Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy Camera

Samsung held an event in New York in October to formally unveil the much anticipated Galaxy Note 2. But there was a surprise guest who was also part of the proceedings: the Galaxy Camera.

The device is basically a pro-consumer class camera that is driven by Android 4.1: Jelly Bean.

And, with a 4.8-inch Super HD Clear LCD touchscreen, the Samsung Galaxy Camera isn't likely to be the smallest compact camera you'll ever see, but it feels very nicely put together and is both responsive and intuitive.

Even better news for many is that the 16 million pixel CMOS sensor inside the camera is a 1/2.3-inch device, the same size as in many compact cameras and considerably bigger than those in the average phone. This should mean that the Samsung Galaxy Camera is capable of recording a respectable level of detail with reasonably well controlled noise.

The sensor is coupled with a 4.1-86.1 mm f/2.8-5.9 lens, which gives the focal length equivalent of a 23-483mm lens in 35mm terms. This makes it a very versatile optic, suitable for shooting wide landscapes or cramped interiors, as well as picking out distant details.

It could make the camera a popular option for travellers, especially those who want to be able to share their images with the rest of the world via the camera's Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Galaxy Camera also made an appearance at IFA 2012, and we were only able to spend a relatively short time playing with it at Samsung's Mobile Unpacking event. But it was enough to convince us that this is a camera that will attract a lot of interest.

There's little in the way of physical controls on the camera as most operations are carried out via the touchscreen, which is very responsive. On the top, however, there is a shutter release button surrounded by the zoom switch and the power button as well as a pop-up flash. That's it, and as a result the Galaxy Camera has a very clean look.

Those who fear that relying on a screen to make settings selections will mean scrolling through endless menu options can relax - Samsung has done an excellent job with the interface, and we got to grips with it very quickly. It has had plenty of UI design practice with its other Galaxy products, such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphones and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet.

As you might expect, there's a selection of shooting options for the inexperienced photographer, but Samsung also included the more advanced Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Manual exposure modes for experienced users.

These options are accessed via the Expert option in the Camera menu. Once this is selected, a neat graphic of a lens with a series of rings appears on screen and the sensitivity (ISO), exposure compensation, aperture and shutter speed are adjusted by 'rotating' the rings with a flick of a finger.

In addition to the Auto and Casual mode that are designed for keeping photography very quick and easy, there's a Smart Pro option that enables you to choose the most appropriate scene mode for the shot.

This includes options such as Waterfall Trace, which records moving water as a blur; Blue Sky mode, which ensures blue skies are saturated and not washed out; and a Light Trace mode for shooting car light trails and so on at night. There are also more common options such as a Macro, Panorama, Smart Night and Best Photo mode.

There's also a Voice Control mode that, as the name suggests, enables you to control the camera with your voice by getting it to zoom in and out or take a shot with a voice command. This sounds like a really useful option for self-portraits, but because the Samsung Galaxy Camera's screen is fixed there will be a little bit of guesswork involved with the composition.

After the images have been captured, the Galaxy Camera's Smart Content Manager organizes them into searchable folders based on time and location.

There are also options to tag faces in the images, rotate pictures and crop shots as well as view them in a slideshow. Images can be selected for view with a tap of the screen and scrolled through with a swipe of two of the finger - just as you would with a smartphone such as the Samsung Galaxy Camera's cousin, the Samsung Galaxy S3.

A Sharing widget is claimed to make light work of uploading shots to all your favorite social media sites, and Auto Cloud Back-up is available for remote storage straight after they are taken.

Again, everything is driven by Android, and as such can run basically any Android application from the Google Play store. Yes, you can play Angry Birds on a camera. But the focus is clearly on picture taking, and the Galaxy Camera comes pre-loaded with special applications.

This includes Best Face, which shoots multiple images of a particular scene instantaneously. It's primarily for friends who like group shots, but can never agree on which was the best picture, since one person is looking away in one image, and someone else is blinking in another.

What Best Face does is tallies all the images and mixes and matches the best faces from everything, to combine them into on perfect shot. It's essentially Photoshop on the fly and was extremely impressive.

Another feature that was pushed was Paper Artist, which adds a host of artistic filters which is sure to appeal to Instagram fans. Both Best Face and Paper Artist are also available for the Galaxy Note 2, and Paper Artist may be best used with the Note 2's stylus, but it works just as well on the Galaxy Camera.

Another app is S Suggest, which is a curated recommended app engine. It will ship with every Galaxy device, but its suggestions will be dependent upon the hardware. In the case of the Galaxy Camera, the first thing that pops up is recommended apps from the Camera & Images category.

Images shot can be immediately uploaded to any social network or cloud service wishes, from Facebook to Dropbox, and everyone in between. One can even send a text message from the camera, since it is again an Android device.

