Archive for the ‘Widgetit ja Gadgetit’ Category

Comparison of jacket pocketable cameras

Nov 26th, 11 / 0 Comments

I was recently shopping for camera that would offer better image quality than my current cheap compact and still be small enough to be carried with me all the time. Most of the contenders are on the larger side, so only a die hard photographer enthusiast would carry them all the time, but because I happen to be one, that’s not a problem for me.

Still, this comparison might come handy for someone looking for compact camera to be used when traveling or going into events where you want to put some weight on image quality, but not carry DSLR or similar with you.

This is not meant to be be-all-end-all comparison, I just publish the data I collected when facing this decision myself. It seems there is very few comparisons like this available on the web, so publishing even just data that worked for me feels justified.

The volumes assume the camera to be rectangular block sized per the largest measure to each dimension, because that approximates how much space it takes in your pocket.

Dimensions and volume are recorded with both a standard prime, one giving field of view comparable to 50mm on 35mm film, and with small standard zoom lens. The lenses used calculations are Olympus 25/2.8 and Panasonic X 14-42mm zoom for GX1 and Samsung 30/2 for NX200. These give field of view equivalent to 50 and 45mm on 35mm film, respectively.

As a reference for sensor sizes, from Wikipedia:

Note about the image: What’s called “four thirds” on the image is the size what the “micro four thirds” digital cameras use.

Canon S100 Fuji X10 Panasonic DMC-GX1 Samsung NX200
¤, Amazon UK 444¤ 580¤ 1107¤ 925¤
Sensor size 1/1.7″ Micro Four Thirds, APS-C
Sensor dim. 7.6*5.7mm 8.8*6.6mm 17.3*13mm 23.5*15.7mm
Sensor area 43mm2 58mm2 225mm2 369mm2
Relative area 1 1.3 5.2 8.5
W 198g 350g 367g 306g
Base dim. 99*60*27mm 117*70*57mm 116*68*39mm 117*63*36mm
Dim. w/ 50mm 116*68*62.5mm 117*63*58mm
Vol w/ 50mm 160cm2 467cm2 493cm2 428cm2
Dim w/ zoom 116*68*66mm 117*63*76
Vol w/ zoom 521cm2 560cm2
AEB, # 7 3
AEB, EV 2 6 6
Flash sync 1/2000 1/1000 1/160 1/180
Max exp. time 15s 30s 2min 4min
Viewfinder - Optical Optional electronic -
Widest pancake, 35mm eqv. 24 28 28 24
Min focus 3cm 1cm 20cm 25cm
Vol of zoom - - 79cm2 129cm2
Notes Plastic body Raw files are insanely large, 50MB per shot, meaning saving them takes ages. UI is unpolished. Micro 4/3 is multi-manufacturer standard for small interchangeable lens cameras, meaning lens selection is a lot wider, a lot, than Samsung NX. While the overall selection of lenses is limited, almost all the wider ranges I need have a pancake prime available, rivalling or surpassing everyone else, even µ4/3 in this respect. However, if you want lenses faster than f/2.0, you are out of luck on autofocus lenses.

The part even a casual photographer needs to know when shopping for new camera is a) sensor size and b) widest aperture at zoom ranges you are going to use. These are the parameters that directly affect how good pictures you can get in low light, like shooting family events indoors, because they tell how much light can possibly be captured by the camera when shooting.

The reason I put in the surface areas is this: Surface area of the sensor dictates the upper range for how much photons hit the sensor when all the other parameters are equal. In other words: four times more surface area on sensor means you can, if all other parameters are equal, get same amount of photons with quarter of time, or with quarter of the noise in same time. Which means you can shoot in four times less light and still get useful images. (Obviously the sensor area only sets upper limit to what can be done, engineering can still fail to make use of it.)

GX1 and NX200 are system cameras, meaning the parameters of the lenses vary a lot; To keep the table at manageable size, I have just included the lenses I immediately need, with the idea that camera body and “50mm” prime would go in one pocket, zoom in another pocket or back bag. Your mileage will vary.

Options I discarded due to lack of pancake lenses were Sony NEX series, Pentax Q and Nikon 1. Sony NEX bodies are at least as good and featured in case of NEX-5N or far superior in case of NEX-7, but almost total lack of pancake lenses made them a no-go for me.

In terms of lens selection micro four thirds is superior in mirrorless systems – it’s the oldest system and there are tens of lenses available, up to the expensive and fast Leica optics.

