* Posts by Jerome 0

551 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Jun 2009

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Samsung NX200 20.3Mp APS-C compact system camera

Jerome 0

One advantage of the NX200 is the controls. These things are often a matter of taste, but most people agree that the Samsung way of doing things is much nicer and more intuitive than Sony's.

Another big advantage to Samsung is the lenses. If you're after a mirrorless camera that's truly portable, Samsung's range of lenses is particularly appealing, and includes a nice selection of very high quality pancake prime lenses (with more planned on the roadmap). Sony's lenses look rather bulky and/or poor quality by comparison.

In fact, the only real advantage I can think of for the NEX range is the price, at least until you get up to the rather lovely top of the range NEX-7, which adds a few features missing from the NX200 (built-in EVF, built-in flash). But then it is considerably more expensive.

Jerome 0

Yup, that's an EVF alright. It fits nicely into the accessory port on the NX100 - the same port that Samsung have decided to leave off of the NX200. If there ever is an EVF for the 200, it will have to be a new design.

LG calls up 720p IPS screen smartphone for Verizon

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That's great, but "true HD" still sounds a little too much like "full HD" for comfort. Perhaps they'd consider switching to "barely HD"?

Sony NEX-C3 compact system camera

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Take a look at the Samsung NX system then, which also uses an APS-C sized sensor, yet has plenty of excellent compact lenses available.

I don't know what it is that Sony has done to mean they need such oversized lenses for the NEX, but obviously the sensor size isn't the only factor.

David Cameron gets custom prime-ministering iPad app

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Ure kidding me?

Pff, Vienna? That means nothing to me.

2011's Best... compact cameras

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EVF

Yeah, I agree that the lack of an EVF is a real shame. If I could have an NX200 with an EVF, or a NEX-7 with the Samsung lenses, I'd be pretty happy either way. Since that wasn't an option, I chose the lenses over the EVF.

Samsung's new model with EVF is rumoured to be around the corner. It remains to be seen whether they stick with the SLR-like shape they've used for their EVF models so far, or if they manage to cram one into a compact body like Sony did.

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Compact system cameras

This article isn't about compact cameras at all, despite what the title would have you believe. Rather it's a round-up of "compact system cameras", or mirrorless cameras.

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Viewfinders

You're not wrong, it's generally accepted that holding the camera to your face provides a much more stable posture for shooting. That's probably the main reason professional photographers cite for preferring a DSLR to these types of camera.

Sony's new NEX-7 features a rather nifty integrated electronic viewfinder, but unfortunately this camera isn't cheap. Some of the other cameras feature optional EVFs that you can attach, but the quality of these is variable, and obviously it cuts down the portability factor to attach an accessory like this to the body.

I hope that more mirrorless cameras with an integrated EVF appear in the future, but I worry this may not be the case. It all depends which market product the manufacturers are aiming for. Users upgrading from a compact camera are unlikely to care about having a viewfinder, whereas for people looking for a more compact alternative to their DSLR, the EVF is a killer feature.

Jerome 0

How about Samsung NX?

I can forgive you for missing out one of the best options from this round-up. Samsung's NX series of cameras are great, but the marketing for them has been rather woeful, to the point where many people aren't even aware of their existence.

They're well worth considering though. The image quality is on a par with the Sony NEX cameras, the user interface is much more friendly, and the Samsung range of lenses is far more suited to the idea of a compact camera system than Sony's range of big NEX lenses.

The NX200 is the new flagship model, which is a beautiful camera, if a touch expensive for many pockets. No doubt prices will drop soon. The older model, the NX100 can currently be had ridiculously cheaply (under £200 on Ebay). You miss out on full HD video (it has 720p) and don't get quite the high-ISO performance of the newer model, but for the price it's hard to beat.

2011's Best... DSLRs

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Pentax K-x

The K-x is a fantastic camera for the money. I'm a Canon man myself, but when a friend wanted to venture into the world of DSLRs but didn't have the budget for a 550D, I had no hesitation in recommending the K-x. He couldn't be happier with it. In many respects it's a match for the Canon; the only real drawback is the lack of focus confirmation indicators in the viewfinder.

Nikon 1 J1 interchangeable lens compact camera

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Samsung NX

Samsung have the best system in this market segment, at least for my needs.

Their NX range has an APS-C sensor, the same size as a DSLR (except for full-frame models of course). This gives it an advantage over the m4/3 crowd in terms of image quality and DOF control, and puts it on a par with Sony's NEX range.

Most importantly, unlike Sony they have a great collection of high quality, wide aperture prime lenses, which are compact enough that you can actually slip the camera into a coat pocket with a lens attached. I carry my NX100 everywhere, whenever I can't be bothered to lug around a bag with my DSLR. Their new NX200 is even more desirable, but the NX100 is a real bargain right now.

Now if only Samsung's marketing department would work as hard as their technical department, and actually tell people that these cameras exist!

Amazon on Facebook: 'la la la we're not listening'

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They're not a retailer.

Why grill Google over web dominance? It has none

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WTF?

