hewlett Packard HP DV9230US 1.66 GHz Intel Centrino Duo PC Notebook................rated 97....$1350

Televisions: Is Sony LCD better than Panasonic Plasma?

Lincoln Spector at PCWorld came to a conclusion last September that "most of the the sets (they tested LCD and plasma sets) produced superb pictures most of the time."

By comparing a plasma set to an LCD set you can get an idea of how they are different.

One of the best plasma television sets according to Wize.com is the Panasonic TH-42PX600U 42 in. HDTV Plasma Television. I rates 97 at wize.com. It's listed on the site as costing $1,200.

 Sony's BRAVIA KDL-40V3000 Television, a LCD 40 in. set, rates a 93 at wize.com and is listed between $1,450 and 1,600.

If you used this example, you might conclude (on limited evidence) that the plasma is the better buy.

An Cnet article found that plasma's the way to go for televisions greater than 50 inches and, for smaller televisions, LCD is your best bet. Perhaps that's why the LCDs are a bit more expensive.

I conclude that since LCD is a television with a higher resolution (resolution seems to be important for smaller televisions) that the Sony might be the better bet here.

What do you think?