macro

Tamron announced today it's brought vibration compensation to two full-frame lenses, the 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD telephoto and the SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD macro.

Both of the lenses will ship by the end of the year for Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras, Tamron said just ahead of the Photokina 2012 show, a major camera event held every two years in Germany. The company didn't disclose prices.

Vibration compensation -- known as vibration reduction at Nikon and image stabilization at Canon -- shifts a lens element to counteract camera shake. It can … Read more

In the Season 2 premiere of Always On, the Google Nexus 7 takes a beating. Well, it wouldn't be fair to say it takes a beating. It receives a beating, and frankly, doesn't handle it very well. It's one of our more dramatic Torture Tests, and I think it points out that sometimes, you do get what you pay for when it comes to quality and durability. The Nexus 7 is a great tablet in many respects but, well. It's not the toughest little thing. You'll see what I mean.

We'll find out in … Read more

Sometimes, the simplest gadgets turn out to be the most useful, and such is the case with the Macro Cell Lens Band.

What you see here is pretty much what you get: a rubber band with an embedded macro lens that you can wrap around any smartphone to take close-up photos. When not in use, you can simply wear it on your wrist or store it in your wallet on a credit card. … Read more

Adding to its lineup of basic lenses for DX shooters, Nikon unveiled a $279.95 40mm f2.8 macro (which Nikon refers to as "Micro") lens, the AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G.

Taking into account the APS-C magnification factor, the lens has the same effective angle of view as a 60mm lens on a full-frame camera. Other key specs include the ability to focus as close as 6.4 inches and a 7-blade iris. It uses Nikon's version of a quiet focusing motor so it should be good for shooting video as well.

It lines up next to the cheaper 35mm f1.8 (about 52.5mm equivalent) in Nikon's lens lineup, which is cheaper, but which can't focus as closely. It sounds like a nice addition, especially for small product photography, such as jewelry.

The AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G is slated to ship in August.… Read more

Let's see; iMacros for Chrome; wonder what that does? If you guessed that it adds macro capability to Google's free Chrome browser, you're right, but that's not all it does. It records and plays macros in Chrome, so you can use it to fill out forms and automate repetitious tasks. However, its master password feature securely manages online passwords via 256-bit AES encryption. And, like all Chrome extensions, it's free.

After we downloaded and installed iMacros for Chrome, we opened the extension's options page, which we accessed by clicking the toolbar's Wrench icon … Read more

ActiveWords is a nifty free program that does seven useful things when you type key words or letter combinations and hit the space bar. In fact, the developers believe program's seven categories make up the 80 percent of computing tasks in the 80/20 paradigm: Substitute Text, Launch a Program, Open a Document, Navigate to an Internet Site, Send E-Mail, Open a Folder, and Scripting. You specify your ActiveWords using quick, easy commands, and then associate the words with one of the seven tasks via simple wizards. It lets you create easy-to-remember shortcuts that do what you need most … Read more

TypeIt4Me is a text-expansion and autocorrection utility, an app that can save you tons of time (and wrist strain) by automatically expanding frequently used words, phrases, and even images with just a few quick keystrokes.

Users have several good apps to choose from in this category, and TypeIt4Me is one of the best and longest-lived (with a successful track record that stretches past two decades). As with similar apps, you just type in a few letters to access your "clippings"--or you can even choose an abbreviation from TypeIt4Me in the menubar. You can set abbreviations to work … Read more

For power users and other keyboard-shortcut fanatics, Keyboard Maestro is one of those apps that--once you've used it for a couple weeks--you wonder how you ever lived without it. (And, in fact, Keyboard Maestro mimics the functionality of many other much-beloved productivity-enhancing apps, even including the Classic Finder.) Keyboard Maestro's Program Switcher and Window Switcher make cycling through and managing open applications and windows a breeze, and its Clipboard Switcher lets you work with and store an endless number of clipboards. Keyboard Maestro also supports Growl and AppleScript, with the option of automatically pasting in script results at … Read more

QI Macros SPC Software for Excel allows you to analyze data in a variety of formats, including histograms with Cp and Cpk, Pareto charts, scatter plots, box whisker plots, and all variable and attribute control charts.

Since this program integrates itself into Microsoft Excel's interface, you should have no problem using it. It appears as an extra tab at the top of your Excel window. The tab itself is broken into seven categories: Statistical Tools, Fill-in-the-Blanks Templates, Data Transformation, Capability Charts, Control Charts, Improvement Charts, and Other Charts. Each transforms your inputted data for the best analysis. We entered … Read more