Searching Facebook?

I'm genuinely curious how you could possibly have searched Facebook and Orbitz "extensively", whilst only performing a single Google search.

Facebook searches people, right (or am I missing some new killer use for it?) How many people do you need to search for in the course of a day? If it's more than one, you must surely have a pretty unwieldy friends list?

As for Orbitz, I'm not familiar with it, but I understand it's some kind of travel search. Does even the most seasoned traveller need to arrange more than one journey per day?

Google, by contrast, searches the entire web. Whenever I need to know something, I turn to Google, and 99% of the time the first few links contain exactly what I'm looking for.

So I'm genuinely puzzled how you could possibly find so little use for searching the whole web, as opposed to just searching for people or travel options. Perhaps you could enlighten me?

Sony BDP-S380 Blu-ray player with IPTV

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Remote control

Great to see they haven't improved the pig-ugly remote control since I bought my 370. Why is it that even the sexiest, most slimline of shiny boxes always comes with an ugly lump of matte black plastic to control it? I don't believe I've ever seen an attractive one. You'd think it would receive some attention, with it being the part the user actually interacts with and sees the most.

Designer styles bendy Samsung smartphone

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Meh

Specifications

According to the specs, the phone has a 4" screen. That must mean it's about an inch across - no wonder it seems to change size in every render. It also has a resolution of 800 x 480, which must make for some awfully long and skinny rectangular pixels.

Really, if these guys going to dignify flights of fantasy like this with the term "design", they might at least spend five minutes making up plausible sounding specifications.

Orange Monte Carlo budget Android smartphone

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Angry Birds

My friend's Blade runs Angry Birds fine on the earlier levels, but the frame rate slows to a crawl later on in the game, when there's more than a handful of objects in the level.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 gets aired

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How much?

Is it £89 yet?

Last ever batch of TouchPads isn't coming to Blighty

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£89

It was £89, not £99 - though that's not much consolation to those of us who missed out.

Microsoft unveils file-move changes in Windows 8

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WTF?

More to the point

If "IE did nothing but march north" since 1998, how can its market share now be decreasing? It must have started slipping back south at some point.

NFC phone-tap app makes money!

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And...

5) Post-it notes don't cost a dollar each.

UK could have flooded world with iPods - Sir Humphrey

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Meh

The iPod?

"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

Lossless music goes High Street

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Stop

Upsampling

I think you may have misunderstood the point that Mark Waldrep was making in the linked article. It is not "because of filters applied during the 'upmastering' process" that the quality is lacking. The presence of this filtering is merely an indication that upsampling has taken place, and upsampling is (in this context) a pointless procedure.

When you upsample a recording, it means that the resultant recording, in whatever high-definition format it is stored, has been made from a low definition original, and will sound (at best) identical to that original. It's the equivalent of taking an album of low-bitrate MP3s and burning them to a CD, then calling it "CD quality".

This is essentially the problem - companies seem to be taking the same old low-standard recordings and passing them off as something much better. This is shoddy, if not downright fraudulent behaviour.

Anonymous and TeaMp0isoN promise songs but no Facebook hack

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Harmless

Not entirely harmless, as it reduced the number of people that could be counted as atheist, thereby potentially giving more power to the religious lobby.

Neurogaming set to be launched by Disney

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WTF?

A chair?

Their first choice of objects to put this new technology into is a chair? How many gaming / movie experiences can you think up where the required haptic feedback is limited solely to your back and arse?

Ray of hope for smartphone projectors

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Boffin

Just a thought

To save all this trouble, couldn't you just watch the movie on your phone's screen, but hold it closer to your face?

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Why?

Because setting all that up would be a huge pain in the ass.

First smut site erected on .xxx address

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Agreed

Why oh why could you not provide us with a link to this "casting.xxx" site?

Hobbyist killed by home-made hovercraft

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Hovercraft on the roads?

I'm pretty sure we can make an exception to the rule when the road in question is under three feet of water.

Good news: A meltdown would kill fewer than we thought

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Metric confusion

Whilst neither shuttle was lost due to a mix up between metric and imperial measurements, another infamous NASA disaster was caused by exactly that. The Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed thanks to the ground crew entering data in Imperial measurements (Pound-force) instead of metric (Newtons).

Schmidt preaches 'deep integration' desire with Facebook, Twitter

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Re: But one of the reasons wave died.

And those of us with patient friends are now happily using Wave, and praying that Google don't pull the plug on the servers any time soon.

LG dooms then un-dooms portable games consoles

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Got there first?

What does it matter who got there first? If we could have gaming of a similar quality built into our phones, who'd bother to carry a separate device around?

Sadly we're not at that point yet - gaming on handsets is almost as primitive as the cameras.

Ten... pocket compact cameras

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Sensor

Sure, the glass is a big factor, but so is the sensor. It doesn't matter how good your lens is if it's focusing the light onto a microscopic CCD. The N8 is remarkably well-endowed in this department with its 1/1.83" sensor.

