End User

Shoot And Show

Flip Video is at it again.  Their new SlideHD delivers awesome new capabilities for shoot and share shoppers.

One of the most noticeable features is the 3-inch touchscreen back.  The traditional big red button and other control buttons of a Flip are still there when you record. But now, when you want to replay footage you need only slide up the screen, scroll through video thumbnails on the camcorder’s slide strip and touch the screen to play footage. Along with better viewing, the new SlideHD allows for better listening. The camcorder features stereo speakers and a headphone jack for private viewing in noisy settings.

Like the UltraHD and 2nd gen MinoHD Flip camcorders, the SlideHD allows for direct connectivity to your HDTV via a mini-HDMI port. With the SlideHD you are able to record more than ever before, it can capture up to four hours of HD footage.

All Flip camcorders come equipped with FlipShare software to install on your home computer for sharing to Facebook or other sites, capturing still images and more. Specifically with the SlideHD, FlipShare software can save footage to Flip’s Space Saver format, allowing you to store up to 12 hours of video. This means you can share more Flip video footage than ever before with family and friends in a sleek compact device.

The new SlideHD is a cool new addition to Flip’s family of products. Letting you shoot and show your favorite memories for all to see.

--Brandon M. Baker

Review: Nikon 24mm f/1.4

I have been on Nikon's case to release fast, wide primes since about 30 seconds after they discontinued the 28mm f/1.4, sending the price of existing copies into the stratosphere. It has been the biggest gaping hole in Nikon's lens line-up, and as zooms got better and better, and each new camera pushed the ISO boundaries -- 6400, then 25,600, now the D3s's 102,400 -- I worried Nikon might think professional fast primes were a thing of the past.

Thankfully not. With the new 24mm f/1.4, Nikon shooters have the option for extreme low-light shooting or depth-of-field separation at wide angles, but it comes at a steep price -- 2,199.95, almost enough to buy five Sigma 24mm f/1.8's. So the question is, is it good enough to be worth it?

Let's face it, for most people the answer is going to be no. Most people are never going to buy a two thousand dollar lens, and if they do, they might pick more of a general-use workhorse like a 70-200 VRII or the (bit cheaper) 24-70 f/2.8. The price and specialized nature puts it squarely in the market of rich amateurs, primes addicts, and that now-rare class of photojournalists who somehow make money. My documentary wedding style in dark, dark New York City venues puts me in the market, but most people may be better served with another lens due to price alone.

But if you like fancy toys, or can simply justify that it's still more than $4,000 cheaper than Leica's 24mm f/1.4, read on. Lots of pictures to follow, so I'm sticking it behind a cut. These are commissioned pictures, so I can't release full-size images, but you can see full-size snapshots and RAW samples from my quick impressions here.

Easy Peasy Wi-Fi with New Cisco Valet Routers

Truth be told, Wi-Fi routers aren't that exciting... but they're not meant to be. They're meant to be turned on, configured, and--hopefully--forgotten about as they provide a steady stream of wireless connectivity around your home or office. Unfortunately, many new owners of a Wi-Fi router get stymied in step 2 with a deluge of migraine-inducing acronyms and numerical jargon (WEP, TTLS, 2.4 and 5 GHz, 128-bit encryption, and not to mention 802.11 ending with -b, and -g and -n... oh, and don't forget -a) that's incomprehensible to non-techies (and, frankly, even some of those with a bit of tech in the blood).

Apple has long been one company that understands how to make things "just work" right out of the box without having to take a community college course, and now other companies are starting to understand and emulate this. Last week, Cisco unveiled its new line of Wi-Fi routers called Valet that are meant to take the mystery and frustration out of setting up a wireless network.

Looking at these gorgeous gadgets, it's easy to see the influence of the design team from Cisco-acquired Flip--maker of the Flip shoot-and-share camcorders. But more than just physical design, Flip camcorders became popular because they were so easy to use and connect to computers for editing and sharing. And that ethos and focus on making the experience of configuring as simple as possible is what sets apart Cisco's Valet line from other Wi-Fi routers. Ross Miller at Engadget writes about his experience in setting up the Valet:

Eschewing the usual CD installation key is what Cisco's calling the USB Easy Setup Key. Similar idea to the other routers, just plug in and install the software. After two clicks of the menu, it auto-located our Valet and connected to a newly-minted, protected wireless service (in this case "BusyFish") with the password saved in our keychain. Adjusting guest access and parental controls are easy enough, and nice part of the USB key is that you can write the settings onto it, letting you simply plug it into another computer and auto-load the settings. Manual controls are still available and should be fine for most readers.

