Digital Camera Review: Canon EOS 60D

Superb for its price


Digital Camera Review: Canon EOS 60D

by Trevor Tan
05:55 AM Nov 26, 2010


DO WE need another digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera in the market? Canon obviously thinks so when it released its latest EOS 60D ($1,599, body only), successor to the 50D.

Sporting an 18-megapixel APS-C-sized CMOS image sensor (1.6x crop factor), a Digic 4 image processor and 3-inch vari-angle LCD screen, the 60D features nine cross-type auto focus points with a 63-zone metering system. It shoots still images up to 5.3 frames per second (fps) and full high-definition (HD) 1920x1080 videos at 30fps.

Despite its light weight (755g, with battery) and small frame (14.5x10.6x7.9cm), the camera feels stout and offers a good grip. It is pretty durable, surviving a careless drop without any operational hitch. The small built-in pop-up flash gives a surprisingly nice fill-in and delivers respectable results in slow-synchronised flash mode, too.

For those who have used a Canon EOS DSLR, you will be at home with the placement of the controls and buttons. The addition of a dedicated movie button near where your thumb usually rests is a nice touch, as it makes video recording a breeze. However, you can't press the movie button to shoot videos on the fly; you need to switch to video mode first. When the movie mode is not activated, it serves as a Live View toggle button.

Startup and shutdown are instantaneous if you turn off the auto sensor cleaning. If not, it will take up to three seconds. The auto focusing speed is quite good but there are quirks. Using the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 (28.8-216mm in 35mm equivalent) kit lens, auto focusing can go haywire at times, taking nearly a second to focus, especially in high lighting contrast situations.

The 60D will not auto focus during video recording when you are zooming or panning. You can half-press the shutter release to auto focus again, but it can take more than two seconds to focus. I recommend manual focus during video recording.

The still images shot are gorgeous, with sharp rendering of details and accurate colour reproduction. Noise performance is amazing, with noise artifacts not seen till ISO 3200. Even at ISO 6400, the chromatic noise that surfaced is still acceptable. The full HD videos shot are equally impressive and picked up only slight wind and ambient audio.

Even though the 60D supports in-camera RAW image processing, it is the built-in creative filters, such as "Toy Camera" nostalgic effect and "Miniature" tilt-shift lens effect (my favourite), which will interest most.

However, you can only apply the filters to your pictures after you shoot them. The good thing is you can choose the pictures you want for the different effects and you don't have to wait a few seconds for the camera to process the picture after you shoot it. But you lose the immediacy of seeing the "filtered" pictures. Perhaps, an option to allow users to shoot in the creative filters mode could be added in firmware updates.

Source: www.todayonline.com

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Smartphone Review: Huawei IDEOS U8150

Competent and easy on the wallet

Smartphone Review: Huawei IDEOS U8150

by Trevor Tan
05:55 AM Nov 19, 2010

THE black minimalist front of this mobile phone gives no indication of its brand. Turn to its back and you will spot a Google logo and an IDEOS badge. Is this another G-Phone? No, it's Huawei's entry-level 3.5G smartphone, the IDEOS U8150 ($339, without contract).

Just slightly bigger than a credit card, gentlemen might find this phone a tad small. But the size and its weight (110g) should be ideal for ladies. While the U8150 is smooth to hold, the plasticky back cover can be slip-prone.

Using a rather modest 528MHz processor to run Android 2.2 (Froyo), the U8150 has 512MB NAND memory and 256MB RAM. Powering it up for the first time took an excruciating 71 seconds.

So don't bet on running any memory-intensive apps. Still, the phone comes pre-loaded with a pretty comprehensive suite of apps that includes Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps and Gmail. You can access up to five windows of apps (16 apps per window) on the home screen of the phone.

With Froyo, you can now run more Android apps from your microSD card (supported up to 32GB). Ironically, the phone does not support Flash, a feature that Android crows about.

The 2.8-inch QVGA 320x240 capacitive touchscreen pales in comparison to the high-resolution displays of some smartphones. The screen is fairly responsive, with occasional lags probably caused by the slow processor.

Despite the small screen size, I find myself able to type quickly without much error using the virtual Qwerty keyboard. Call reception is clear.

The still and moving images taken with the 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera are too soft and noisy for my taste. In addition, you can only shoot when a microSD card has been slotted into the phone. The card slot is located behind the battery and its lack of tactile response means you will not know if you have slotted the card in correctly.

The best part of the U8150 is its ability to turn into a wireless router via its 3G Internet connection. Speeds reach 7.2Mbps and you can connect up to eight WiFi-enabled devices simultaneously. You don't have to carry an extra device with you and you can configure the WiFi connection with a password. The resulting WiFi connection is amazingly stable when used on my mobile phone, laptop and tablet at the same time.

Note that with WiFi tethering switched on, the phone gets hot easily and the battery goes flat in three hours. Without tethering, the battery can last you two days with light surfing, messaging and phone calls.

