November 01, 2006, 7:05 AM PST
Adobe adds raw support for more cameras
Posted by: Will Greenwald

It's a great day for Adobe-using photographers. The imaging software company has just released a large update to Adobe Camera RAW, the system that handles raw image processing for programs like Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Photoshop Elements 5. Raw files are the unprocessed data recorded by digital cameras' sensors. Because they're uncompressed, they're free of any JPEG compression artifacts and produce the clearest, most accurate pictures. However, every camera sensor records images slightly differently, so support for each camera must be coded separately into raw-processing programs. Adobe's update includes support for 13 new cameras, including the Canon EOS Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80, two of the most popular new cameras on the market today.

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October 12, 2006, 2:56 PM PDT
A public service announcement: avoid miracle cameras
Posted by: Will Greenwald

We review a lot of cameras at CNET, but we don't review all of them. Odds are good that, at some point during your travels on the Internet, you'll come across a camera that's too good to be true. It'll make outrageous claims such as 12 megapixels! Video! Webcam! MP3 player! And it'll have a temptingly low price tag of around $300. At such a low price, a high-resolution camera that can do almost anything sounds great!

Unfortunately, that little gadget that sounds too good to be true almost certainly is. When an unfamiliar company claims that their magical camera is more than 10 megapixels, that's because they're probably using a 3- or 4-megapixel sensor and interpolating the image. Interpolation is a fancy technical term for "making it bigger and uglier." The image you eventually get might technically be 12 megapixels, but it will look like absolute garbage.

Similarly, don't expect your video to look very pretty, either. At most you're going to get a 30fps VGA video, about the same as you'll find on almost any digital camera.

Finally, when they say their product is an MP3 player, they want you to think you're getting an iPod. In reality, you're getting a memory card reader with a headphone jack. Once again, it's a device that would otherwise cost maybe $100.

If you haven't heard of it, if we haven't reviewed it, and if it promises amazing features at a discount price, you're buying digital snake oil. Steer clear, and remember to do your research with us before you drop the cash.

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October 11, 2006, 1:42 PM PDT
Smilart Fan Studio: edit your images online
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Note: Despite the picture and byline, the opinions expressed below are that of Senior Editor Lori Grunin.

Smilart Fan Studio isn't the first fix-your-photos-online service, and I'm sure it won't be the last. And really, it should have a big old BETA logo splashed across it, because it surely isn't fully baked--it's free, though, so I suppose polished code is optional. I couldn't get it to run in Firefox; it ran inconsistently in IE 6; and after downloading and installing IE 7 RC1, it still wouldn't operate properly. It turns out that the English version has no Javascript code in it! Ooops. The Russian version worked, however, as well as many automatic algorithms work--that is to say, OK, but not great.

Frankly, I tend to find stand-alone sites like this kind of pointless. It makes sense as part of photo-sharing/printing/whatever, but having to upload a photo, retouch it, download it to your hard disk, then reupload it to your sharing site strikes me as hopelessly slow, tedious, and inefficient. If you have more than a couple of images per month to retouch, you're better off downloading free software and working locally.

The site strikes me more as a proof-of-concept in search of a buyer, and from that perspective, it has some merit. The interface is one of the nicest I've seen for this type of application. A photo-sharing company or a photo-printing service could slap some color management under the hood, polish the interface (and perhaps add batch operations), and integrate it into the service for some nice value added. Consumers should just pop over to download.com and download The GIMP.

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October 11, 2006, 10:07 AM PDT
Happy Final Fantasy Day!
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Wednesday, October 11, is officially Final Fantasy Day in New York City. The day was commemorated at the Times Square Visitors' Center, where Square Enix president Daishiro Okada and Final Fantasy XII executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu were given a letter commemorating the legacy of Square Enix's Final Fantasy series. The event was timed to happen just before the October 31 release of Final Fantasy XII for the PS2. Several dedicated fans of the series showed up in costume, including three winners of Square Enix's cosplay costume contest. With the dozen or so funnily dressed people parading through Times Square, Final Fantasy Day...really seemed like any other day in New York.

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October 03, 2006, 7:13 AM PDT
The scariest video games ever
Posted by: Will Greenwald

The world's most terrifying mascot is getting three of his own video games this holiday season. The Burger King, Burger King's megacephalic spokes-stalker, will appear on three budget Xbox titles, available at Burger King from November 19 to December 24. Pocket Bike Racer puts the King and BK spokespeople Subservient Chicken and Brooke Burke onto minibikes for racing fun. Big Bumpin' puts the three into bumper cars. Sneak King has the King stalking people and giving them Burger King food. OK, these won't be epic sagas, but at $4 each with the purchase of a value meal, it's still hard to say no to them. Even if it's just so you can say to your friends, "Silent Hill? Fatal Frame? That's not scary. Check this out..."