EDIT:
What is not listed is that every camera here sports CMOS sensor, even the Canon S100. CMOS is usually used in system cameras, whereas compact cameras use CCD. The CMOS sensor inside S100 is also claimed to be the first compact camera sensor that’s manufactured by Canon – every other compact Canon uses third part CCD sensor, even when their sizes match the S100 1/1.17″.

Links to DPReview reviews/previews of the listed equipment:

Canon Powershot S100:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canons100/

Fujifilm X10:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/fujifilmx10/

Panasonic DMC-GX1:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/panasonicdmcgx1/
Olympus Zuikos Digital 25mm 1:2.8 Pancake:
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/olympus_25_2p8_o20/

Samsung NX200:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/samsungnx200/
Samsung NX 30mm F2 Pancake:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/samsung/lenses/samsung_30_2

EDIT2:
The inch-based sensor size figures are whole black magic, designed to confuse the living hell out of you. Here DPReview tries to explain them:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2002/10/7/sensorsizes

EDIT3:
Links to lenses for micro-four-thirds and Samsung NX mount. Obviously not all-inclusive, especially since almost any lens for mirrored SLR can be mounted to these in manual mode, but a starting point.

µ4/3:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/olympus/lenses
http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/lenses
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/fourthirds/lense.html

Samsung NX mount:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/samsung/lenses

Both:
http://www.syopt.co.kr/eng/product/manual_zoom.asp

While the Samyang lenses are all manual, their image quality should not be overlooked. For example the 14/2.8: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/532-samyang14f28eosff?start=1

It has a lot of barrel distortion, but that’s something you can semi-easily correct in post-processing. But when you look at the sharpness, it’s pretty darn good lens, sporting better results in effective resolution than many high-regarded lenses multiple times of the cost. And in very wide angle use you usually shoot landscapes or architecture, so the manual focusing is not a real problem – the subject is not running away.

Taide, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Jun 9th, 11 / 0 Comments

A new page about batteries: Why use battery conditioner?

Also, Measured Capacities Of LSD AA Batteries Over Time is now updated.

New stuff:
-8 week results for Sony and Ansmann
-fixed naming of the products; LSD Sony is actually Sony CycleEnergy Blue, Sony CycleEnergy Green are just usual rechargeable cells. Eneloop XX is with two Xs and ReCyKo is made by GP.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Measured capacities of LSD AA batteries over time, update

May 24th, 11 / 0 Comments

Update with moar data:

Measured capacities of LSD AA batteries over time.

New stuff:
-Results for Eneloop XX after 0, 2 and 4 weeks
-Results for Varta Ready2Use after 8 weeks
-retails prices for bang-for-buck comparisons

In short: if you want the highest capacity, Eneloop XX delivers, Ansmann eMax wins at bang-for-buck series.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

The new breed of HTPCs and netbooks

Feb 22nd, 11 / 0 Comments

AMD released their first Fusion APUs this year, and now first motherboards and netbooks based on them are out. And they look promising.

APU in this context means combining CPU, GPU and parts of the chipset into one chip, one piece of silicon.

What you get is CPU performance somewhere between Atom and lowest-end Core2Duos and graphics performance of 30-40¤ discrete graphics cards at one chip, one that does not ever draw more than 18W.

One of the first motherboards:

“Fusion processor — combines a central processing unit and graphics processing unit on the same chip. That was where the future was headed, and the future is finally here.”

via Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard | silentpcreview.com.

One of the first netbooks:

“HP dm1z was positive enough to recommend one to my mother to replace her aging HP tablet PC. It’s responsive, runs cool, lasts a long time on the battery, and has a smart design. If I can recommend one to my mother, I can recommend one to you”

via HP dm1z: Taking Fusion on the Road – AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News.

So, these are inexpensive, powerful enough for mundane tasks and some casual gaming, and don’t draw much power when doing it. And they can play 1080p (full HD) video without dropping frames.

Very nice.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

New portrait for Jilnor

Jan 26th, 11 / 0 Comments

As many of you know, in next year or so EVE will get “ambulation” feature where we’ll be able to see our characters outside their ships. Related to this the latest expansion brought us engine to create new avatars for us, and then take portrait of them to replace the portrait that’s been used this far, 7.5 years for some.

My main’s new portrait:

And comparison to old one:

NibbleTek – Portrait Viewer.

In longer run this might be interesting to fellow gamemasters, too. It’s one of the most versatile engines to make realistic human faces for NPCs, for example. And will get even better when the WoD MMOG will be released at some point, as it will be using the same “Carbon Based” engine.

