Digital Shot

After digesting loads of scuttlebutt here lately, we’re elated to see that Pentax has finally come clean with its new K-7 DSLR. The 14.6 megapixel shooter packs a rugged magnesium alloy body and arrives with an HD movie mode that captures video at 640 x 416, 720p (1,280 x 720) or 1,536 x 1,024 — all at 30fps. Needless to say, that’s more than the D90 and D5000 offer (both top out at 720p), and while Canon’s T1i does 1080p, it does so at just 20fps. There’s also an HDMI port, a 3-inch Live View LCD, in-camera lens correction, shake reduction and an improved dust reduction system. The real kicker, however, is the High Dynamic Range (HDR) capture mode, which snags a trio of images, then combines them in-camera to widen the exposure gamut. The body alone should ship in July for $1,299.95 — which is notably more expensive that recent wares from Canon, Nikon and Sony — and you can peek the full slate of specifications just past the break.

Continue reading Pentax gets official with 14.6MP K-7 DSLR: HD movies, HDR mode

Pentax gets official with 14.6MP K-7 DSLR: HD movies, HDR mode originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another day, another couple of Panasonic HD camcorders. This pair may not be the make the same “world’s lightest” (with an asterisk) claims as the entrants we saw yesterday, but each sports a dubious record of their own. First is the HDC-TM30 (pictured after the break), another “world’s lightest” cam, this one with the caveat that, at 227 grams, it’s the lightest with 32GB of internal storage. It sports a 16x (44 - 706mm equivalent) optically stabilized zoom ahead of a single CMOS sensor that can record 1080p24 video. The other player, the HDC-TM350 (above), offers a bit more on the quality front and pledges the “world’s largest capacity” full HD camcorder, offering 64GB of storage. That equates to a nigh-ridiculous 16 hours of 1080p24 video shot through a stabilized 12x (45 - 540mm equivalent) lens. It even records 5.1 audio, but with the mics all placed within what looks to be a one square inch patch don’t expect great channel separation here. Both are set for release in late-June for undisclosed (but hopefully non-record-breaking) prices.

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading Panasonic breaking more arbitrary records with two new 1080p24 camcorders

Panasonic breaking more arbitrary records with two new 1080p24 camcorders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 07:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.