During the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, Digital Bolex showcased its retro 2k resolution RAW video camera. Up until now, RAW-capable video cameras were extremely pricey, costing tens of thousands of dollars or more. Relative to these high-end units, the Digital Bolex will be very affordable when it launches later this year. The Digital Bolex is a reinvention of the original Bolex 16mm motion picture camera, with the added ability to use interchangeable lenses. The camera’s 16 millimeter-equivalent sensor can record in Adobe Cinema DNG to an SD card, and it features a 2.4-inch adjustable LCD viewfinder. The project is being fully funded through Kickstarter, and has already surpassed its first two goals of $100,000 and $200,000, as it inches closer to its current $250,000 goal. The first 100 cameras will be available in August for $3,300, with pre-orders for the general public beginning shortly after for a fall release. A video containing Digital Bolex test footage follows below.

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Kodak said it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames in order to focus on more profitable products, reports the Associated Press. The move isn’t surprising, as the company is slowly emerging from last month’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. “Our goal is to maximize value for stakeholders, including our employees, retirees, creditors, and pension trustees,â€� Kodak said in a press release. The company’s digital camera and picture frame products will be phased out during the first of half of the year as Kodak instead focuses on photo printing and desktop inkjet printers. The company will continue to honor warranties and provide technical support for discontinued products, and the move is expected to result in annual savings of more than $100 million.

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They're just getting smaller, aren't they? The GF2 was 19% smaller than the GF1, and there's a good likelihood the GF3 will be even smaller. Due to be announced soon, the GF3's rumored to be almost totally controlled by touchscreen. More »

Research In Motion on Monday announced a new video chat application and service for its PlayBook tablet. The announcement, which came from the company’s BlackBerry World conference in Orlando, marks the addition of another service that likely should have been available on the device at launch last month, but may have been omitted due to the company’s rush to release the device. The video chat app itself looks like it covers most of the core video calling functionality users might desire, such as one-click calling, incoming call notifications, picture-in-picture so users can see their own feed in a small window while the other chatter’s feed displays full-screen, and the ability to swap between the PlayBook’s front-facing camera and its rear camera. RIM’s video chat app fro the BlackBerry PlayBook will be available for free in BlackBerry App World beginning May 3rd. Hit the jump for RIM’s full press release.

RIM Announces New Video Chat Application for the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

Allows BlackBerry PlayBook users to easily share special moments with friends and family

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the availability of the BlackBerry® PlayBookTM Video Chat application – an easy and fun way for friends and family to place and receive video calls between BlackBerry® PlayBookTM tablets over an internet connected Wi-Fi® network.

“BlackBerry is a renowned mobile communication solution for connecting users to the people and information that matter most throughout their day,� said Tom Goguen, VP, Collaboration and Social Networking at Research In Motion (RIM). “With the BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat application we are excited to be enabling our customers to share important moments and events with family and friends via video calls. With the BlackBerry PlayBook’s high-resolution video cameras and stunning display, a Video Chat call is the next best thing to being there.�

Key features of the PlayBook Video Chat application include:

• One-Click Video and Voice over Wi-Fi Calls – with just one click users can make a call from their Video Chat contact list, log of recent calls or simply by entering the BBID email address of the person they want to call.
• Incoming Call Notifications – users will receive a notification pop-up when a new video call comes in, allowing them to accept the call as either a video or voice call, or decline the call. For those quiet moments – such as when while watching a movie or playing a game -users will also have the ability to simply set the “Do Not Disturb” option and the BlackBerry PlayBook will automatically ignore all incoming calls.
• Powerful In-Call Functions – by using the picture-in-picture function users can easily preview their own video image prior to placing the call in order to see what will be displayed on the other end. They can also easily switch cameras from front to rear so their friends can see what they are seeing, and for private moments users can mute/unmute audio or make or take calls using voice only.
• Friends List – BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat comes complete with a Friends List for maintaining your favorite contacts. A picture can easily be added to a contact to personalize the entry and a Call Log makes it simple to keep track of received and missed calls.

The BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat application will be showcased this week at BlackBerry World 2011 (www.blackberryworld.com) in Orlando FL. It is expected to be available on May 3 and will be distributed to existing BlackBerry PlayBook customers through an over-the-air software update and will also be available on BlackBerry App WorldTM.

CTIA snooping is in full swing today, as the HTC EVO 3D has seen its major specs divulged courtesy of a document within the exhibition halls of the show. True to our initial scoop and subsequent spec leak, we're looking at a 3D-capable successor to the EVO 4G, this one rocking a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (Qualcomm's MSM8660), a 4.3-inch qHD ( 960 x 540) display, dual 5 megapixel cameras around back, and the sweet, sweet promise of 1080p video playback. That's constrained to 720p for viewing 3D content, but there's no denying this new Sprint smartphone's shaping up to be yet another multimedia powerhouse. Specs of the EVO View tablet have also been snapped, marking it as indeed a Sprint rebadge of HTC's 1.5GHz, 7-inch Flyer tablet. Look for both to become official at Sprint's presser later this week.

EVO 3D specs confirmed: 1080p 2D video, 720p 3D, dual cameras, 1.2GHz dual-core CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yup, we’ll definitely be ordering one of these the moment they become available. The two man company that is Satarii is working on an accessory for the video cameras on mobile phones, iPod touchs, and small Flip-style camcorders that allows said devices to track your movements in real-time. The Star accessory is a based, affixed with an motorized base that can rotate 360-degrees, that can follow a marker placed on your person. Clip the marker to your clothing or stick it in your pocket and watch as the base pivots left and right to shadow your every move. While it is difficult of verbally explain, it is amazing to see it in action. Hit the jump, a video demo of the product is waiting for you.

[Via Reddit]

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Cameras and wands may be the game controllers du jour, but it seems there's still room in the world for virtual reality experiences a bit more concrete -- like these buckets, filled with water, that let their user physically paddle through a digital dreamscape. "Channels" uses a pair of flex sensors attached to plastic spoons to monitor the flow in each bucket as a projector throws the minimalist 3D environment up on a nearby wall. Meanwhile, "Cadence Chair" uses an antique rocking chair outfitted with an accelerometer to align ribbons of light, and if you do it in the right rhythm it plays a hidden video. Both are student projects from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Project, and as you'll see in videos after the break, both look pretty darn cool. We're having this sudden urge to go back to school.

Continue reading Water buckets and rocking chair become spiffy interactive art projects (video)

Water buckets and rocking chair become spiffy interactive art projects (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may not know what it's called but you've definitely seen it. The wobble or "jelly" effect seen in video captured by cameras with CMOS sensors relying upon rolling shutters instead of the global shutters found in cameras with CCDs. The issue stems from the way a CMOS acquires the image by recording each frame in horizontal bands, working from the top to the bottom. Since all parts of the image are not recorded at the same time, moving the camera, even slightly at telephoto settings, causes the image to skew and go all rubbery. Well, iMovie 11 can fix that, or at least smooth it out with options for Low, Medium, High, and Extra High distortion reduction. It's just one of many new additions including the often discussed Movie Trailers, support for 24p footage, vastly improved audio editing, and a People Finder feature that lets you search for family members in raw footage... but it might be our favorite. See a video demonstration after the break before hitting up the source for the full review over at MacWorld.

Continue reading iMovie 11 knows you're not ready for the video jelly

iMovie 11 knows you're not ready for the video jelly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pulling memory cards and downloading pictures? A pain. Keeping track of a drawer full of different-sized battery packs for your travel, studio, and video cameras? A headache. If that's you, Canon's Cross Media Station could be a big hit of aspirin. Finally shown to the world after being teased at the Canon Expo last month, the prototype device looks something like a chubby scanner from a dark future. However, the top is actually an inductive charging pad. Set your camera up there (up to three at once) and a blue light will pop on to indicate flowing electricity. While the power heads one direction the data goes whizzing by in the other, pictures pulled and categorized on the device based on time, place, and recognized faces. As you can see in the video after the break, photos can be displayed over HDMI onto your HDTV. We're guessing the wireless data spec is TransferJet, as Canon is a member of that consortium, but when it comes to the wireless charging we're somewhat in the dark. It looks like the models in the video are using adapters to enable this functionality, but surely this will be integrated eventually. You know, in the future, when all the best stuff happens.