We haven't been able to use the Samsung Galaxy Camera properly, but we're pretty excited about it. It has a high-quality feel and although it has lots of options and some pretty advanced controls, it's very easy to use.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera will have a full price of around £399 (around $630) in UK, and will be available from around mid-October.

The 16 million pixel, 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor should be capable of capturing images that are on a par with other compact cameras and significantly better than those from the average smartphone. However, the lens has a wide zoom range (21x) and it will be interesting to see if this compromises the image quality at all.

When asked if the camera can be sold sans data plan, or unsubsidized, Hanna Tong, the director of the product group for the Galaxy Camera, was unable to comment. Though she did state that AT&T will make an announcement very soon that will contain such details.

We're looking forward to receiving a full-production sample for our full Samsung Galaxy Camera review. As well as testing the usual photographic aspects, looking at sharpness, dynamic range and the like, we'll try out a few apps and share images via the Wi-Fi connectivity.

View the original article here

Sony Cyber-shot RX1: A compact camera with a full-frame sensor

The RX1's sensor-size-to-body-size ratio does not seem possible.

There are quite a few premium fixed-lens cameras available with F2.0 lenses, manual exposure controls, and sensors that are larger than the ones found in run-of-the-mill compact cameras. However, there has never been a compact camera with a sensor size anywhere close to that of the just-announced Sony Cyber-shot RX1. The RX1 somehow packs a full-frame sensor into a relatively compact, fixed-lens body.

The RX1's F2.0 lens has a fixed focal length of 35mm.

To put that sensor-size-to-body-size ratio in perspective, most consumer-level DSLRs don't have a sensor nearly as big as the one found in the Cyber-shot RX1. Only the biggest and most-expensive DSLR cameras offer full-frame sensors, and professional photographers are usually the only people who buy them.

A full-frame sensor measures 36mm by 24mm, which is about 2.3 times the size of the APS-C-size sensors found in most entry- to mid-level DSLRs. It's about 20 times the size of the 1/1.7-inch-type sensors found in most premium point-and-shoot cameras.

The RX1's 24.3-megapixel full-frame sensor is also about 7.4 times the size of the sensor found in the Sony Cyber-shot RX100. You may remember the Cyber-shot RX100 as the camera the photography world was drooling over when it was announced earlier this year, primarily due to the fact that it had a very big sensor for a pocket camera—a "very big sensor" that's 0.13 times the size of the one tucked in the RX1.

In practical terms, that full-frame sensor should mean the RX1 performs extremely well in low light, especially when you consider its wide-aperture F2.0 lens and its maximum ISO setting of 25,600. That sensor/aperture combo should also capture very shallow depth of field in macro mode.

As you'd expect, the RX1 also comes loaded with all the features found in Sony's higher-end cameras, such as 1080p video recording at 60fps or 24fps, manual exposure controls for both stills and video, RAW shooting, and automated modes for HDR photography and other creative effects. The camera also features a control ring around the lens for adjusting aperture settings, a pop-up flash, and a standard ISO hot shoe for external accessories.

The RX1 has a large body size for a compact camera, but that provides room for physical controls.

With bigger sensors come bigger body sizes, and the RX1 isn't exactly a "pocket camera," even though it's impressively small for its imaging prowess. At 4.5 inches wide and 3 inches tall, it's closer to the size of beefier cameras such as the Canon PowerShot G12 and Nikon Coolpix P7700 than it is to the size of its Cyber-shot RX100 sibling.

Bigger sensors also translate to bigger prices, as well, and the RX1's asking price puts it firmly in the realm of enthusiast niche cameras. If the $2800 price tag isn't enough to make you flinch, then the fixed focal length of 35mm on the RX1's F2.0 lens might. That means you can't zoom unless you move your feet.

If you're interested, start doing calisthenics and saving up now, because the Cyber-shot RX1 is due in November.

Posting comment ...

View the original article here

You can throw this camera ball for fly-by panoramas

[Credit: Serveball]

Panoramas always seem to be the same kind of wide horizontal pan of gorgeous landscapes. Steve Hollinger, a Boston-based inventor and president of software maker S.H. Pierce and Co., wants to change all that with a new type of throwable camera called the Squito that takes a different kind of fly-by panorama.

Unlike your typical handheld camera, you throw this camera in the air to take photos. Using a combination of high-speed cameras and position sensors, the Squito can stitch together a panoramic scene while it’s spiraling in the air.

According to SlashGear, Hollinger just won a US patent for the project and is currently working on a first-generation prototype. The Squito currently looks like a tennis ball, albeit one equipped with cameras (three of them, to be exact), gyroscopes, accelerometers, a GPS sensor, microcontrollers, and an image processor with an onboard data storage unit.

