Sony Reader Touch Edition

Have you try lifting your child’s school bag lately? It sometimes seems to weigh a ton! It hurts my back just to carry it to the car. A Canadian high school has decided to do something about it, replacing printed textbooks with digital textbooks. Way to go!

Canadian high school is first in the world to announce the supply of Sony Readers in place of printed textbooks

Blyth Academy, Sony Canada and Pearson Canada make digital textbooks a reality

TORONTO, Nov. 17 – Embracing the benefits of electronic reading, students at Blyth Academy are today beginning the transition from using traditional printed textbooks to digital textbooks read on the Sony(R) Reader Digital Book. Blyth Academy is the first high school in the world to announce that each student will be supplied with an e-Reader in place of printed textbooks.

From history class to political science, each student will have access to all of his or her course content using leading edge digital technology from Sony and publishers like Pearson Canada. The students will use Sony Readers that are pre-loaded with course textbooks, outlines, assignments, reference materials, background reading and personal timetables.

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Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

Canon has posted a White Paper for the EOS 1D Mark IV.

[ Download the White Paper at: Canon ]

[ via PDNGearGuide ]

Olympus E-P1

OLYMPUS PEN NAMED AS CES INNOVATIONS 2010 DESIGN AND ENGINEERING AWARD HONOUREE

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., November 11, 2009 – Olympus today announced that it has been named an International CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards Honouree for its first Micro Four Thirds camera, the Olympus PEN E-P1. Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, engineers and members of the media to honour outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products across 36 product categories.

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II

NBC’s Saturday Night Live Shoots Opening Title sequence in Full 1080p HD Video With Canon’s EOS Digital SLR Cameras

EOS 5D Mark II and New EOS 7D Cameras Capture SNL Cast In True New York City Nightlife Style

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., November 11, 2009 – The new season of NBC’s Saturday Night Live debuted not only with an a new cast, but with a new look for the opening title sequence as the entire opening montage was shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the new EOS 7D digital SLR cameras. The concept behind the opening sequence was portraiture as the director and crew looked to capture “living” portraits of the city, the cast and the unique characters that make up the New York City nightlife.

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Ricoh GXR with the S10 Unit

Ricoh has announced today a new “Interchangeable Unit” camera where you change the lens and image sensor as an integrated unit. The non-interchangeable body shell consists of the handgrip, battery compartment, memory card compartment, LCD, flash and controls.

In the Ricoh GXR, each unit “optimizes” the sensor used for the particular lens. For example, there is a unit that uses a large APS sensor and fixed focal length lens. Each unit also comes with its own shutter mechanism, aperture, and image processing engine.

Units currently available are:

• A12 – 50mm F2.5 Macro lens with a 12.3MP (23.6 x 15.7mm) CMOS sensor
• S10 – 24-72mm F2.5-4.4 lens with a 10MP (1/1.7-in.) CCD sensor

Currently, only the A12 50mm unit uses a large APS-size sensor. The S10 24-72mm unit uses a tiny 1/1.7-in. sensor with a meagre 3x optical zoom. You might as well get the A12 and crop to get the “zoom”.

If future units feature zoom lenses using the same large APS-size sensor, then the question becomes, Why pay twice for the same sensor (and processor and shutter) when you are just swapping lenses?

If some European magazine or association gives this camera an award, I’m going to scream…

Seriously, some reviewers like this idea very much and if you do, too, then go for it! Certainly it gives you one body and controls to get used to. I’m just a bit skeptical about the whole value proposition, preferring an interchangeable lens system with a large sensor irrespective of the lens attached to the camera.

According to Imaging Resource, Minolta first came out with that [not so] brillant idea and IR concluded the Minolta Dimage EX1500 Zoom could well be “the first ‘obsolescence proof’ digital camera!” — and, umm, the camera is nowhere to be seen today and we all know what happened to Minolta. Ricoh should be careful not to repeat history.

Read the Press Release »

Olympus E-P2

The Olympus E-P2 adds AF Tracking and a tiltable high resolution EVF (1.44 million dot resolution). Now available in black.

Main changes:

• Continuous Autofocus (C-AF) Tracking System
• Tiltable (90 degrees) hi-res (1.44M dots) VF-2 live-finder with 1.15x magnification and 100% field of view
• Movie 720p @ 30fps
• Manual movie mode allows for independent control of aperture and shutter
• iEnhance (color boost)
• HDMI Control from Your HDTV Remote
• Two new Art Filters (Diorama, Cross Process), for stills and video
• Optional EMA-1 Microphone adapter accepts the optional Olympus ME-51S stereo microphone
• Available December 2009 for CAD $1099.99 with the ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens or CAD $1199.99 with the 17mm f2.8 Zuiko Digital Zoom {“pancake”) Lens. The EVF is included.

Olympus has also announced two new lenses: the M. Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6 super wide-angle zoom and the M. Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 high-power telephoto zoom.

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Olympus ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF MICRO FOUR THIRDS SYSTEM WITH TWO NEW ZOOM LENSES

Lenses Maximize Design Advantages of Micro Four Thirds System Standard; Offer Outstanding Optical Performance in an Unprecedented Compact, Lightweight Package

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., November 5, 2009 – Olympus announces today that it will introduce two new Micro Four Thirds System lenses in the first half of 2010. The new super wide-angle zoom M. ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 lens (18-36mm equivalent) and high-power wide to telephoto zoom M. ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 lens (28-300mm equivalent) offer amazing optical performance in an extraordinarily compact and lightweight design that translates into taking your PEN camera anywhere for DSLR-quality images and unmatched freedom and creativity.

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Kodak Pic Flick App for iPhone

Kodak is the latest camera manufacturer to make an app available for wireless printing from your iPhone. The Kodak Pic Flick App is free to download from the Apple App Store — only for the US.

[ Read more about the Kodak Pic Flick App ]

Whether it’s a big family purchase, an in-law gift, something to butter up the boss, or a cool tween stocking stuffer, Canadians can give a gift that gives back all year round with these High/Low ideas for everyone on the list. Staying within a budget was never so easy!

UNDER $100

RP-HJE160 – Ergofit Noise Isolating Earbuds (Green, Pink, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Black, White)
MSP: CAD $29.99

A Perfect Gift For: Dorm Bound Students, Transit Commuters, High-Tech Tweens

Wish List Worthy Features:

• ErgoFit design and soft ear caps for ultimate comfort (S, M, L sizes)
• Compact design fits just about anywhere
• Virtual cavity technology (creates high quality sound performance)
• Powerful sound with Neodymium magnet
• Copper Clad Aluminum Wire (C.C.A.W.) and Tangle-free cord slider

NEW BQC01AKM40 Charger Kit
MSP: CAD $59.99
*Coming soon to www.panasonic.ca / available in Fall 2009

A Perfect Gift For: Gadget Lovers, Gamers, Battery Starved Parents (with kids aged 2 – 16)

Wish List Worthy Features:

• One of the most Intuitive battery chargers on the market today!
• Will check battery charge level to determine if it’s ready to use or needs to be charged
• Adjusts charge rate according to battery condition to ensure optimum charge every time
• Microprocessor controlled charger
• Safety features include: Alkaline, Reverse Polarity and Bad Cell Detection, Auto shut off, Temperature sensors turn charger off if batteries become too hot
• Batteries can be charged up to 1200 times*
• Charge and store for up to 365 days of standby power**
• Switching to rechargeable batteries means fewer non-rechargeable in the waste stream

* IEC Standard 61951-2. Actual results may vary according to use
** IEC Standard 61951-2. Retains up to 80% capacity after 1 year in storage. Batteries stored at 20˚C

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