While it might not be a Ferrari speedster, the Huawei IDEOS U8150 is a competent and wallet-friendly Toyota that humbly does the job and even offers the convenience of a portable wireless router.

Source: www.todayonline.com

 

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Projector in a camera

Compact Digicam Review: Nikon S1100pj

by Sim Cheng Kai

05:55 AM Nov 12, 2010

If you love sharing photo slideshows and videos with friends and family on the go, but often can't find time to edit them on the computer, or have a big enough display to do your captured moments justice, then the Nikon Coolpix S1100pj ($569) - which has an integrated pico (pocket-sized) projector - may just be the right compact digicam for you.

The S1100pj is only the second digicam to feature an integrated projector - the first being its predecessor, the S1000pj. And while pico projectors are nothing new, they are often stand-alone or found on the back of certain mobile handsets. None of these devices so far can match the S1100pj's 14.1-megapixel sensor or 5x wide optical zoom.

Picture quality is on par with other digicams of a similar price range.

Noise performance is decent - signs of grain only began showing when I shot night pictures at ISO 800, although you can technically go all the way to ISO 6400.

Don't expect extensive camera controls like shutter speed or aperture adjustment here.

There is an Easy-Auto mode that decides everything for you, an Auto mode where you can tweak ISO, white balance and exposure, Scene Selection modes with presets for various scenarios like Portraits, and a Face Detection mode that tries to keep all your subjects' faces in focus and automatically snaps a picture when they're all smiles.

There are just six buttons on the S1100pj - on/off, shutter button with zoom slider, projector button with focus dial, video recording, scene selection, and playback mode. All other functions are rendered from the camera's three-inch resistive touchscreen.

Switching between modes and fine-tuning settings is rather slow - you have to wait for the screen to respond. But on the up side, there is tap-to-focus and tap-to-shoot.

You can do HD video recording at 720p with sound, zoom and auto-focus. Oddly enough, tap-to-focus does not work while filming.

When projecting photos and videos, there are simple slideshow settings that you can tweak, such as four transition animations and the option to add any of three music tracks.

When projecting, a tiny tilt-stand at the bottom of the unit holds it in place, and audio comes out from the S1100pj's speaker. An infra-red remote gives you control away from the touchscreen.

The best feature on the digicam has to be the ability to project PowerPoint presentations without connecting it to a computer. Simply save the presentation as a JPEG file, conform to the camera's naming conventions, and load it on a memory card. If you do hook up a laptop, you can also project just about everything on the screen if you've installed the bundled software.

Though this is great for presentations, it's not ideal for intensive tasks like video playback or gaming - the maximum frame rate is 24 frames per second and the projection brightness rating is 14 lumens.

Nikon says that you can project an image of 47 inches from a throw distance of 2.4m. On a white wall in a dark room, images are sharp and details are amazingly clear if you're projecting from around 2m and closer. SIM CHENG KAI

Source: www.todayonline.com

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Mac's got a new Office

Software Review: Microsoft Office for Mac 2011

by Trevor Tan
05:55 AM Nov 05, 2010

Mac users might hate to admit it but their most frequently used OS X program probably bears the name of Microsoft. Microsoft Office, that is.

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 comes in Home and Student Edition ($188 for one licence, $228 for the three-licence Family Pack), which consists of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger for Mac, and the Home and Business Edition ($298 for one licence, $398 for the two-licence pack) that adds Outlook for Mac 2011.

Each application of the suite starts up faster and feels more responsive. For example, on a Core i7 MacBook Pro, PowerPoint 2008 took around six seconds to start up while PowerPoint 2011 took two seconds.

You will be greeted with a template gallery in Word, PowerPoint and Excel. I'm particularly fond of Word's Publishing Layout, which is reminiscent of Apple's Pages, allowing you to lay out and design newsletters and brochures easily.

In addition, instead of the irksome "Toolbox" in Office for Mac 2008 that took up space outside the document window, the Ribbon is introduced across the suite. The Ribbon is basically a series of toolbars in tab form, where you can go to each tab to access the tools you need. For example, you can switch from the Tables tab in Excel 2011 to the Formulas tab seamlessly to execute an "AutoSum" function. You can also reorder the tabs or hide the Ribbon when you don't need it.

A Media Browser, which looks like it has been fished out from iLife, allows you to add photos, music and videos from your iPhoto and iTunes library.

More importantly, the usage of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Office 2011 means macros can be used interchangeably between Mac and Windows. Thus, your Word document will not get truncated as a result from moving from Windows to Mac. You can even export your Windows Word macros to your Mac.

Speaking of Word for Mac 2011, I love the new full screen feature that transports your document to a black background with the essential tools on top. This allows you to concentrate on your document without the interruption of emails or Internet messages.

PowerPoint for Mac 2011 is also really cool, with transitions and animations that can compare to those of Apple Keynote's. Even Keynote doesn't have the stylish dynamic 3D reordering in PowerPoint 2011. Once you click on "reorder objects", the screen will fade to a 3D layer view, allowing you to change layers easily.