The latest prototype has a new feature that allows it to take a spherical panoramic image at the apex of its trajectory. The concept is not unlike the grapefruit-sized ball with 36 cameras that we saw previously.

Aside from taking panoramas, this camera will be able to dial into a subject that it'll continuously focus on even after you throw it. For example, Hollinger says that he could use the camera to focus on a batter in a baseball game to create a smooth point-of-view video once the pitcher throws the Squito. The camera can maintain its focus on a subject all on its own because it's able to calculate its position and trajectory relative to its subject.

Hollinger envisions a number of consumer and industrial uses for the Squito, including outdoor photography, sports photography, reconnaissance, and search-and-rescue missions.

[Check out GeekTech for more news on hacks, gadgets, and all things geek. And follow along on Twitter and Facebook.]

Posting comment ...

View the original article here

Hands-on review: IFA 2012: Samsung Galaxy Camera

With a 4.8-inch Super HD Clear LCD touchscreen, the Samsung Galaxy camera isn't likely to be the smallest compact camera you'll ever see, but it feels very nicely put together and is both responsive and intuitive.

Even better news for many, is that the 16 million pixel CMOS sensor inside the camera is a 1/2.3 inch device, the same size as in many compact cameras and considerably bigger than those in the average phone. This should mean that the Galaxy Camera is capable of recording a respectable level of detail with reasonably well controlled noise.

The sensor is coupled with a 4.1-86.1 mm f/2.8-5.9 lens which gives the focal length equivalent of a 23-483mm lens in 35mm terms. This makes it a very versatile optic, suitable for shooting wide landscapes or cramped interiors, as well as picking out distant details. It could make the camera a popular option for travellers, especially those who want to be able to share their images with the rest of the world via the Wi-Fi connectivity.

We were only able to spend a relatively short time playing with it at Samsung's Mobile Unpacking event prior to the opening of IFA 2012, but it was enough to convince us that this is a camera that will attract a lot of interest.

There's little in the way of physical controls on the camera as most operations are carried out via the touchscreen, which is very responsive. On the top, however, there is a shutter release button surrounded by the zoom switch and the power button as well as a pop-up flash - that's it and as a result the Galaxy Camera has a very clean look.

Those who fear that relying on a screen to make settings selections will mean scrolling through endless menu options can rest assured that Samsung has done an excellent job with the interface and we got to grips with it very quickly.

As you might expect there's a selection of shooting options for the inexperienced photographer, but Samsung also included the more advanced program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual exposure modes for experienced users.

These options are accessed via the Expert option in the Camera menu. Once this is selected, a neat graphic of a lens with a series of rings appears on screen and the sensitivity (ISO), exposure compensation, aperture and shutter speed are adjusted by 'rotating' the rings with a flick of a finger.

In addition to the Auto and Casual mode that are designed for keeping photography very quick and easy, there's a Smart Pro option that allows users to choose the most appropriate scene mode for the shot. This includes options such as Waterfall Trace, which records moving water as a blur, Blue Sky mode that ensures blue skies are saturated and not washed out and a Light Trace mode for shooting car light trails etc at night. There are also more common options such as a Macro, Panorama, Smart Night and Best Photo mode.

There's also a Voice Control mode that, as the name suggests, enables you to control the camera with your voice by getting it to zoom in and out or take a shot with a voice command. This sounds like a really useful option for self-portraits, but as the screen is fixed there will be a little bit of guesswork involved with the composition.

After the images have been captured the Galaxy Camera's Smart Content Manager organises them into searchable folders based on time and location.

 

There are also options to tag faces in the images, rotate pictures and crop shots as well as view them in a slideshow. Images can be selected for view with a tap of the screen and scrolled through with a swipe of two of the finger - just as you would with a smart phone.

 

A Sharing Widget is claimed to make light work of uploading shots to all your favourite social media sites and Auto Cloud Back-up is available for remote storage straight after they are taken.

We haven't been able to use the Galaxy Camera properly or examine any images yet, but we're pretty excited about it. It has a high-quality feel and although it has lots of options and some pretty advanced controls, it's very easy to use.

The Samsung Galaxy camera will have a full price of around £399 (around $630) in UK, and will be available from around mid-October.

The 16 million pixel, 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor should be capable of capturing images that are on a par with other compact cameras and significantly better than those from the average smartphone. However, the lens has a wide zoom range (21x) and it will be interesting to see if this compromises the image quality at all.

We're really looking forward to receiving a full-production sample and putting it through its paces. As well as testing the usual photographic aspects, looking at sharpness, dynamic range and the like, we'll try out a few apps and share images via the Wi-Fi connectivity.

View the original article here