Camera Phones Plaza

Here is another camera dedicated to professional amateurs, same as the Canon EOS 50D we wrote about several days ago. Nikon D90 comes from one of the best brands when it comes to high-quality photo cameras and at a good price of $999 for a 12.3MP, compared to the $1,399 retail for the 15.1MP Canon model.
Released as an improvement for the Nikon D80 and inspired by Nikon D300, the latest camera uses a DX-format CMOS sensor, the Nikon EXPEED image processing technology and the NIKKOR optics for high-fidelity pictures.

The world’s first DSLR camera with video recording capability shoots continuously at a speed of 4.5 frames per second working with the 0.15ms power-up and split-second 65ms lag, while in D-Movie Mode it captures High Definition videos at 24 frames per second. It can go up to 720p High Definition in the Motion JPEG format helped by the NIKKOR interchangeable lens, which increase quality.
The model was introduced on August 27 as the first photo camera with SLR video recording to provide videos with reduced noise in low light environments compared to the other camcorders. It shoots at 320 x 216 pixels, 640 x 424 pixels or 1,280 x 720 pixels, using a larger sensor than those encountered at standard camcorders, and offering modes like fisheye, wide-angle and super-telephoto.
To make this enhancement, Nikon sacrificed some functionalities during video recording, including the autofocus.



It doesn’t matter where you are shooting, and you can obtain the best images, thanks to the Nikon Scene Recognition System, which is in charge with adjusting several elements reaching a high-quality level, and these include autofocus, auto exposure and the white balance.
You can focus on any point in the frame using the Live View mode on the 3-inch LCD display of 920K colors, with 3 contrast-detect AF modes.

Nikon D90 has 12.3 effective megapixels for clear pictures with vivid colors, and in addition it features a wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to ISO 3,200, which can be increased up to 6,400 or decreased up to 100, depending on the light level in the respective environment.
Similar with the other high-end cameras, the Nikon model comes with the Image Sensor Cleaning system to remove dust particles from the optical filter on the sensor.



Among other cool characteristics are Face Detection, the Picture Color System with 6 image settings like Monochrome and Landscape, Active D-Lighting for restoring details in shadows and highlighted areas, AF modes like single-point, dynamic-area, auto-area, and 3D tracking, as well as Advanced Scene Modes, Vibration Reduction, new retouch options, and the built-in flash with i-TTL flash control, which controls 2 groups of remote Speedlights.



Powering from a rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e battery, Nikon D90 enables 850 photos taken on a single charge. You can find out more about it and read some expert reviews on TestFreaks.

We managed to gather the best rated portable DVD player models from 4 trusted reviews sources and created for you a top of the best portable DVD players. We searched through CNET reviews, TestFreaks, Reevoo and alaTest website, choosing the highest rated model from each of the top 5 brands, so here they are:

Sony DVP-FX820 scored 3.5 stars from a total of 5 on CNET with bad points for the fact that it doesn’t feature a USB port, flash card reader nor support for DivX video files, the latter being one of the most important features a DVD player should have, in my opinion, reason for which I’d rate it only 1 star.
The same system is among the best portable DVD player models on TestFreaks as well, where expert reviewers say it’s a little heavier than other similar devices, but a great 6-hour movie player with a friendly interface.
Features include the 8-inch widescreen LCD of 800 x 480 pixels with flip and swivel system, dual sensor for remote control, 2 headphone outputs, AC and Car Adapter, while the supported file formats are: DVD/DVD-RW/DVD-R/DVD+RW/DVD+R/DVD+R DL, CD, MP3 and JPEG.



The DVP FX870 with Anti-Shock Design, powerful speaker and DivX support on Reevoo has a very high score from customers who tried it and say they like the display quality a lot, as well as the number of features, overall design as well as the value for money, being available at about £168 in the United Kingdom.
Sony DVP FX850 on alaTest has an Excellent score but small disappointments are still caused by the weight.

The next best portable DVD player comes from Philips and is called Philips PET835, a stylish system available at around $340, providing a good image, enough brightness, and an overall satisfying movie experience from any position you feel comfortable in.
Some customers complain about the price being too high, which I must say I agree, plus the lack of memory card slot.

Philips PET830 scored 9.1 points out of 10 for the ease of use, image and sound quality on the 8.5-inch display, multiple formats support, while one bad aspect is the short battery life of just 3 hours playback.
It can play DVD, DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW, (S)VCD, DivX & MPEG4 movies, MP3/WMA-CD, CD, CD-RW, and supports JPEG sharing with Picture CD.
CNET reviewers prefer the Philips DCP851 version of this nice portable DVD player, because it is easy to use, has a card reader, supports DivX movies, but they didn’t like the short battery life of 2.5 hours and the fact that the image seems kinda washed out.



