News

Canon has officially announced its 2009 Spring sale on a variety of cameras and lenses. The rebates will be offered from May 3 through July 11th and, what's more, they are instant rebates - no mail-in nonsense or coupons required. The deals offered are no trifle either, there are many $100+ rebates and even a $500 rebate on a telephoto lens.

Some deals of note include the highly popular Rebel XSi entry level dSLR and the more advanced EOS 50D.

The Canon EOS Rebel XSi is a 12.2 megapixel entry level dSLR, perfect for those who are new to digital photography plus plenty of features for those with experience. Canon's Spring rebate offers this camera in an $849 kit deal ($200 rebate). The kit includes the camera, obviously, a Canon EF-S

It looks like some of the next generation iPhone's specs are beginning to show up around the web. Macrumors has apparently been monitoring the Chinese forum Weiphone and has found something of note - a screenshot and a list of some features and specs.

Earlier this month a forum poster on Weiphone.com uploaded what is claimed to be a screenshot from a next generation iPhone with a "MB717LL" model number. It appears to have 32 GB of storage. The original poster also made a few other claims... In addition to the 32 gigs of storage the new iPhone will have a 600MHz CPU Speed (up from 400MHz) and 256MB RAM (up from 128MB). The phone will also

Verizon Wireless and Samsung today announced the availability of Samsung's Alias 2 text messaging phone. It replaces the original Alias and has a nifty new keypad powered by E- Ink that the original did not have.

E Ink is the technology behind the low power displays on Amazon's Kindle and Kindle DX wireless reading devices. Samsung uses E Ink in the Alias 2's keypad, which allows it to morph depending on the orientation of the phone. The Alias 2 has a dual-hinge form factor that allows it to open vertically as

Despite rumors that Samsung's Android device production would be delayed until late 2009, the South Korean company yesterday introduced its first Android powered device, the I7500, which according to JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division in Samsung Electronics," is "most innovative Android mobile phone." It will be the third Android powered device on the market, after the HTC Magic and the T-Mobile G1.

The I7500 is a candy bar style phone with a 3.2 inch HVGA (320 X 480) AMOLED touch screen. It measures about 4.5" X 2.2" X .4" and does not have a physical keyboard. It has 8 GB internal memory

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) yesterday officialy adopted the Bluetooth 3.0+HS (high speed) specification. The Bluetooth 3.0 +HS spec will allow devices that have both Bluetooth 3.0 +HS and Wi-Fi to pair via Bluetooth and transfer data via Wi-Fi at rates up to 24 Mbps, which is about 10 times faster than the previous incarnation, Bluetooth v2.1 +EDR (enhanced data rate). This will allow users to transfer large amounts of data wirelessly. The new spec also addresses power control issues to reduce battery drain.

Within 24 hours of the Bluetooth SIG adopting the new standard, leading communications semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom announced that its InConcert BCM4325 Bluetooth + Wi-Fi + FM chip and the associated BTE software have qualified as compliant with the new Bluetooth 3.0 +HS standard. While competing manufacturers have been using multiple components to implement the

Ever since the iPhone 3.0 beta firmware came out users have been digging through the configuration files looking for clues to future upgrades. A lot of evidence, including files for video uploading and editing, has been found that suggests video recording will be available in future versions. The latest discovery pretty much confirms the existence of a video recorder. This screenshot was found in the latest iPhone 3.0 beta:

This shows a new iPhone camera interface with a toggle for video recording (notice the video camera icon in the bottom right). You can switch between still shots and video recording. This interface is not accessible by default in the current 3.0 beta, but apparently with a few modifications to the configuration

Canon has just announced its newest upper entry level DSLR, the EOS 500D, a.k.a. the Rebel T1i. It features a 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with 1080p HD video recording at 20fps, making it Canon's first compact, lightweight DSLR with Full High Definition video capability.

The 500D's 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor is ideal for large prints and offers greater cropping possibilities. The camera also offers ISO sensitivity up to 3200, which is expandable up to 12800, allowing photographers to shoot in near dark conditions.

The DIGIC 4 image processor, in conjunction with the CMOS sensor, delivers "exceptional noise reduction and 14-bit image processing for smooth gradation of tones and natural-looking colours." The processor is fast as well, offering ultra-fast start-up times and quick image review. The DIGIC 4 is

Researchers at MIT have developed a solution to one of the long standing problems of battery technology - charging time. Although rechargeable lithium batteries are ideal because they have a high energy density (meaning they can store a lot of charge), the downside is that they have slow power rates, making charging and discharging a sluggish process. MIT Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Gerbrand Ceder and graduate student Byoungwoo Kang have discovered a way to speed up the process.

Scientists have long thought that the power rates of lithium batteries were slow because the lithium ions responsible for carrying charge across the battery material simply can't move quickly. About five years ago, Ceder and a colleague ran computer simulations using lithium iron phosphate, a well-known battery material. The results predicted that the lithium ions should actually be moving extremely fast. Ceder figured "If transport of the lithium ions was so fast, something else had to be the

The Sigma Corporation has announced five new lenses at this year's Photo Marketing Association expo in Las Vegas. The lenses include the Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM, Sigma 18-50mm F2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM, Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM, Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM and the 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM.

Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM

The Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM is a super wide-angle lens that has an aperture of F3.5 throughout the entire zoom range. The wide-angle lens provides a 102.4 degree view. The lens has two ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements and a SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass element that correct color aberration. Four aspherical lenses provide correction for distortion and allow

With the Photo Marketing Association's annual expo as a stage, Panasonic introduced its newest addition to its Lumix G Micro System - the company's new interchangeable lens camera system. The camera is billed as one that will meet the needs of beginners and seasoned professionals alike - according to David Briganti, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, “Photographers of all levels – professionals, amateurs and beginners – will be stunned by the range of creative possibilities that the LUMIX GH1 creates in the world of high-quality photography and HD video. Users will be equally amazed by the camera’s easy-to-use design and small size... Beyond its creative potential, the LUMIX GH1, a sister product to the award-winning LUMIX G1, is also innovative and differentiates itself from the pack by recording High Definition video with continuous AF, an indispensable feature for practical video recording.” The GH1, which is compatible with the Micro Four Thirds System standard, improves upon the ground-breaking and award winning (2008 Camera of the Year, Popular Photography & Imaging magazine) Lumix DMC-G1, which debuted less than half a year ago.

For starters the GH1 is capable of recording high-resolution full HD (1920 x 1080) video at 24 fps or smooth HD video (1280 x 720) movie at 60 fps using an AVCHD format (MPEG-4/H.264). The dedicated video record button allows the user to begin HD recording even while in the midst of taking stills, to ensure no video-worthy moments go unrecorded. The GH1 records audio in high-quality stereo sound