July 11, 2006 10:03 - A quick way to make digital movies
The Point & Shoot Camcorder is a $130 marvel. It’s small and light enough to fit in a shirt pocket, less expensive than an MP3 player and takes decent-quality video.But most significantly, it’s easy to use. San Francisco-based Pure Digital Technologies has done for camcorders what Kodak did for still cameras 100 years ago. It’s a Brownie for the 21st century.
Here’s the out-of-the-box experience.
The camera is white and silver and not much larger than an older-generation Apple iPod. It operates on two standard AA batteries.
On the front, all you’ll see is a lens and small microphone. On the back is a 1.4-inch color screen, which doubles as a viewfinder. The key controls are a simple one-touch recording button, a play button and a delete button.
Load the batteries, press the power button and hit the red record button and you’re shooting. The camera stores up to 30 minutes of VGA-quality video on its internal 512-megabyte memory.
A rocker switch on the back controls a 2x zoom and lets you move back and forth between recorded video clips.
After you’re done recording, you flick a small switch on the side of the camera and a USB plug pops out the side. Insert it into a USB port on your computer, and preloaded software gives you three simple options that appear on your computer screen.
You can watch the video, save it to your computer for editing, or prepare the video for e-mailing to friends and family.
Pure Digital also cut a deal with CVS, Rite Aid, Ritz and Wolf Camera. Owners can drop their cameras off at one of the shops, which will convert the video into a DVD for a fee.
You can, however, save $10 and do the same thing yourself with a computer, a DVD burner and movie-authoring software.
There are some downsides. The 30-frame-per-second video is VGA quality — good enough, but not what you’d get from a more expensive camcorder. The 2x zoom lens cuts quality dramatically.
The audio quality is only so-so. Most Windows users won’t have to install Pure Digital software, which is pre-loaded into the camera. Mac users must install the software manually.
How much did I like it? After trying a demo model from Pure Digital, I went out and bought one last week.
By DAVID HAYES
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July 12, 2006 10:42 - What's in a name? Less and less, according to a recent consumer survey- Brand names not as glossy as they used to be.
Brand Name Influence for Consumer Electronics Losing Luster
What's in a name? Less and less, according to a recent consumer survey.Consumer electronics shoppers are growing less impressed by big brands, according to the Vertis Customer Focus 2006 Home Electronics study. This year, only 29 percent of survey respondents called brand name the "most important" factor aside from price, down significantly from the last survey conducted.
When marketing and targeted advertising company Vertis conducted this study in 2004, 40 percent of respondents considered brand name most important. Brand name's influence had declined steadily since 1998, when 50 percent of buyers deemed it most important. The drop from 40 percent to 29 percent is the most dramatic in the study's history.
One retailer suggests this is less a matter of brand names losing ground than a matter of many brands gaining ground. "It's a small percentage of people who are fixated on one brand, but many are fixated on groups of brands," says Rick Souder, executive vice president of merchandising at catalog and online retailer Crutchfield. "Brands are still important to most customers, but the range of brands they would consider keeps expanding."
Who's the Primary Shopper?
"In the general shopping experience, our research indicates men and women care about brand equally," says Scott Marden, directory of marketing research at Vertis. "However, when specific categories are measured, the brand importance becomes greater for the gender more interested in the products within that category."
When shopping for consumer electronics--defined by Vertis as digital video cameras, HDTVs, home theater equipment, and large-screen TVs--men appear slightly more brand-conscious than women. Men aged 35 to 49 were the most interested in brand names (33 percent), followed by men aged 18 to 34 (31 percent), and aged 50 and older (30 percent). Women 50 years and older were as brand-conscious as their male counterparts, but the interest in brand declined in younger women. Only 27 percent of women aged 35 to 49 and 26 percent of women aged 18 to 34 considered brand name most important.
The study findings suggest that men are also slightly more likely to call themselves the chief shoppers for home electronics, with 94 percent of men in the 18-to-34 and 35-to-49 age groups, and 92 percent in the 50-and-over age group claiming to be the primary or equal decision-maker for CE purchases. However, women aren't leaving the buying decision completely to men. Of the female respondents, 91 percent in the 35-to-49 group identified themselves as primary or equal CE shoppers, followed by 86 percent in the 18-to-34 group and 50-and-over groups.
Laura Blackwell, PC World
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July 14, 2006 18:03 - Sigma launches a new macro 70mm lens for digital SLR cameras
Press Release:Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new MACRO 70mm F2.8 EX DG lens.
MSRP: $570.00
Special Low Dispersion (SLD) lens and two high refractive index SLD lenses provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations
Super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting
Floating focus system provides extremely high optical performance from infinity to 1:1 Macro
Equivalent field of view to 105mm macro lens when used on a digital SLR camera with an APS-C size image sensor
The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new Macro 70mm F2.8 EX DG lens . This medium telephoto macro lens is ideal for both digital SLR cameras and 35mm film SLR cameras. The 70mm focal length gives an equivalent field of view as our popular 105mm macro lens when used on digital SLR cameras with an APS-C size image sensor.
The design of this lens makes it suitable for taking pictures in all situations from infinity to 1:1 macro, both with natural light conditions or flash.
A Special Low Dispersion (SLD) lens and two high refractive index SLD lenses provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations and produce an exceptional level of optical performance. Sigma's super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting, and helps create a natural color balance.
The floating focus system provides extremely high optical performance from infinity to 1:1 Macro.
A 'Focus Limiter Switch' in incorporated on the lens, improving the speed and accuracy of autofocus by limiting the focus range. A screw-in lens hood is included for convenient use of circular polarizing filters.
* Nikon and Pentax mount lens do not have an aperture ring, therefore depending on Camera model some functions may not work.
Availability.
For Sigma AF, Canon EOS and Nikon AF: August 2006.
For Sony and Pentax AF: To be announced.
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