The Tech Blog of Ken

Olympus introduces DSLR with live LCD preview

Olympus has introduced the first DSLR with a live LCD preview, the the E-330 (first look at DPReview). This is a particularly interesting feature because other DSLRs can't show a live image on the LCD. In conventional designs, the mirror blocks the sensor until you hit the shutter release. This also makes it impossible to include a flip-out LCD screen for over the head or close-to-the ground shots. The E-330 has a second small sensor for live preview, and can also use the main sensor for a live preview without autofocus. It's great to see Olympus to introducing innovative features like this to distinguish them from the likes of Canon and Nikon.

Konica Minolta withdraw from camera business

Pretty shocking news. Assets are being transferred to Sony. I hope Sony continues to develop the DSLR bodies and puts some of their marketing power behind them. Even though I'm a Canon user, I was really impressed with the Dynax/Maxxum 7D - it had a lot of great features like built-in "anti-shake" (thus making all your lenses stabilized), the best feeling camera I've ever held - with lots of dials and knobs in just the right places, and a huge screen with a great interface. It's always good to have competition for Canon and Nikon.

Image stabilized video in a tiny P&S camera

Check out the new Casio EX600 super-slim camera featuring "anti-shake" while capturing videos. With the plummeting price of flash memory cards and the addition of these kinds of video features, I can't see much need for a camera for traveling on vacation. That is, unless you're one of those goofy people who walks everywhere with a video camera glued to your eye.

Riddle me this

So Canon can fit a pop-up flash into an EOS Elan, but not into the 5D? They're both "full frame" and both have pentaprisms.

which 5G iPod should I get?

So, I've decided I'm going to get myself a 5G iPod (aka video iPod) instead of the white nano. But which one? I have to choose from 2^2 permutations.

I've been using a 2G 10GB iPod for several years, and never really felt the disk was too small. I dig the big screen on the 5G for its video capability. I'm also an avid photographer, so I think the photo capabilities will come in handy (although there's no support for displaying RAW files).

I'm unlikely to ever watch a full-length movie on the iPod, but I could definitely see myself watching short content like a video podcast or music videos. I have a decent selection of DVDs of live concerts and music videos that don't viewed often because of the (admittedly minimal) hassle of pulling them out and popping them in the DVD player - I'm sure they would get some playtime once they're on the iPod. Watching a Jimi Hendrix show is so much better than just listening to one.

I've been patiently waiting through several generations of the iPod, thinking that eventually Apple would finally settle on a design that had all the features I wanted, without the drawbacks. I'm actually fairly content with my old iPod, but the previous models didn't make it compelling enough to upgrade. The 3G model had those four awful touch sensitive buttons that didn't make sense at all. The 4G model had the new click-wheel, but it was seemed largish compared to the mini that was introduced around the same time. The photo model seemed great because of the color screen (I love seeing album covers), but it was too expensive at the time of introduction. I was never quite keen on the rounded jellybean feel of the 3G/4G models, it's nice to see the return of sharper edges from the 1G/2G days. Besides these things, there are a few features that newer iPod owners probably don't notice much, but I really find lacking in the 2G:

• Play count. The old iPods don't keep track of which songs you play, which is kind of annoying because it makes smart playlists based on popularity less useful, since only songs played from my PowerBook are tracked.
• Song ratings. I love rating songs, and I really wish I could rate the songs while listening to the iPod on the move.
• Apple Lossless support. I have a good collection of live shows in the lossless Shorten format, and I would like to keep them lossless, if possible. I'd also like to listen to some of my favorite CDs in a totally lossless format without having to use bloated WAV format files. Sure, Apple Lossless is proprietary and all, but I have the original digital source, so I can always re-encode into some new lossless format in the future.
• Lock. I'd hate to have all my contact info falling into the wrong hands (cue evil villian sound).
• Games. Not a major selling point, but iPod Arkanoid gets old real quick.
• Sound quality. This is the deal-maker for me. Some of the interim iPod models supposedly had issues with sound quality (disk noise and thin sounding bass). The 5G reportedly has improved bass and less distortion compared to the 4G - a big deal when listening through my Etymotic ER-6 headphones.

I'm leaning towards the black 60 GB model because I think the black frame is good for the viewing experience, both for photos and video. I am concerned that scratches and smudges will show up more readily than the white one. I don't think the 60 GB is that much heavier/thicker (although I have yet to see it in person), but has improved battery life, and of course, twice the capacity, which would be useful once I start loading video on the thing. At $399, it's the same price as the 10GB I bought three years ago. Amazing. Still, I'm unsure whether I should go with the slightly thicker 60GB model.

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Canon 5D review by James Duncan Davidson

The multi-talented James Duncan Davidson reviews the awesome Canon 5D for O'Reilly Digital Media. It's a good personal-style review, not a comprehensive breakdown like you get at dpreview. The (lack of) noise at ISO1000 looks pretty sweet. Who needs an on-board flash with performance like that?