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Some photographers have been frustrated with Canon's silence on the "black dot" issue that's afflicting its new EOS 5D Mark II camera, but the company plans to speak soon.

"Watch for an official Canon comment on this issue in the very near future," said Canon USA technical adviser Chuck Westfall in a Wednesday response to a question posted on his monthly question-and-answer column at The Digital Journalist.

The black spots appear to the right of very bright spots in some occasions, and many are wondering whether the issue is an unavoidable consequence of the sensor or something that can be altered with the camera's more mutable firmware. … Read more

One verdict is in on Canon's EOS 5D Mark II: its sensor ranks very high on DxO Labs' test of sensor performance.

The black-spot issue notwithstanding, Canon's new full-frame SLR came in at fourth place with a score of 79.0, bumping Sony's 78.9-scoring Alpha A900 down a peg but still trailing Canon's top-end EOS-1Ds Mark III at 80.3. Nikon's D700, the closest rival to the 5D Mark II, is a notch ahead at 80.5.

More relevant for the potential upgrade market, new Canon SLR's score is significantly better from that of its predecessor, the 5D, whose score is 70.9. On a pixel-by-pixel basis, the 12.8-megapixel 5D's sensor actually has a lower signal-to-noise ratio, but when measured over an entire 8x10 print, the 5D Mark II's higher 21.1-megapixel resolution wins on that measurement.

The DxOMark Sensor test measures how well a camera's sensor fares when it comes to dynamic range, color depth, and low-light performance. The test doesn't measure any number of other camera issues such as autofocus, value, or image processing. But it's still useful given DxO Labs' engineering rigor and the central role a sensor plays in the abilities of a camera.

Pixel-peepers have been devouring DxO's new statistics; the curious can try this link to a comparison of the 5D Mark II, Nikon D700, and Sony A900. However, it should be noted, DxO Labs considers that scores must be at least of 5 points apart to be significant.

There's been much discussion about whether the $2,700 5D Mark II performs better than the $6,500 1Ds Mark III, which has the same resolution. The DxOMark tests give the edge to the top-end model based on its better color and dynamic range--the ability to capture both bright and dark regions--but the 5D Mark II wins out in low-light performance. Digging deeper into the charts, though, the 5D Mark II fares better in dynamic range at higher ISOs.

All these cameras perform better than the common herd by virtue of full-frame sensors measuring 36x24mm, the size of a full frame of 35mm film. Most digital SLRs have a smaller sensor that can't capture as much information overall, but those models are vastly more affordable. … Read more

Problems with Apple's newly redesigned MacBooks are being reported on Apple discussion boards and across the Internet.

The new notebooks, which have already run into problems with the trackpad, are said to have problems with video performance, third-party memory chips, and staying in sleep mode. It's always difficult to get a sense of how widespread such problems are from tracking message board posts--and every computer ever made has had problems--but the volume of such complaints regarding the new systems seems to be increasing.

Gizmodo collected some of the more pressing problems in a post Monday. The memory issue involves crashes that appear to be linked to adding third-party memory chips into the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Apple charges way more for memory upgrades than other companies such as Crucial or Other World Computing, so savvy Mac users interested in adding memory on their own often choose one of those products.

That post also highlights an issue that involves the MacBook Pro being unable to stay in sleep mode, turning itself on when closed every minute or so, or freezing when woken up by the user. That issue doesn't seem as serious as the memory one, but if you've noticed this problem resetting your MacBook's PRAM seems to have worked for some people.

… Read more

Some users have reported that photos taken with Canon's new $2,700 EOS 5D Mark II camera can be blemished with dark spots near areas with very bright highlights.

I first heard about the issue on the DP Review forums on Friday, but now one pixel-peeping user has come up with a fix spotlighted by Photography Bay: Disable for highlight tone priority, lighting optimizer, and noise reduction, according to commenter f_stops.

"No black dots," the photographer and new 5D Mark II owner reported on the posting, supplying before-and-after shots as proof.

Canon is checking into the issue. &… Read more

Yay! Apple's iPhone 2.0.2 software update has fixed our broken iPhone 3G. Its endless loop of system restores is over, and it's now back in working order.

Yet, that seems to be just about the only change from the update. Apple promised that 2.0.2 would bring "bug fixes" (and did it it ever) but the company hasn't promised anything else. Like others I have noticed a slight improvement in the typing speed when using the keyboard, but that seems to be about it.

AppleInsider reported that in the music player the … Read more

Apple has released iPhone OS 2.0.2 with its obligatory, but unhelpful, release notes indicating only "bug fixes."

Unfortunately, a resolution to widespread, frustrating 3G reception issues is not among those fixes. In fact, some users have reported that the update manifests poorer 3G reception than 2.0.1, with devices now giving a "No Service" message in previously 3G-accessible locations.

"I use to get one to three bars of 3G service in my house and now I can't make a call," wrote an Apple poster. "I have to switch off … Read more

As my colleague Tom Krazit over at CNET News already told you, Apple released the iPhone OS 2.0.2 software update on Monday. Unfortunately, our iPhone 3G has other plans. Our review model still is caught in an endless series of restore cycles. Hopefully, I'll get it fixed soon and can let you know what the update brings.

With tales of iPhone 3G horror abounding on the Web, I figured I was just lucky.

Since Apple loaned CNET an iPhone 3G just over a month ago, I had experienced none of the problems that have plagued so many other users. I didn't have dropped calls or buggy software, and my iPhone wasn't cracking around the edges. Sure, the 3G connection was a bit shaky, and the battery life suffered during a day of heavy use, but on the whole my handset was doing just what it was supposed to do.

That is, until today. Since I … Read more

Mathway is a Web calculator that not only solves math problems for you, but also shows you how it got to the answer with step-by-step directions. It's the kind of service that would have utterly ruined me in middle school if I had wanted to cruise through the stacks of homework without doing any of the actual computations.

Mathway covers several types of math genres, including high school level stuff like trigonometry and calculus. It'll also take any "basic math," like what you'd do with a calculator, although it's kind of a waste since … Read more