Engadget http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars sample photos and video]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/sony-dev-5-digital-recording-binoculars-sample-photos-and-video/http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/sony-dev-5-digital-recording-binoculars-sample-photos-and-video/http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/sony-dev-5-digital-recording-binoculars-sample-photos-and-video/#comments We can't say that we were too keen on Sony's DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars at first look -- it really is hard to get past that $2,000 price tag. But after Sony finally allowed us to shoot photos and video (albeit for a mere three minutes) at the company's CEATEC booth, we were pleasantly surprised at the image quality, at least some of the time. The images we shot were in 16:9 format, and were roughly 5.3 megapixels in size (the camera's maximum resolution is 7.1 megapixels). With only a few minutes to play around, we didn't have time to switch the menu from Japanese to English (CEATEC is held just outside Tokyo), so we had no choice but to use the default settings.

Still, images shot at f/1.8 appeared crisp, even with moderate shake (it's difficult to keep a heavy pair of binoculars steady when holding them at eye level), with accurate exposure and white balance. When zooming to 10x, however, still photos appeared very noisy, as you'll see in the gallery below. So are they worth the sky-high price tag? Well, it's safe to say that we're not ready to whip out the credit card, though they did perform better than we expected, based only on what we had initially seen through those dual high-res viewfinders. Jump past the break for an HD sample clip, or click the more coverage link below for the untouched samples.

Gallery: Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars Sample Photos

Continue reading Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars sample photos and video

Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars sample photos and video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3d3d video3dVideobinocularscameracamerasceatecceatec 2011ceatec japanCeatec2011CeatecJapanchibachiba japanChibaJapancmosdev-3dev-5digital binocularsdigital cameraDigitalBinocularsDigitalCameraexmorhands-onjapanphotographysonysony alphasony binocularssony camerasony camerassony dev-3sony dev-5sony exmorSonyAlphaSonyBinocularsSonyCameraSonyCamerasSonyDev-3SonyDev-5SonyExmortokyotokyo japanTokyoJapanvideoThu, 06 Oct 2011 11:29:00 EST<![CDATA[Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars hands-on (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/16/sony-dev-5-digital-recording-binoculars-hands-on-video/http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/16/sony-dev-5-digital-recording-binoculars-hands-on-video/http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/16/sony-dev-5-digital-recording-binoculars-hands-on-video/#comments
Sony's imaging wing has been on a roll lately, with the brilliant NEX-7 and equally impressive Alpha A77 DSLR simply blowing us away with brand new features and excellent image quality. But these $2,000 digital binoculars? Yeah, we're not so sure. We went hands-on with a pre-production sample of the 3D binocs, which replace the traditional optical finders with a pair of high-res LCD EVFs. But when you consider that high-end binoculars are a joy to use because of their excellent optical viewfinders, swapping in an electronic version puts the DEV-3 ($1,400) and DEV-5 ($2,000) in a completely new category -- if an excellent (and traditional) viewing experience is what you're after, these "cost-competitive" optics really won't hit the spot. Jump past the break for our impressions.

Gallery: Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars hands-on

Continue reading Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars hands-on (video)

Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3d3d video3dVideobinocularscameracamerascmosdev-3dev-5digital binocularsdigital cameraDigitalBinocularsDigitalCameraexmorhands-onphotographysonysony alphasony binocularssony camerasony camerassony dev-3sony dev-5sony exmorSonyAlphaSonyBinocularsSonyCameraSonyCamerasSonyDev-3SonyDev-5SonyExmorvideoFri, 16 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Sony Digital Recording Binoculars look like military night vision goggles, cost almost as much]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/19/sony-digital-recording-binoculars-look-like-military-spec-night/http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/19/sony-digital-recording-binoculars-look-like-military-spec-night/http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/19/sony-digital-recording-binoculars-look-like-military-spec-night/#comments
How does $1,399 for a pair of binoculars sound? When they also shoot 1080p HD video and 7.1 megapixel stills -- perhaps slightly less ridiculous. Sony's launching a new category of high-end binoculars with its new DEV-3 and DEV-5, which offer camera-like features and are priced at $1,399 and $1,999, respectively. Each pair includes two Exmor R CMOS sensors for native 3D video capture, dual f/1.8-3.4, 0.5-10x optical zoom lenses, and a pair of 1,227-dot viewfinders. While the pricier model adds a 10x digital zoom, GPS, and accessories like a carrying case and neck strap, those features don't really justify a $600 jump in price -- if you can live without GPS, it probably makes sense to skip the DEV-5. There's also Memory Stick Pro Duo and SDXC support, stereo microphones with an audio input jack, and HDMI out. Coined as the world's first binoculars with HD video recording, we wouldn't expect there to be a terribly huge market for these pricey specs at launch, but if you've been looking for a way to record while bird watching, catching close-ups of the action at a game, or whatever it is you look at through your apartment window, then look for these to hit stores in November.

