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Fuji Gets Serious About Image Quality With the FinePix F200EXR

Compact digital cameras have been treated rather poorly by camera manufacturers over the past few years by stuffing endless features into them with marketing being the forefront of concerns. These "features" have lead to a ridiculous number of pixels on a tiny sensor, which results in very grainy images for users. Fuji has just announced a potential powerhouse of a compact digital camera. The F200EXR offers a 12 megapixel sensor that operates in a number of image capture modes. Normally, I would scoff at a 12 megapixel sensor as too much for such a small sensor; however, Fuji's shooting options may make this camera work those pixels more effectively. The key to this camera's potential lies in the 3 modes in which the image sensor operates, which Fuji described in its press release as follows:

Fine Capture Mode (High Resolution) , which deploys all twelve million pixels, and is designed to offer the finest detail of intricate subjects when light is full and even; Pixel Fusion Mode (High Sensitivity and Low Noise) , which caps two adjacent pixels together to produce six million large photodiodes, which are big enough to absorb light in the darkest of conditions, to produce low-light shots of extraordinary quality with minimal noise and grain; and Dual Capture (Wide Dynamic Range), which captures different exposures with two sets of six million pixels, which, when combined, gives an excellent level of detail in highlights and low lights that would otherwise be lost.

While there is nothing truly fancy about the Fine Capture Mode, the Pixel Fusion Mode and the Dual Capture could give consumers what they need in a compact camera. We'll know more once this camera hits the market and real world sample images make their way online from the hands of users. It just might be the next big thing.

Eric is a guest author the Wize blog covering digital cameras. He is the Editor of Photography Bay, which covers digital camera reviews, rumors and news

Olympus E-510 dSLR Review

Pocket-lint came out with a review of the Olympus E-510 dSLR camera today. The camera came out last March.

First the stats:

* 10.9 MP
* Image stabilization
* Dust reduction system
* 2.5 inch LCD
* Optional 28-84mm zoom (35mm equiv), two interchangeable lens kit also available
* 17.3 mm (H) x 13.0 mm (V)
* JPEG, RAW or RAW + JPEG capture
* ISO 100 - 1600
* Shutter speed - 60 - 1/4000 sec

Wize.com rates the camera a 97 with the following reviews:

"This camera is very intuntive in controls, which means when you need to change settings( as I shoot in Aperture) There is not a problem getting to them quickly!"

"Focus was dead on when the subject had some light but in very low to dark the camera hunted for focus."

"I have been working with the E-510 for about a week now and am very pleased."

Check out all of the reviews on Wize.com here.

AT&T Announces Samsung Blackjack II

CTIA 2007 is in full swing, and this morning AT&T came out with news the the Samsung Blackjack II is officially going to be a reality.  Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer was the one to make the announcement. 

Some cool features include:

• The ability to share live video with friends while on a voice call, which makes the Blackjack II the first "business phone" to enable Video Share
• Built in GPS
• RSS reader client
• A 2.0 megapixel camera

New Reviews Roll in for the Pentax K100D Super

Wize.com has learned from Photography Blog, that the new Pentax K100D Super, which is an updated version from last years K100D.  (The Pentax K100D received a WizeRank of 90)

Photography Blog states,

"The main new features are the Dust Removal system from the more expensive K10D model, which helps keep the CCD sensor free from dust, support for SDM (Supersonic Drive Motor) lenses, ISO 3200 mode and a much lower retail price than the original K100D had when it was launched back in May 2006."   

With a price point of $600, the Pentax K100D is a decent contender in the DSLR space. 

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 Projector Gets Cheap

Epson goes cheap with the PowerLite Cinema 720 Projector, adding many of the features the higher model Epson Home Cinema 1080.  The price point for the PowerLite Cinema comes in at $1299... not bad! 

It comes with three LCD chips, a 10-bit color processing and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.  If you are considering a projector for watching HDTV, which has a tendency to max out at 1080i/720p, this would be a great option since broadcast/cable will max out at 1080i/720p. 