The next brand is Panasonic with its DVD-LS86, which on CNET scored 3.5 points for the multiple format support, long rechargeable battery life of no less than 13 hours, AV connectivity and car charger. It seems that the missing remote control, USB port and card reader, as well as the average image quality, are not on reviewers’ taste.
TestFreaks preferred the 8.5-inch Panasonic DVD-LS83 Version with an 8.8 score, because the 150-dollar system has been caught cheating with the battery life. Instead of lasting up to 6 hours as advertised, it doesn’t last longer than 3 when used. Customers complain about the poor image brightness too.



Toshiba SD-P71S 7-inch model impressed with its long battery life, a stylish remote control, car charger and the AV connectivity, reaching a score of 3 points. Same as in other cases mentioned, it lacks the USB port, card reader and DivX.

In TestFreaks’ case, Toshiba SD-P2800 with score of 10 out of 10 and a price of $345, seems a bit heavier than other DVD players, but has a larger display of 9 inches in diagonal with an acceptable resolution, so all users like it.
The same model from Toshiba is encountered also among the best portable DVD players with an Excellent score at alaTest. Here, users, instead of being happy of its large size, considered the size an impediment in carrying it.



The following brands that are among top 5 best portable DVD players, are unique for each reviews website. The first one from CNET is Insignia with the NS-PDVD10 model sporting a large 10.2-inch display, long battery life, but a less impressive design, no USB port, no card slot or DivX support. Still, it has a 3 star rating.



On TestFreaks you can find the Coby TF-DVD7377, a 100-dollar system with good value for money, but nothing more.
Features include the 7-inch display, USB port, 180-degree swivel system, 2 headphone jacks, card slot, and parental lock control.
Ferguson LDVD-200 on Reevoo is said to deliver great images, but missing the possibility to control the sound volume when using headphones.

On the same site there’s Daewoo DPC7400 available at around $200 providing a great value for money system. Next there is the Polaroid PDU 0733 7 with nice picture quality, a slim design, and surprisingly no complaints. Goodmans GDVD80W12 is another affordable model among best portable DVD players, according to Reevoo. It is easy to use, has good image quality, but the sound clarity is not as expected.



alaTest makes us want to try also the JVC KD-AVX33, sporting a sleek design and supporting lots of video and audio sources even if it’s screen is small. What not that good is the slow way you have to browse through these sources, but at $425 it should be a good multimedia player for any occasion.



The last player I will describe is the Xoro HSD 7105 with a rating of Very Good on alaTest. It is stylish and sleek, being available at a price of just $120. Features include a 7-inch display, stereo speakers, parental lock, and the following supported video formats: DVD, SVCD, VCD, MPEG4, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, and Kodak Picture CD.

Irvine BMW from California has announced the introduction of the 2009 BMW 128i luxury model with economic Miles Per Gallon, coming in 2 versions – coupe and convertible. The estimated retail price is of $28,600, while the new car features 230 horsepower, 3-liter, 6-cylinder engine, and 28 miles per gallon. It provides Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Traction Control, 6-speed STEPTRONIC with Paddle Shifters and advanced full safety features.



In addition, there is the Bluetooth wireless technology that enables cell phone to car connectivity for handsfree conversations, while the multifunction keys on the steering wheel allow you to browse the phone book and choose which contacts you want to call. The on-board navigation system, High-Definition Radio and iPod/iPhone USB Integrated System are great tools for pairing your high-end mobile handsets to the elegant car.



“The 128i features all the classic power of BMW handling and style,” said General Sales Manager Paul Liu about the new BMW 1 Series car model that comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights, sunroof for the coupe, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, leatherette premium vinyl upholstery, a tilt-telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel and a 10-speaker stereo with CD player and an auxiliary audio jack. The convertible model features also a power-operated soft top and an enhanced climate control system.



With powerful Hi-Fi audio system integrated, the 2009 BMW 128i surrounds the driver in an expressive and outstanding sound produced by 10 speakers, an AM/FM in-dash single CD player, CD-controller with CD MP3 Playback, and a diversity antenna.

What is HDMI? -As you have already heard, HDMI, which comes from High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is the most advanced digital audio and video connector existent today on the market. A single cable provides not only High Definition video content on your display, but also outstanding sound quality with 8-channels digital audio at 192 kHz sample rate with 24 bits/sample. It’s the best and an affordable solution for connecting your HD-enabled devices such as HD DVD player or Blu-ray player, to your High Definition TV, because this type of cables can be found at low prices of around $10. Experts recommend you to get the cheapest HDMI cables you can find in stores and avoid expensive solutions, as long as all enable the same high-quality content.