Now if only Nokia had embraced Android, or some manufacturer of Android phones had taken as much care over their imaging hardware as Nokia have. :)

Nokia 'thinnest smartphone ever' slips out

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Thinnest....

Perhaps it would have been the thinnest ever smartphone back in the days when these kind of specs would have looked vaguely exciting?

Kindle Store awash with auto-generated crap 'books'

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Trivial?

"It's no different then Hamlet"

The work put in by actors and production staff over several months in putting together a film production of a play is no different than correcting a few spelling errors?

NHS trust issues nurse jub flash alert

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Facepalm

Private

BUPA? I hardly knew her.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 MFT compact unveiled

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Re: Small sensors

Of course m4/3 isn't the ideal format if you're after shallow DOF, but you can still do a fair bit with it. That's why a nice bit of f/1.4 Leica glass seems more like an essential companion rather than "a bit wasted".

If I have a choice between shooting with the camera in my pocket or not shooting at all, I'd still like the option of blurring the background as much as possible. It's not much consolation knowing my SLR could do a better job, if it's sat at home in a cupboard.

At the end of the day though, the Sony Nex-5 with its APS-C sensor is looking quite tempting compared to these m4/3 cameras.

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Sony A55

Cheers for the tip, but my current SLR (Canon 550D) is already smaller than the Sony, and handles long videos nicely. Not that I've got anything against the Sonys - lovely cameras. I'm just looking for something that's completely pocketable, but a bit more flexible than your average compact.

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Target market?

I've never been quite sure who the market is for a camera like this. Interchangeable lenses, but a severe lack of controls? Who goes to all the trouble of carrying a bag full of lenses, but doesn't want to make manual tweaks to their settings?

I've been in the market for a small mirrorless interchangeable lens camera for some time, to sit in my jacket pocket when I can't be bothered lugging my SLR around. But just because the body is small, it shouldn't mean any less flexibility than an SLR.

BioWare blows brains with intro cinematics for Star Wars MMO

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KOTOR

Spoken like a man who's never played Knights of the Old Republic.

If you're into RPGs and don't mind some retro graphics, give it a try. It beats any of the prequel films hand down in the plot and character front, and I guarantee you'll find yourself loving this era as much as (or more than) that of the films.

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In-game?

Nowhere did they imply that, because it blatantly isn't. If you want in-game footage like that, come back in 20 years.

Win8: A beginner's guide to FondleWindows

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Not the slightest bit weird

"Why's this article banging on about the file system?"

Because this article is about the next iteration of the Windows operating system and, just as with Vista and Win7, one of the biggest disappointments in it is the lack of any innovation in the file system.

Apple purges drunk-driving apps

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Huh?

I'm neither a driver nor any great genius, so I may be way off the mark here, but I think the idea is to _avoid_ the checkpoints.

Researchers find irreparable flaw in popular CAPTCHAs

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FAIL

What an odd conclusion

First they note that all current audio captchas _except_ Recaptcha can be defeated. They then go on to conclude: -

"As a result, we suspect that it may not be possible to design secure audio captchas that are usable by humans using current methods. It is therefore important to explore alternative approaches."

Excuse me? They've demonstrated that many sites use an easily defeated approach, when there's one available that's still undefeated. Isn't semantic noise a "current method"? What alternative approaches need to be explored exactly?

Office 15 steals OVERLARGE font, design vision from Windows PHO

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WTF?

Moorea?

That Moorea thing looks rather odd.

Microsoft had an unexpected and rare (of late) design success with WP7. The next thing you know, they suddenly think that design needs to be translated into every single Microsoft product.

Remind me, why do I need an app that arranges text and pictures into a grid of squares? If I did happen to need that, couldn't I use Excel?

Digital Music: a collective failure of imagination

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Pale imitations

I always enjoy the "live music is the real music" argument when it crops up. There are plenty of musical genres out there for which the live show is the "pale imitation" and the recorded work is the "real thing".

Not that I disagree with you over the pointlessness of the whole "tyrannical control" thing, by any means. But that doesn't change the fact that for some artists the problem can't be resolved by simply getting out there and earning their living by playing live.

Glass aeroplanes and iPads on the way, say boffins

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Transparency

I wondered the same thing, and as far as I can see this stuff can't be made transparent. It seems it's more often known as "amorphous metal", though naturally the media prefer the far cooler sounding "metallic glass".

So I guess we won't be looking down through a glass floor from 30,000 feet any time soon.

Broadband leads to drug abuse, say US boffins

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Re: Let us get rid of money and free will

Oh, did these scientists recommending banning the internet? Silly me, I must have missed that in the article.

Train firm offers phone-based ticketing across UK

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1D Scanner

On the other hand, there's no rule which says that has to be the case. My Android phone scans 1D barcodes perfectly well from the camera image (unless HTC built in a laser without telling me).

Google opens Chrome Web Store to world+dog

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FAIL

No evil here

Nice to see Google whole-heartedly supporting the open web. When it suits them.

Sergey Brin: Only 20% of Googlers still on Windows

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Also...

Drinking your own piss, a term popular with Bear Grylls.

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