Viihtymys, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Silent gaming card

Dec 7th, 10 / 0 Comments

Those who are looking for powerful gaming card that operates in very quiet manner, here’s one, Asus EAH6850 DirectCU:

Asus DirectCU & AMD Radeon HD 6850 Graphics Cards | silentpcreview.com.

Radeon HD 6850 should be powerful enough for most gamers, and for once it can be had with SPCR-approved cooling system.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Kyberwar, going on, right now

Nov 30th, 10 / 0 Comments

“Iran’s president has said some of the centrifuges used in its uranium enrichment programme were sabotaged, raising suspicions that they were targeted by the Stuxnet computer worm.”

via BBC News – Iran says nuclear programme was hit by sabotage.

So, the most complicated worm in history, Stuxnet, was confirmed to have worked exactly as intended. It apparently made Iranian centrifuges used to enrich uranium speed over their safe limits thus breaking them.

And now we also know that the Iranian scientist assassinated yesterday was the most knowledgeable guy about fighting Stuxnet in Iran.

What a.. coincidence.

All in all, this plot is straight from cyberpunk novel. And unfolding right here, right now.

With the level of dedication and professionalism involved here Mossad becomes my main bet for the guys pulling the strings.

Politiikka, Tiede, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Nokia’s Market Share Slips Below 30% as Smaller Vendors Grow, Gartner Says – Bloomberg

Nov 10th, 10 / 0 Comments

“Nokia Oyj’s mobile-phone market share tumbled to its lowest ever as unbranded Chinese device makers gained ground on the low-end, while Apple Inc.’s iPhones advanced in smartphones, researcher Gartner Inc. said.”

via Nokia’s Market Share Slips Below 30% as Smaller Vendors Grow, Gartner Says – Bloomberg.

What makes this interesting is that now Nokia is taking beating on the lower end, too, not just on smartphones.

The best explanation I got for this came from IRC: Many people in Asia are willing to pay for having their equipment read “Made in EU”. By closing profitable factories in EU countries to make even more profit by manufacturing in China, Nokia at the same time lost the “Made in EU” advantage.

Apparently many Asians think that if all they can afford is something carrying “Made in China”, they can as well buy the cheapest on available and save for not paying of the brand.

And no, I do not claim I foresaw this effect coming.

Politiikka, Rant, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Benoit Mandelbrot, RIP

Oct 16th, 10 / 0 Comments

One genius less alive. RIP, Mr. Mandelbrot.

Benoit Mandelbrot, RIP.

Taide, Tiede, Viihtymys, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Paljosta vetoa?

Sep 14th, 10 / 1 Comment

Hetken mietittyäni: Olen valmis lyömään 100e vetoa, että kun katsotaan vuoden 2015 suurin matkapuhelinvalmistaja, mitattuna matkapuhelinmyynnin arvolla, sen yhtiön lippulaivakäyttöjärjestelmä ei ole Symbian.

Any takers?

Rant, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Nokia, Nokia, minne menet?

Sep 14th, 10 / 1 Comment

Aloitetaan IRC-lainauksella:

< opqdonut> tää mun uus htc desire on aika nami laite
< opqdonut> ja ei ees nokia
< xci> joo mut siinä on se ongelma että siinä on android
< opqdonut> ain't nothing wrong with android
< opqdonut> taisiis
< opqdonut> vaihtoehdot
< opqdonut> - symbian
< opqdonut> - iphone
< opqdonut> - windows mobile
< opqdonut> - maemo
< opqdonut> mikään noista ei nappaa
< opqdonut> ja en jaksa odottaa meegon kypsymistä, sori

Tämä tiivistää aika hyvin satunnaisen käpistelijän tunnelmat. Jos minulle lykätään töissä käteen Symbian-puhelin ja sanotaan “hei, me ajateltiin että tekisit tälle pari pientä softaa jossain välissä”, alan päivittää CV:tä. Jos minulle lykätään näppäimistöllinen Android samoin sanoin, asennan Android SDK:n kotiinkin.

Toisin sanoen, vaikka Symbianista tulisi huomenna sekä seksikäs laitteina että kiva kehittää, sillä on valmiiksi nippu negatiivista karmaa lastinaan. Käsitykseni tosin on, että Symbian ei ole erityisen hyvä kerneliksi multimediatietokoneelle, siinä missä Linux on. Linuxissa on toki kysymysmerkkinä CPU-kulutus, mutta Androidia katsellen on vaikea kuvitella että se olisi kynnyskysymys.