How to recognize HDMI cables? Well, HDMI cables have 19-pin connectors and look like in this image, where you can see the differences between it and the other cables used today for video.



Coax or RF cables are for digital and analog video/audio, Composite Video supports analog video same as the S-Video, while the Component Video is that cable with 3 Red-Green-Blue connectors for both analog and digital video signals. DVI is the most advanced cable after HDMI, and supports only High-Definition digital video signals, requiring additional audio connectivity like all the other cables mentioned.

HDMI instead, brings all together via a single cable, and its connector’s pins have different functions such as carrying Transition Minimized Differential Signaling data channels for DVI and HDMI high-speed digital data, enabling signals synchronization, sending command and control data between connected devices, enabling communication of Extended Display Identification Channel information between the 2 connected devices, carrying low-voltage power supply, and monitoring power up/down and plug/unplug events.



Even if there are different versions available, there is the same type of cable. They feature different bandwidth increase levels and additional capabilities. For example, HDMI 1.0 released in 2002 has a bandwidth of 4.9Gbit/sec, with 3.96 Gbit/sec for video and 8-channel audio. HDMI 1.1 appeared in 2004 with additional support for DVD Audio, while one year later, HDMI 1.2 brought support for Super Audio CDs, HDMI Type A connector for PC sources, support for native sRGB color, and support for loq-voltage sources. In the same year, HDMI 1.2a came with Customer Electronic Control features. In 2006, HDMI 1.3 enabled bandwidth up to 10.2 Gbit/sec with 340 MHz, added Deep Color support, Audio video sync capability, support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams, and the Type C mini connector for portable devices. 2 years ago, HDMI 1.3a adjusted some features, same as with HDMI 1.3b.

Another aspect is the cable length. All types of cables used for audio, video and networking can be installed up to a recommended length such as 100 meters, to avoid signal loss. Additional devices, such as repeaters, are meant to amplify the information on the cables after that length limit and currently the best solution is, of course, optical fiber, which can be used without amplifiers on a distance of much over 500 meters.

In the case of HDMI the maximum cable length depends on construction and materials it is made of. With this occasion we’ll also find the answer to the question “which HDMI cable is better and why?” because we will see that there are 2 types of HDMI cables introduced by the HDMI 1.3 standard. Category 1 supports 1080i/720p with 74.5 MHz, and Category 2 was tested at 4600p with 340 MHz, so yes, you could say the second type is better because it enables High Definition imaging on higher-resolution displays like Wide Quad eXtended Graphics Array of 2560×1600 pixels and with a 16:10 aspect ratio. If you have smaller monitors, then you don’t need to go for it, but rather choose the HDMI Category 1 cable type for a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, 1920 pixels horizontal resolution, and 1920 × 1080 frame resolution of up to 2.07 million pixels.
About their length, let’s say that if a Category 1 cable is made of materials like 24 AWG conductors it can reach 15 meters, and when extenders are used, cables can exceed 100 meters if based on fiber optics technology.



Today, devices with HDMI support include television panels, computer graphic cards, mainboards, the PlayStation 3 gaming console, Blu-ray players, high-end multimedia projectors, and some portable media players. All are available at higher prices compared to non-HD systems, but the image quality they enable is amazing and totally different than what you were used with before.

(Sources: Philips; Wikipedia)

Looking for some cool looking small speakers for your portable computer, iPod or other music player?
Check this pair of mini speakers looking like 70s afro disco guys! They are one of the latest additions to GadgetShop’s iPod accessories line and come at a low price of £19.99.

The Saturday Night Speakers are iPod mini stereo speakers measuring 17 x 23.5 x 12.1 cm each at a weight of 0.4Kg, allowing you to place them near your music player on a desk, without occupying too much space. They also look funny, so besides providing a clear sound for your songs collection, they’ll make all your friends smile and probably want to get some too.
You can use them with batteries or connect them to one of your personal computer’s free USB ports, while the music player or iPod connects via the standard 3.5 mm mini jack.



Another cool iPod mini speakers pair is the I Lit Twin Spin Portable Speakers sporting 2 rounded disks looking like CDs and covering the 50-mm stereo speaker units. According to GadgetShop.com, they provide high-fidelity sounds with a crystal clear upper-end sound and a full and warm bass.
LED lights change color while the music plays and the beat shifts in volume and intensity.
It works with the iPod, other music player or your own computer, either using batteries or USB for power via the 3.5-mm stereo mini jack.



The bus reflex anti magnetic type unit has a playback frequency of 200 - 16,000Hz, while the units measure 21 x 19 x 11.7 cm at 0.54 Kg.

Later edit:

Bring an iPod dock station that you can use when traveling to charge your gadget and play music at the same time.