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How to get started with iPhone camera app 645 Pro

Odds are you are satisfied with the photos you snap with a late-model iPhone. My iPhone 4S, for instance, captures higher-resolution photos (8 megapixels) than my old 6-megapixel Nikon D50. The thing is, iPhone camera apps compress images, losing much of an image's data in the process. The 645 Pro app intersects the iPhone's development process prior to the JPEG compression step, spitting out high-quality JPEGs and TIFFs. The developer, Jag.gr, calls these TIFFs developed raw or dRAW files.

The app's layout has you hold your iPhone in landscape mode, with the rear-facing camera in the … Read more

Sharp's 80-inch smart TV goes 3D

LAS VEGAS--Last October, Sharp announced its massive 80-inch TV, which came with some image enhancements and a ton of features. But there was one thing missing: 3D.

Sharp has now rectified this with a 3D version of this TV, called the LC-80LE844U. Despite the current trend for passive televisions, the Sharp set features an active technology called 3D X-Gen. Sharp is yet to announce how many sets of 3D glasses will ship with the TV.

The TV also features "smart," built-in wireless functionality with "hundreds of apps," including Netflix and Vudu and a remote set-up service called Aquos Advantage Live. The TV also includes Web browsing and a newly designed SmartCentral user interface. … Read more

Phase One IQ180: 80 megapixels of lavish color

When describing Phase One's IQ180-based camera system, there are plenty of superlatives you could pick.

High resolution is one choice: the sensor captures 80-megapixel photos measuring 10,328 by 7,760 pixels.

Expensive is another obvious candidate: the IQ180 image sensor costs $43,990. Adding in the 645DF camera body and Schneider-Kreuznach's 80mm LS lens bumps the price to $47,990.

But the one that intrigued me the most was outstanding color.

Over two weeks shooting with the IQ180 and 645DF medium-format camera body, I was consistently impressed with the depth and subtlety of its images' color. As often as not it was the color, not the high resolution, that made me want to dive into the photos (having a high-gamut display helps a lot) and print posters. Skin tones look more alive and natural, and I found myself shooting to capture color much more than I usually do. … Read more

D-Link DIR-645 router review: Almost great

D-Link's latest Amplifi Whole Home Router 1000 (model DIR-645) almost makes an excellent router.

For one, living up to the Whole Home notion, the router offers great Wi-Fi range, possibly the longest I've seen in a long time. Secondly, it provides a great set of features, including Gigabit Ethernet (great for a fast wired network), guest networking, parental control, QoS, support for IPv6, and a very easy-to-use yet comprehensive Web interface. And finally it won't break your bank, either, with a street price of just around $90.

Unfortunately, it also comes with one major shortcoming, according to my trials.… Read more

D-Link unveils Amplifi family of networking products

Awhile ago, Cisco refreshed its E series of routers and switches. Today, D-Link introduced its own by announcing its Amplifi family of high-performance home networking solutions.

The company says the new products are designed to offer fast performance for even the most demanding connected homes. They include two routers (the HD Media Router 1000 with HD Fuel DIR-657 and the Whole Home Router 1000 DIR-645), a Wi-Fi Booster (DAP-1525) and three Powerline 500 products (DHP-500AV, DHP-501AV, and DHP-540). Though announced today, most of these products were first introduced during CES 2011

D-Link says that the HD Media Router 1000 with … Read more

Ultra-wide-angle lens for Pentax 645D

Today Pentax announced the smc D FA 645 25mm f4 AL SDM AW lens for the 645D digital medium-format SLR camera. This is the second lens in the 645D series, along with the smc D FA 645 55mm f2.8 AL SDM AW lens($1,100). The new D FA 645 25mm f4 is an ultra-wide-angle lens offering the equivalent focal length of 19.5mm in 35mm format terms. When mounted on a 645 film camera the new lens has an equivalent of 15.5mm. This is the widest of all Pentax 645 lenses.

The 25mm 645D lens, along with … Read more

Toshiba revamps its laptop lines with Sandy Bridge Intel CPUs

LAS VEGAS--Last year, Intel's new processors predictably resulted in a slew of new laptops afterward bearing the updates. To no surprise, Toshiba's newly updated laptop lineup incorporates Intel's second-generation Intel Core i-series processors, and the product line affected is big: new Qosmios, new M-series and A-series laptops, and even some new budget L-series laptops, too, along with a new version of the Satellite A665 3D Vision-enabled notebook we reviewed last year. Click below to check out some pictures of the models, and read on for specs.

The Satellite A665 3D Edition adds an integrated 3D emitter to … Read more

High-end Pentax 645D camera heads to Europe

COLOGNE, Germany--How much room is there in the medium-format digital camera market? Pentax is hoping to find out by elbowing its way in with its 645D.

The company showed off the hefty camera at the Photokina Imaging show here this week. It's been for sale only in Japan so far, but at Photokina, Pentax announced it will go on sale in Europe starting in December.

"The 40-megapixel picture-taking mean machine, [which] delivers unprecedented image quality while offering top end control and user friendly handling, will be spreading its reach beyond Japan to invade European photography," Pentax said in a statement.

When Pentax launched the 645D earlier this year after years of on-again, off-again development, it downplayed its ambitions by saying the camera was chiefly for Japanese landscape photographers who have equipment from Pentax's medium-format 645 film camera days. But the company is taking a new tone with its aggressive statement about geographic expansion. It's also investing in work to ensure Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom can automatically correct Pentax medium-format lens issues, even before more mainstream optics have that support. … Read more

Toshiba adds WiMax to a handful of its laptops

In what's sure to be a growing trend in laptops, Toshiba is rolling out WiMax connectivity in several of its fall laptop models, including the Satellite M645, the Satellite A665, the Portege R705, and the Satellite E205. The new WiMAX-ready configurations will go on sale starting September 26.

Though 4G wireless broadband isn't available in all U.S. cities yet, at 54 cities and counting, it's on the rise. It's currently soft-launching here in New York City, a place where good mobile Internet can be extremely handy. However, the costs of 3G and 4G wireless Internet … Read more