Gallery: Sony DEV-3 and DEV-5 HD binoculars

Continue reading Sony Digital Recording Binoculars look like military night vision goggles, cost almost as much

Sony Digital Recording Binoculars look like military night vision goggles, cost almost as much originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3d3d video3dVideobinocularscmosdev-3dev-5exmorsonysony alphasony camerasony camerassony dev-3sony dev-5sony exmorSonyAlphaSonyCameraSonyCamerasSonyDev-3SonyDev-5SonyExmorFri, 19 Aug 2011 03:00:00 EST<![CDATA[LightSpeed binoculars transmit video and audio via Infrared ]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/16/lightspeed-binoculars-transmit-video-and-audio-via-infrared/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/16/lightspeed-binoculars-transmit-video-and-audio-via-infrared/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/16/lightspeed-binoculars-transmit-video-and-audio-via-infrared/#comments
It's not often that tremendous advancements are made in the realm of binoculars, but these LightSpeed specs are something special. Aimed primarily at military / surveillance uses, this device is able to transmit video and audio via Infrared, theoretically enabling rooftop spies on opposite buildings to communicate. Furthermore, this method of communication is undetectable and untraceable. No mention of just how expensive these are, but suffice it to say, you aren't apt to see these on shelves of Toys R Us and the like.

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LightSpeed binoculars transmit video and audio via Infrared originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DARPA's Super-Resolution Vision System (SRVS) may not be as cool as the threat-sensing binoculars we saw a while back, but it may prove a little more practical. The prototype scope takes advantage of something called "atmospheric turbulence-generated micro-lensing" to provide three times the resolution of current diffraction-based scopes. In other words, if soldiers can see you more clearly, they can make an informed decision on whether or not to shoot you.

[Via The Future of Things]

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DARPA's Super-Resolution Vision System uses heatwaves to magnify targets originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh sure, you've been able to buy digital camera-equipped binoculars for years now, but finding one that does video (particularly with the camcorder you already own) has been a continual struggle. Thanks to one engineering soul, you can forge ahead with your plans to video all sorts of sights by adding a CCD eyepiece to any 'ole set of binoculars. Once installed, you simply hook up your camcorder (hope it has video in), mash record and get to gazing. Be careful what you look for, though.

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Modder adds CCD eyepiece to binoculars, Bill Belichick seems interested originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BinocularsCCDdiyeyepiecehackmodrecordingvideo recordingVideoRecordingFri, 22 Aug 2008 23:04:00 EST<![CDATA[DARPA developing threat sensing binoculars]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/12/darpa-developing-threat-sensing-binoculars/http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/12/darpa-developing-threat-sensing-binoculars/http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/12/darpa-developing-threat-sensing-binoculars/#commentsThe night-vision thing has definitely been done a time or two before, but DARPA's latest initiative is looking beyond the darkness as it hopes to create a set of binoculars that can actually detect threats and warn soldiers of impending death. Taking a note from Star Wars, the jokingly dubbed "Luke's Devices" is actually considered a "cognitive technology threat warning system," and utilizes brain monitoring to bring attention to spikes in activity before the person can actually realize he / she has noticed something awry. Among the gizmos that'll bring this all together are "neurally-based target detection signatures, ultra-low power analog / digital hybrid signal processing electronics, wide-angle optics, large pixel-count digital imagers, and cognitive visual processing algorithms." Yeah, sounds pretty complicated to us too, but unlike snazzy concepts we've seen before, the gurus behind these goggles reportedly hope to have prototypes ready for battle in just a few years.

[Via Wired]

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DARPA developing threat sensing binoculars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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