Source: Game Informer

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October 02, 2006, 8:14 AM PDT
The biggest lens you'll never see
Posted by: Will Greenwald

The Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* was designed by Carl Zeiss to be the world's largest nonmilitary camera lens. The 1,700mm lens weighs more than 550 pounds, is larger than a refrigerator, and gives a medium-format camera a telephoto factor of almost 29X. Don't expect to actually see it in the wild anytime soon, though; the Apo Sonnar T* is a special project from Carl Zeiss and costs as much as a small house.

Source: DP Review via Gizmodo

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September 27, 2006, 12:06 PM PDT
Inside the Leica M8
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Camcorderinfo.com has a video tour of Leica's new, obscenely expensive, digital-range-finder camera, the M8. If you ever wondered what could make a digital camera cost $5,000, or even just want to know what exactly a range finder is, this video might be very helpful to you.

Source: Camcorderinfo.com via Gizmodo

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September 21, 2006, 9:34 AM PDT
Crazy and/or brilliant: Come Out and Play Festival in NYC
Posted by: Will Greenwald

A city-wide festival packed with activities such as physical activity and socializing, Manhattan's Come Out and Play is one of the most surprising and strange video game events we've seen this year. No consoles, no big companies, no game demos, no industry hype will appear at COAP, but it will still be full of dedicated gamers making the most out of their weekend.

The Come Out and Play Festival brings video games into the real world, thanks to the dedicated and creative work of the festival's volunteers. Participants join several dozen games using everything from cell phones and GPS systems to library books and good deeds. Games range from giant versions of classic games, such as Space Invaders played on the side of the building and a sound-only version of Pong, to elaborate problem-solving and tag games, such as the "quote-finding photography" game Quoto and the subversively charitable assassination game "Cruel 2 B Kind."

Come Out and Play takes place all weekend in Manhattan, with the festivities starting Friday at 6:00 at Eyebeam, located at 541 West 21st Street. More details can be found at Come Out and Play's Web site.

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September 14, 2006, 7:12 AM PDT
New ultracompact PowerShots from Canon
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Canon is upgrading its PowerShot SD series of ultracompact cameras with three new models. They all sport the SD series' signature portable design and now use Canon's Digic III image processor.

The PowerShot SD800 IS and SD900 share the same suggested retail price, but they otherwise have little in common. The SD800 IS is the 7-megapixel follow-up to the PowerShot SD700 IS. With a nice wide-angle, 28mm-to-105mm-equivalent lens and optical image stabilization, it's directed at users who want a wide shot with insurance against blur. The SD900 is the new high-resolution member of the SD family, with a 10-megapixel sensor that can reach to as high as ISO 1,600 sensitivity. It makes up for the lack of a wide lens and optical image stabilization with an attractive, durable titanium body.

Finally, the 7-megapixel PowerShot SD40 uses the same stylish body as the PowerShot SD30 but features a higher resolution as well as Canon's Digic III processor.

The new Canon PowerShot SDs ship in October. The SD800 IS and SD900 will have a suggested retail price of $450, while the SD40 will have a suggested price of $350.

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September 12, 2006, 6:45 AM PDT
Fujifilm FinePix A700
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Fujifilm has announced the latest member of its introductory FinePix A-series cameras with the FinePix A700. This inexpensive point-and-shoot is strictly cookie-cutter, with a 7-megapixel Super CCD sensor, a 3X (36 to 108mm-equivalent) optical zoom, and a 2.4-inch LCD. Though these features aren't very noteworthy, they're solid stats for a simple snapshot camera and an inexpensive upgraded to the 6-megapixel FinePix A600.

Previous FinePix A-series cameras were hindered by their few features and sluggish performance. With higher resolution its only notable upgrade, the sparsely equipped FinePix A700 probably won't impress many users. Consumers looking for an inexpensive snapshot camera might have more luck with the Canon PowerShot A540, the Sony Cyber Shot DSC-S600, or the Samsung Digimax L60. The FinePix A700 boasts the honor of sporting 7 megapixels in a budget camera, but higher resolution doesn't mean much if the features, performance, and image quality aren't there.

The Fujifilm FinePix A700 ships in early October, with a suggested retail price of $200.

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