The Valet line of "wireless hotspots" (as Cisco refers to them) features two routhers: the Valet and Valet Plus. Both offer the broader range and faster speeds of the Wireless-N standard (that'd be 802.11n if you're keeping score), with the Plus adding extra wired speed through Gigabit Ethernet ports as well as an input/output boost with an extra antenna (according to Gizmodo). The easily configurable Cisco Connect software also includes a Parental Control function (for filtering or time-limit access) and the ability to create a guest network that won't allow access to connected devices on your private network. The Valet line also includes the Valet Connector USB stick, that enables you to plug it into a non-wireless-enabled PC to bring it Wi-Fi goodness.

I can see that a Valet might be making its way to my Mom someday in the future when she decides it's time for a new router, as I think it'll drastically cut down on the calls to tech support (aka, me). The setup software is also compatible with both Windows PCs and Macs, though Katherine Boehret at All Things D ran into a bug on the Mac that Cisco says will be fixed soon with a software update.

However, I do have a bone to pick with Cisco. While I understand that they want to make the Valet routers as easy to understand as possible, I wish they'd post full-on specifications so that techie folks like myself could understand what's under the hood in order to make a better purchase decision for our non-techie parents.

For those who want a bit more control over their Wi-Fi environment, Cisco also released similarly designed Wireless-N routers under its Linksys brand. It starts with the E1000, which includes Fast Ethernet ports, then steps up to E2000 with Gigabit ports and selectable 2.4 GHz/5 GHz transmission. The line tops out with the E3000, which offers simultaneous dual-band transmission as well as USB port and built-in UPnP AV media server. The Linksys E series also includes the E2100L with Linux operating system for full-on configurability and the AE1000 USB stick for non-wireless PCs.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Get more latitude out of iPhone 3Gs photos

 

I took these photos on a recent pre-season get-away in Jamaica. Admittedly the scenery did all the heavy-lifting for me, but they were pretty good for making my friends jealous. But the kicker is that they were taken on an iPhone, and ready to e-mail like this right from the phone. My travel partner, also standing there with her smartphone, gaped a bit: "How the heck?"

The answer is simple; a couple apps that quickly, simply, and effectively increase the tonal range your phone camera can capture: Pro HDR (iTunes link) and TrueHDR (iTunes link). HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, a technique that has been so overused in photography in recent years to create garish images that many of you likely rolled your eyes just seeing the acronym. But HDR is just a tool to fix the inherent problem most digital cameras have of being able to capture a much smaller range of lights and darks than the human eye, and few cameras need fixing as badly as a tiny cell phone camera. With all of those pixels crammed in to a space so small, each pixel isn't receiving very much light, and that tends to mean noisy images with blown out highlights. The noise problem is hard to fix, but tonal range is relatively simple: Just take a picture exposed for the shadows, another for the highlights, and slap them together. And that, simply and easily, is what both of these applications do.

Note: because these apps rely on selective metering, which the iPhone 2G and 3G cameras can't do, it has to be a 3Gs (or future phones)

Since they're both paid apps, you probably don't want to download them both (but I did). So which is better? On paper, that would definitely go to Pro HDR. TrueHDR only exports downsized images, and you're stuck with whatever you get. Pro HDR exports full-sized images, and has simple but effective controls to help you get the best final product:

 

But there's just one problem: It's nowhere near as good as TrueHDR at actually merging the photos. As you can even see from their own product screenshots, above, it tends to merge with horrible halos, one of the things that gives HDR photography such a bad name. TrueHDR is relatively seamless. I've merged two photos below with both products, ProHDR on the left and TrueHDR on the right. It's not even a question which one looks better to me.

So if you're just exporting to the Web, which is what I tend to do with iPhone shots anyway, TrueHDR may be the better choice. But if you're a control freak and can live with halos, give Pro a try.