Digital Shot

Here we are at last. RED has finally dropped the full specs of at least one its “Digital Stills and Motion Cameras.” And what did you expect? RED has naturally blown this thing out. The first camera to be released will be the insanely high-end EPIC-X, which will come out in four stages and retails for $28,000 (ouch). A pre-production “TATTOO” version will hit this year, followed by a production model for pre-existing RED owners next year, a release after that for RED trade-ins and then finally a widespread release. Meanwhile the Scarlet 2/3-inch camera (which is much more akin to current video-shooting DSLRs, though it doesn’t have a full frame sensor) hasn’t been given a price range or a release window, but promises to please with dual XLR inputs, electronic lens interoperability with RED, Canon and Nikon lenses (adapters required) and 1080p shooting at 60 fps. One great function shared between the cameras is the ability to operate the camera with a touchscreen and perform “touch focus tracking.” So, now that we’ve frightened off all but the die-hards with a hint at pricing and some vaguely defined functionality, let’s let the bullet points take it away after the break:

Continue reading RED DSMC specs detailed, prices start at $28,000 for EPIC-X, lower-end Scarlet still vague

RED DSMC specs detailed, prices start at $28,000 for EPIC-X, lower-end Scarlet still vague originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We’ve already seen some sample footage from Canon’s new professional EOS-1D Mark IV DSLR (and should be seeing plenty more come December), but a pre-production version of the camera has now turned up at the Canon Pro Photo Solutions 09 show in London, and TrustedReviews managed to get an early hands-on with it. As you might expect, the camera definitely seems to impress in person, with the 1.2 kilogram body providing a feeling of “solid reliability and competence,” while its ergonomics also apparently represent a more subtle but welcome improvement over previous Canon offerings. Unfortunately, the folks at TrustedReviews weren’t able to share any sample shots, but they did get a chance to try out the camera’s 45-point autofocus system, which is said to be “extremely fast,” and its tracking function reportedly had no trouble focusing even in dark, low contrast situations with a 400mm telephoto lens. Hit up the link below for a few more hands-on shots and impressions.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV lands for a pre-production hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now this is how you build up anticipation for a new product. Start off with just the name accidentallypopping up on one of your corporate websites in order to get our imaginations flowing, then leak a teeny tiny image of the optional viewfinder. There’s actually a good bit of info here — you can tell the new attachment (titled VF-2) seems to be vertically adjustable, something missing from the previous generation, but there’s also the bogus news that it’ll fit only the forthcoming E-P2. The silver lining to that knowledge, though, is that the body we can only partially see must be the as yet unannounced E-P1 successor, which means the new Micro Four Thirds shooter will at least have the option of a black body… which some people care about. Deeply.

Olympus E-P2 tap keeps leaking, new viewfinder now on show originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Minolta’s Sony’s DSLR range was refreshed only this August, but here we are, hearing rumblings of another new addition to the bunch. Set to occupy the space between the 14.2 megapixel A550 and 24.6 megapixel full frame A850, the imaginatively titled A750 is expected to strike the perfect balance between the two with a 14.6 megapixel full frame sensor. We see what you did there, Sony, very clever. If you ask us, anything over a solid dozen million pixels is overkill and just asking for noise trouble and processing lag, so in fact chopping a third off the A850’s pixels could turn out to be quite a boon for overall image quality. Then again, we’ve no idea what else Sony might sever from its higher offering, though we’re likely to find out by CES 2010 at the latest.

[Thanks, David G]

Sony Alpha A750 keeps with tradition, leaks out ahead of release originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If there’s one thing we know about geeks, it’s that they hate having nothing to do. Bill Gates has filled his spare time collecting knighthoods and Harvard degrees, and Steve Sasson — inventor of the first, and assuredly biggest, digital camera — is now following in his distinguished footsteps. Sasson perfected a microwave oven-sized 0.01 megapixel prototype while working for Kodak way back in 1975, and has now been awarded an honorary PhD for his troubles from the University of Rochester. The man, the geek, and the legend (all the same person) will be in London later today receiving further recognition, in the form of The Economist’s Innovation Award, which commends the “seismic disruption” his invention caused in the field of consumer photography. Funny, nobody gives us any awards for being disruptive.