LATEST ELECTRONIC GADGETZ

Olympus unveils the new 12.3 megapixel E-620, the world's smallest and lightest creative digital SLR with built-in image stabilization. The new model features Olympus' Live View technology, Supersonic Wave Filter and a 6.9cm / 2.7" free-angle LCD to make the framing of every shot a cinch. The in-camera Art Filters allow you to apply stylish effects such as Pin Hole, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light Tone and Grainy Film, at the touch of a button. The new model will be available for purchase at the end of April...


PRESS SUMMARY
Olympus introduces new E-620 digital SLR camera - digital camera and photography news The world's smallest, lightest digital SLR with built-in image stabilization. Featuring the Art Filter function for creative in-camera photographic expression Olympus Imaging Corporation is pleased to announce the latest addition to Olympus's consumer class of Four Thirds System-compliant E-System digital SLR cameras. The new E-620, scheduled for release on March XX, 2009, is the world's smallest and lightest*1 interchangeable lens type digital SLR to incorporate an image stabilization mechanism

Olympus E-620 main features:

• Excellent portability assured by world's smallest, lightest body with built-in image stabilizationLCD.
• Easy-to-apply Art Filters for enhanced creativity, multi-aspect function with a choice of 4 different aspect ratios, High-Speed Imager AF for responsive Live View shooting, and other features for versatile photographic expression.
• High picture quality with 12.3-megapixel High-Speed Live MOS Sensor and TruePic III+ image processing engine.
• Top-of-its-class high-speed performance with newly developed 7-point AF system for fast, accurate focusing, high-speed 4-fps sequential soting, and more.
• Combining the unmatched compact, lightweight design of the E-420 with the advanced features of the E-520, notably its built-in image stabilization mechanism, the E-620 digital SLR camera offers a level of convenience and portability unprecedented in a camera this sophisticated.
  

• Illuminated buttons assisting the night-time shooting
• Large optical viewfinder with 95% field of view and 0.96x magnification
• Color Universal Design certified for the easy-to-view design regardless of the individual differences in the sense of colors
• Reliable Dust Reduction system
• Face & Background Control for beautifully balanced exposure of foreground subjects and background scenery
• Auto gradation adjustment to wash out in highlights and loss of details in shadows
• Multiple-exposure function with LCD monitor display of current view superimposed on previously captured image
• Perfect Shot Preview to compare the effect of various setting adjustments before actual shooting
• Built-in flash with Commander function for wireless off-camera flash synchronization
• Shooting information display via Super Control Panel LCD monitor display for superior visibility and operating ease
• High-precision, 49-zone metering system
• Easy activation of shooting functions via sample image selection
• Versatile bracketing functions for ISO, white balance, exposure, and flash
• Lightbox view with enlargement function for easy side-by-side comparison of images

There has been mumblings that Nikon was going to introduce a new, entry level DSLR to replace the aging D40/D60 lineup and that DSLR might just might launch next week at PMA. Besides the MP count, details really aren’t flowing but we’re hoping Nikon has a nice DSLR in the works.

Nikon Rumors, a good authority on everything Nikon btw, is stating that via a reliable source, the D5000 will be launched next week in Vegas. So far the only spec leaked is that the camera will be loaded with a 12.3 MP sensor which is in line with previous reports that the D5000’s image quality would be on par with the D90 who just so happens to also sport a 12.3 MP sensor. Nice.

Chances are though that this will not be the only entry level DSLR announced next week. Pentax just dropped the price on some of its models and Canon knows what they are doing. Next week should be a great time for camera fiends.

The D5000 seems to be a D40-like body with a D90/D300 class sensor and innards (Gen 2). If true, this will give this camera image quality indistinguishable from the D3 in a D40-weight-class body (proof: the D90's technical image quality is indistinguishable from the D3, and the D5000 ought to be the same as the D90).

The D5000 just might add new wireless capabilities beyond anything today.

Will the D5000 have the pro-grade 1/500 flash sync of the D40, which no other DSLR can match at any price? Probably not, which is too bad. The D40's 1/500 sync is why I prefer to use it for shooting portraits in daylight over other cameras; it lets me use flash much more effectively.

Conventional GPS has difficulty providing reliable positions in poor signal conditions. For example when surrounded by tall buildings (resulting in multipath), or when the satellite signals are weakened when a GPS device is indoors or under trees. Some newer receivers are better at handling these situations.

In addition, when first turned on in these conditions, some non-assisted GPS units may not be able to download the almanac and ephemeris information from the GPS satellites, rendering them unable to function until a clear signal can be received continuously for up to one minute.

An A-GPS receiver can address these problems in several ways, using an assistance server:

• The assistance server can locate the phone roughly by which cell site it is connected to on the cellular network.
• The assistance server has a good satellite signal, and lots of computation power, so it can compare fragmentary signals relayed to it by cell phones, with the satellite signal it receives directly, and then inform the cell phone or emergency services of the cell phone's position.
• It can supply orbital data for the GPS satellites to the cell phone, enabling the cell phone to lock to the satellites when it otherwise could not, and autonomously calculate its position.
• Simply capturing a brief snapshot of the GPS signal, with approximate time, for the server to later process into a position.
• By having accurate, surveyed coordinates for the cell site towers, it can have better knowledge of ionospheric conditions and other errors affecting the GPS signal than the cell phone alone, enabling more precise calculation of position.

As an additional benefit, it can reduce both the amount of CPU and programming required for a GPS phone by offloading most of the work onto the assistance server.

A typical A-GPS-enabled cell phone will use a data connection (internet, or other) to contact the assistance server. Alternatively, it may use standard non-assisted GPS, which is slower and less accurate, but does not lead to network charges for data traffic, which can be considerable.Some A-GPS solutions do not have the option of falling back to conventional GPS.

High Sensitivity GPS is an allied technology that addresses some of the same issues in a way that does not require additional infrastructure. However, unlike some forms of A-GPS, high sensitivity GPS cannot provide instant fixes when the phone has been off for some time.