I don't use Excel much, so I can't comment much on Excel for Mac 2011 except that it feels faster and looks better than its predecessor.

And finally, Outlook for Mac 2011 gives you true Exchange support, unified email folders, threaded emails and even allows you to import data from your Outlook for Windows to your Mac. I can effortlessly set up all my emails, from Gmail to MobileMe. This effectively removes the last obstacle for Windows users who resisted the switch to Mac, as their Windows-centric workplaces need Outlook. On the downside, Outlook 2011 for Mac doesn't support Exchange Server 2003 and earlier versions. You can't sync your iCal calendars with Outlook, too.

With its sleek user interface, better performance, VBA implementation and a full working Outlook for Mac, Office for Mac 2011 is the one productivity suite you will need on your Mac

Source: www.todayonline.com

Office Mac Home and Business 2011 - 2 License Pack

Office Mac Home and Student 2011 - Family Pack (3 Licenses)

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EeePad tablets on sale in Jan

05:55 AM Nov 05, 2010
TAIWAN'S Asustek Computer will start selling its first tablet computers in January next year, joining other rivals to compete with Apple in the fast-growing market.

An official said that the company will sell its EeePad tablets running Windows software in January, followed by others with Google's Android system in April.

Tablets, with their bright LCD touchscreens and longer battery lives, have hurt sales of regular laptop computers.

Apple controlled 95 per cent of the market for tablet computers with its iPads in the July-to-September quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. REUTERS

Source; www.todayonline.com

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LG to launch Honeycomb tablet?

05:55 AM Nov 05, 2010

LG Electronics, the world's No 3 handset vendor, plans to launch an 8.9-inch tablet device based on an upcoming version of Google's Android operating system, said a source yesterday.

The device, to run on Google's upcoming "Honeycomb" operating system tailored for tablet PCs, will be rolled out in South Korea and overseas early next year, the source said, who asked not to be identified as the new Google system has not been announced yet.

With the rollout, LG seeks to jump into the fast-growing tablet PC market that is becoming increasingly crowded with the likes of Samsung Electronics, Research In Motion, Hewlett-Packard and Dell.

Handset vendors and PC makers are rushing into the new category of devices, which Apple jump-started this year with its hot-selling iPad.

The upcoming LG device will be the first tablet PC for the company, after it dropped a plan to introduce tablets based on the Android 2.2 operating system, also known as "Froyo", citing the need for "the most reliable and suitable Android version" for tablets.

The delay by LG could land a further blow to the South Korean electronics firm, which is grappling to turn around its loss-making mobile unit due to a lack of smartphone models to compete with Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry and Samsung's Galaxy S. REUTERS

Source: www.todayonline.com

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Creative takes on iPad with price ace

Published November 5, 2010


Ziio touchscreen tablet to be offered in Dec at half the price of iPad

By WINSTON CHAI


CREATIVE Technology is looking to rediscover the Midas touch with new touchscreen tablets that promise to go head-to-head with Apple's wildly popular iPad in functionality - but at half the price.

The homegrown company, which suffered a first-quarter loss of US$3.6 million as sales of its music and media players continue to wane, will be hoping to turn the tide by latching on to the latest consumer craze for touch-screen gizmos.

Creative's new product family, dubbed Ziio, will initially comprise two models: a 7-inch and a 10-inch touchscreen tablet. These will be offered with memory capacities of 8 gigabyte (GB) and 16 GB respectively.

Both will be powered by Creative's self-developed ZMS-08 processor and run Google's Android 2.1 operating system (OS).

Android is the favoured choice of companies looking to emulate Apple's success as it is seen as the closest contender to the operating system the latter uses on the iPhone and iPad.

Last week, Singapore Telecom announced it had scored an exclusive deal to sell Samsung's Android-powered tablet - the Galaxy Tab - from next week.

Other gadget makers including Hewlett-Packard, Viewsonic, Asus and Acer are also expected to throw down the gauntlet in the coming months.

While Apple's touch-screen slate has a minimum price tag of $728, Creative's basic Ziio model is more than 50 per cent cheaper at $359.

Besides costing less, the Ziio has another key selling point in its audio performance. The use of Creative's X-Fi technology means its tablets can deliver audio that rivals a high-end speaker system, the company said in a statement.

Industry watchers believe Creative's latest product foray should benefit from the growing popularity of the tablet-form factor. However, it would be tough for any company to lay claim to the mantle of iPad killer, they said.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics, the iPad accounted for a whopping 95 per cent of the 4.4 million tablets that were shipped globally in the third quarter this year.

As in the iPad, consumers will be able to download applications on to Creative Ziio tablets from the Web and the company's online ZiiStore.

Wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, along with a built-in camera and support for high-definition video output, are also standard on the device.

However, the Ziio does not support cellular connections. So users will have to connect to a Wi-Fi network to surf and check email.

The Ziio will be available online from December and be sold in Creative stores by the end of January.


Source: www.businesstimes.com.sg

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