Continue reading Canon Cross Media Station pulls your pics and charges your cameras, wirelessly (video)

Canon Cross Media Station pulls your pics and charges your cameras, wirelessly (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pulling memory cards and downloading pictures? A pain. Keeping track of a drawer full of different-sized battery packs for your travel, studio, and video cameras? A headache. If that's you, Canon's Cross Media Station could be a big hit of aspirin. Finally shown to the world after being teased at the Canon Expo last month, the prototype device looks something like a chubby scanner from a dark future. However, the top is actually an inductive charging pad. Set your camera up there (up to three at once) and a blue light will pop on to indicate flowing electricity. While the power heads one direction the data goes whizzing by in the other, pictures pulled and categorized on the device based on time, place, and recognized faces. As you can see in the video after the break, photos can be displayed over HDMI onto your HDTV. We're guessing the wireless data spec is TransferJet, as Canon is a member of that consortium, but when it comes to the wireless charging we're somewhat in the dark. It looks like the models in the video are using adapters to enable this functionality, but surely this will be integrated eventually. You know, in the future, when all the best stuff happens.

Continue reading Canon Cross Media Station pulls your pics and charges your cameras, wirelessly (video)

Canon Cross Media Station pulls your pics and charges your cameras, wirelessly (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freedom. Justice. Microphones. We're pretty sure you can find all of those in the constitution, or inside the pure essence of eagle tears, or in Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" played backwards. Scosche understands, and that's why they're unveiling the freedomMIC add-on for Flip Video cameras. It's one of those new FlipPort-compatible accessories that we're sure we'll be seeing plenty of now that Cisco's new wave of cameras are out for public consumption. The mic itself offers a pretty neat solution to the perennial problem of sucky Flip audio: you plug the receiver base into the bottom of the Flip and hand the wireless lapel mic to your subject. Conveniently, you can start and stop recording with the microphone itself, and a 4 hour rechargeable battery should get you through the most trying of interviews or impassioned YouTube monologues. The mic will be out in "late December" for $100.

Scosche freedomMIC for Flip Video cameras is the wireless microphone add-on for Real Americans originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maybe it's just the odd angle of this newly submitted out-of-box photograph, or maybe we just aren't smart enough for Cisco, but we still we can't quite figure out what exactly is going on here. We suppose the flip-up screen performs as a sort of poor man's photo frame? At risk of being rude, we're pretty sure we'd just like a thinner video camera, but when it comes to selling millions dirt cheap, dirt simple video cameras to the masses, the makers of the seemingly imminent Flip Slide HD are of course the experts.

[Thanks, anonymous]

Flip Slide HD caught outside the box, still looks weird originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The setup looked ingenious. Using a series of photos and the projectors on a bunch of those quirky Nikon Coolpix S1000pj projector cameras, these two tots looked to be recreating a Daft Punk music video. Then they started dancing.

It was awkward to say the least, but as I said the ingenuity was there. A for effort, and all that, but I would have lost the cheerleaders during the "costume change." I was about to say they looked out of place, but then I stopped myself with a face palm because nothing could be out of place in a video like this.

The video was actually shot in late September, so I can only assume these guys are Japanese superstars by now. [YouTube via DesignBoom via Switched via Engadget]

The MIT Technology Review has unearthed a new laser-based 3D mapping robot that can produce results similar to those obtained from $100,000 systems at about a fifth of the cost. Funded by the US Army, researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology have now demonstrated the Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mapping System (ROAMS, for short), which employs a mirror-based LIDAR system that bounces a laser off a rapidly rotating mirror and gleans environmental information from how long it takes for each pulse to bounce back. An array of video cameras and IR proximity sensors add to this recon bot's sentience, though you'll still need to be within a mile's range to operate it. So not quite yet ready for solo missions to Mars, but plenty useful for gathering data on our own planet. You'll find video and imagery of the results this machine kicks out after the break.

Continue reading 3D mapping drone fires off lasers from a mile away (video)

Filed under: Robots

3D mapping drone fires off lasers from a mile away (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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