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Easy screen captures
If you need many screen captures, this tool makes it easy to grab them, but you may run into a barrier with the trial period. It's 30 days (which is adequate) or three sessions (which is brief), whichever comes first. We had a few other quibbles that left us unwilling to part from the reliable, old, built-in PrintScreen.
Screenshot Master installs a small icon in your system tray. Using this tool is very easy, because you just click the icon to make it work or to access its setup menu. The menu launches a well-designed configuration dialog box that … Read more
Amazon.com has the Canon PowerShot A550 7.1MP Digital Camera for $125.11, after $124.88 savings.
Sony shows speedy CMOS superzoom
Camera manufacturers seem to have chosen megazooms as their latest battlefield--and thankfully, the fight isn't just about who's got the biggest lens. In this case, the latest player comes from Sony, whose new Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 incorporates several technologies from its Alpha DSLR products, including a 1/2.4-inch 10-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor (for 9-megapixel images) and 20X f2.8-5.2 28-560mm-equivalent optically stabilized lens based on the company's higher-quality G series lenses.
In theory, the combination should deliver better photo quality than we're used to seeing in this class. (We haven't yet had a chance to review its primary--and also CMOS-based--competitor the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS, but it's been shipping overseas for a little while, so you can read CNET Australia's take on it).
In addition, Sony introduces several interesting continuous shooting modes: an intriguing Dynamic Ultrawide panorama mode that captures sequential images as you slowly pan across a scene and automatically stitches them into a 7,152x1,080 photo; a 10 frame-per-second 10-shot continuous shooting mode that uses a mechanical rather than electronic shutter for, the company claims, less distortion; and Handheld Twilight mode, which combines multiple exposures for a theoretically lower noise, higher detail low-light photo.… Read more
Amazon.com has the Canon PowerShot S400 4MP Digital Camera for $348, after $101.99 savings.
Sony has the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T20 Digital Camera for $169.95, after $130.04 savings.
Alleged spy photos reveal USB-laden Mac Mini
In the department of who-knows-if-this-is-real-or-not, we bring you some alleged "spy" shots of the back of the next-generation Mac Mini that are making their way around the blog circuit.
Everybody seems impressed that the thing has a whopping five USB ports. There are also connections for Ethernet, FireWire 800, and what appears to be two display ports--one Mini DisplayPort and one older mini DVI Mac display port. Why there's no HDMI connection is beyond us, but then again, this may--or may not--be the real deal, so we won't get too worked up.
Of course, there's … Read more
Canon's dramatic Spring Elphs
Some years it seems like Canon makes no real changes to its designs. Then there's 2009. Almost every camera the company has announced thus far looks significantly different from its predecessors as well as completely unlike its linemates. Unsurprisingly, this is most evident in the new PowerShot ultracompacts.
At the top of the pack is the SD970 IS, which replaces the SD890 IS. While many of the SD models retain their optical viewfinders, the SD970 forgoes one in favor of a larger LCD, 3 inches up from 2.5. Since I complained about the small LCD in my review … Read more
Canon's new rough-and-tumble point-and-shoot
I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, but Canon has finally decided to enter the market for rugged point-and-shoot cameras. It's kind of odd looking--I think it looks like a submarine--but according to the company the PowerShot D10 is freezeproof down to down to 14 degrees, shockproof up to a 4-foot drop and submersible up to 33 feet. Canon will offer interchangeable face plates and other accessories to match the camera to your adventure outfit du jour.
On a more prosaic note, the D10 has a 12-megapixel CCD, 3X zoom lens and all the automation features bestowed by … Read more
Sony springs a couple new Cyber-shot W models for Spring
Joining the lower-middle middle-class W220 that Sony announced at CES are the $199 middle middle-class W230 and $249 upper-middle middle-class W290. (Sorry folks, but I'm running out of ways to describe midpriced cameras.) While the W230 only differs from the W220 by $10 and LCD size--it's 3 inches vs. 2.7--the W290 has the same resolution and LCD as the W230 but with a significantly more flexible lens and better movie capture capabilities.
In fact, based on the specifications the W290 sounds like a better deal than the W300. It's about $80 less (including Sony recent price … Read more