Miksi Nokian sitten edes pitäisi miellyttää kaikkia, Nokiahan on edelleen matkapuhelinten maailmanlaajuinen markkinajohtaja? No, ensinnäkin Nokia menettää kovaa vauhtia otettaan siitä segmentistä missä katteet ovat isot. Toisekseen, usein on niin, että ostaessaan halpaa mallia ihmisillä on mielessään se kiiltokuva mallisarjan huipulta. Toisin sanoen, halpojen mallien myyntiä edistää se, jos samalla brändillä on tarjota myös seksikkäitä kalliita malleja.

Miksi sitten pitäisi olla houkutteleva alusta kehittäjille? Voidaan todeta että ei olekaan, mutta sovellustarjonnasta on useiden tahojen mielestä tulossa olennainen valintaperuste puhelimen valinnassa. Aika näyttää.

Oma osansa tässä sopassa on toki myös vihjeellä. Googlen johdolla on vihje, siitä ei ole epäselvyyttä (todistus on olemassa, muttei mahdu marginaaliin). Nokia taas.. Kallasvuo ja Vanjoki ovat julkisuutta seuraten vaikuttaneet siltä, että ovat joka viikko uutta mieltä siitä mikä on Nokian suunta. “MeeGo tulee N-sarjaan”, “N-sarja luottaa Symbianiin”, jnpp. Voi olla että herroilla on syvällinen ymmärrys, mutta “kännykkäkamerat korvaavat järjestelmäkamerat” ja Pamela Anderson todistavat aivan toiseen suuntaan.

Näistä lähtökohdista näkisin että Nokian pitää joko valmistautua olemaan yksi halpapuhelinten valmistaja muiden joukossa, tai syleillä MeeGoa ja Androidia, nyt ja heti. Nokia on jo altavastaajan asemassa yli 500 euron puhelinten markkinoilla, ja sovellustarjonnassa sitäkin pahemmin. Google taas ei halua matkapuhelinlaitteiden markkinoille, vaan haluaa varmistaa että on olemassa puhelimia joilla Googlen palvelut toimivat. Näistä lähtökohdista MeeGo, tai vielä parempaa, MeeGo joka tukee myös Android-sovelluksia, olisi Nokialle lupaavimman oloinen tie. Symbianin syleileminen voi osoittautua kuoleman syleilyksi, sillä kukaan muu kuin Nokia ei enää usko että Symbian olisi seksikäs.

Rant, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

HDR Video Demonstration Using Two Canon 5D mark II’s on Vimeo

Sep 10th, 10 / 0 Comments

Alright, so this is video imaging, created using two 5DmkIIs… Looks very, very cool!

HDR Video Demonstration Using Two Canon 5D mark II's on Vimeo on Vimeo

via HDR Video Demonstration Using Two Canon 5D mark II’s on Vimeo.

Taide, Viihtymys, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Nokia N8 – an upper mid-range compact camera?

Sep 8th, 10 / 0 Comments

If we ignore Vanjoki, who obviously is not up to his task, the N8 appears to be quite interesting phone-camera combination.

When you look at 200-250¤ compact cameras, even the better models have sensor size of 1/2.3″. The N8 sports 1/1.83″ by this URL, so where the sensor size matters, it should compete with upper mid-r…ange compact cameras.

Obviously you can make a bad camera with large sensor, but sensor size sets upper limit to what you can possibly do. It’s also something that costs money, which is why practically every other camera phone has smaller sensor (and thus smaller optics) than N8.

Interesting.

How LARGE is the Nokia N8 large image sensor? Updated!.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU | silentpcreview.com

Sep 2nd, 10 / 0 Comments

Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU | silentpcreview.com.

The Seasonic X-400 pretty much turn a new page in fanless PSUs. It’s the first one that can run totally without peripheral airflow, ie. it can actually be run fanless. For any other fanless PSU the fanlessness is pretty useless, because you need to add more chassis fans to remove the heat to keep them operating properly.

Still, for most noise-conscious users models like X-650 are more suitable; it runs without fan up to 250W or so and even after that fan runs smoothly and quietly. But for some special applications X-400 for sure fits the bill. It’s quite amazing to have PSU that has MTFB rating of 150k hours – that’s over 17 years, not possible for device with fan.

Another nice thing is that X-400 is the lowest rated 80Plus Gold certified PSU in existence. What makes it interesting is that 400W is pretty much the upper limit for single-GPU gaming machine, if you care about energy efficiency. Because PSUs reach their best efficiency around 50..80% of the maximum rated capacity, single-GPU rig with 650W PSU will spend 95% or more of the time at suboptimal load.

Now I just hope to see 400W X-series with a fan..