Early Reviews Roll in Canon EOS-1D Mark III DSLR

The Cannon EOS-1D Mark III DSLR camera, geared for the high end professional or niche user receives rave reviews. 

The Digital Camera blog states,

"As expected, the design, speed, live LCD, color accuracy, noise / low light performance and controls were all highly praised, but the white balance and a nagging autofocus problem did prove troublesome."

That said, it may be worth the wait to hold off until these issues are ironed out, that is unless you have an extra $5,000 to toss at this top of he line DSLR camera.

Sprint Blackberry Pearl 8130 Release Coming in November

Wize.com got the scoop on the next RIM, Sprint's Pearl 8130 which comes right on the heels of Verizon's announcement a couple of weeks back.  The Pearl 8130 will be here in November, and pricing will announced closer to launch. 

The highest feature that Sprint is highlighting is the Pearl 8130's GPS navigation ability, which is nothing new on most recent mobile phone releases.  What it does offer, which is somewhat different, is that the GPS functionality provides real time routing and traffic routes in case there is an accident on your main route.  That seems pretty handy, although I'm not sure if I'd recommend using the GPS on your cell while driving. 

In addition, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo Bluetooth support, 2 megapixel camera, and externally accessible microSDHC slot.  All of which would make this phone a good choice if you were looking for a upgrade from your Pearl GSM. 

NME HD VMD Player Takes on Blu-ray

Wize.com recently peaked over into NME's website to learn that they created a low cost HD VMD Player (High Definition Versatile Multilayer Disc).

The website states,

"HD VMD is a true HD format with 1920 x 1080i/p resolution, up to 40 Mbps bit rate playback, DVD up-scaling so users can watch their existing DVD collection and achieve premium picture quality through their HD TV monitors. The HD VMD player is suitable for playback on all HD-capable display devices and will support existing optical disc formats: CD, DVD (DVD 5 & DVD 9). HD VMD players also feature Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and all region codes for greater film viewing flexibility."

Before you go running out to stores to purchase this ramped up high quality player, keep in mind that currently content in this format is not king.  Right now, few titles exist in HD except for much older titles, and no word has been expressed when the newer releases will hit stores.  For now this might be a development for the super user who wants to be the first on the block to have the nifty cool gadget. 

Wize.com Early Review: Canon Powershot G9 Gets Upgrades from Preceding Models

Just out of the gate, the Canon Powershot gets positive reviews as an upgrade from their preceding Powershot G7 model. 

The Canon Powershot G9 is dubbed as a fantastic alternative for a DSLR camera if amateurs are looking for a smaller model with a heavy body. 

Some additional upgrades include: 12.1 megapixels - up from the G7's 10 megapixels - with a 3 inch LCD screen - increased from 2.5 inches - which sees the very welcome return of RAW mode (consumers asked for this after the G7 was released without the functionality).  The 6x optical zoom lens offers an effective focal length of 35-210mm, there's an optical image stabilizer to help combat camera-shake, plus an optical viewfinder and flash hotshoe.   

Prices on the Canon Powershot G9 range from $467.95 to $499.99. 

Overall, it seems to be have the upgrades consumers have been looking for which makes this camera one to consider when making your purchasing choices for the next digital camera to come into your life. 

As an added bonus, I have included this nifty video of the Canon Powershot G9 time lapse feature.  Pretty cool!

Sony Introduces Environmentally Friendly OLED XEL-1 Television

Wize.com learned that Sony will be releasing new OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) televisions that will be distributed exclusively to the Japanese market this December. 

The pint-size 11 inch, XEL-1 television will cost 200,000 yen (around $1,700) per unit.  Sony does have plans to be releasing larger models in the future. 

The Sony OLED XEL-1 TV is said to have advanced levels of contrast and brightness, a broad spectrum color reproduction.  OLED technology is also known for being extremely environmentally friendly.  Despite their small size, they really look clean, modern and overall aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  For us here in the US, hopefully Sony will decide to market them our way in 2008.