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Sony’s New Flexible OLED is Thinner Than a Strand of Hair | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World

May 26th, 10 / 0 Comments

Some major advances on the field of bendable gadgets:

Sony’s New Flexible OLED is Thinner Than a Strand of Hair | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Better batteries for you

Feb 15th, 10 / 0 Comments

As technology advances, sometimes breakthroughs are made that both make our life easier and help environment. Recent introduction of so called low self-discharge NiMH batteries goes into this slot.

This far, when selecting batteries for your AA/AAA-run device (AA is what people call sormiparisto in Finland, AAA is one size smaller), you have had these options:

Disposable battery
+Not hazardous to environment
+Retains the power for years until used
-When used, lasts only for limited, sometimes very limited time.

Regular NiMH battery
+Rechargeable, can be used thousand times or more.
+Even one full charge lasts longer than a single disposable battery
-Hazardous unless disposed off properly (ongelmajäte)
-Charge wears off over time, so when you buy new batteries they start empty, and you need to recharge them often

Now we have these new kind of rechargeable batteries: low self-discharge NiHM batteries. They tackle the last bullet on NiMH cons list – they retain most of their charge for months.

Here’s some data from an independent test:
sorted data: AA and AAA NiMH low self-discharge tests–Round 2: Storage and Media Forum: Digital Photography Review.

So all in all, if you have high power devices like digital cameras or wireless mice, consider getting these new kind rechargeable batteries for them. I have used them for my cameras for months now and they indeed work. Normally if the device has been used for weeks, the batteries are in bad shape and you can’t just pick the device and go using it. With these new kinds of batteries you can.

As you can see from the link above, even if your device is used just one week after the full recharge, these all low self-discharge ones deliver more power than even highest rated normal batteries.

Here are the types I have used myself and where to get them:
1) GP ReCyko, Partco Oy
2) Varta Ready2Go, Clas Ohlson
3) Eneloop, Verkkokauppa.com

UPDATE:

Varta collects negative points by labelling several of their series “Ready2Go” and not clearly stating which of them are actually LSD batteries and which not. The ones I and some others have tested to work properly are these:

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Better batteries for you

Feb 15th, 10 / 1 Comment

As technology advances, sometimes breakthroughs are made that both make our life easier and help environment. Recent introduction of so called low self-discharge NiMH batteries goes into this slot.

This far, when selecting batteries for your AA/AAA-run device (AA is what people call sormiparisto in Finland, AAA is one size smaller), you have had these options:

Disposable battery
+Not hazardous to environment
+Retains the power for years until used
-When used, lasts only for limited, sometimes very limited time.

Regular NiMH battery
+Rechargeable, can be used thousand times or more.
+Even one full charge lasts longer than a single disposable battery
-Hazardous unless disposed off properly (ongelmajäte)
-Charge wears off over time, so when you buy new batteries they start empty, and you need to recharge them often

Now we have these new kind of rechargeable batteries: low self-discharge NiHM batteries. They tackle the last bullet on NiMH cons list – they retain most of their charge for months.

Here’s some data from an independent test:
sorted data: AA and AAA NiMH low self-discharge tests–Round 2: Storage and Media Forum: Digital Photography Review.

So all in all, if you have high power devices like digital cameras or wireless mice, consider getting these new kind rechargeable batteries for them. I have used them for my cameras for months now and they indeed work. Normally if the device has been used for weeks, the batteries are in bad shape and you can’t just pick the device and go using it. With these new kinds of batteries you can.

As you can see from the link above, even if your device is used just one week after the full recharge, these all low self-discharge ones deliver more power than even highest rated normal batteries.

Here are the types I have used myself and where to get them:
1) GP ReCyko, Partco Oy
2) Varta Ready2Go, Clas Ohlson
3) Eneloop, Verkkokauppa.com

Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Introduction To LED Lighting | DIYPhotography.net

Sep 26th, 09 / 0 Comments

Very interesting read. The setups described work only for very small subjects, but the parts are very cheap and used in an innovative way.

Introduction To LED Lighting | DIYPhotography.net.

Taide, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Military robot ‘hops’ over walls

Sep 17th, 09 / 0 Comments

On some days it seems technology is advancing very, very fast as we speak. Today is one of those days.

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Military robot ‘hops’ over walls.

Tiede, Widgetit ja Gadgetit

Petabytes on a budget: How to build cheap cloud storage

Sep 10th, 09 / 0 Comments

These folks indeed worked smart, not hard:

Petabytes on a budget: How to build cheap cloud storage | Backblaze Blog.

Widgetit ja Gadgetit