Z50
Latest
Nikon Z50 review: A great handling camera with a mediocre sensor
Today's camera landscape is ultra-competitive and not terribly lucrative, so it takes a lot of guts to launch a new system. Nikon has done that (again) with the 20.9-megapixel Z50, its first ever APS-C mirrorless camera. Unlike rival Canon, Nikon decided to use the same Z mount lens system for both its full-frame and APS-C mirrorless cameras, a decision that has been surprisingly controversial. Nikon doesn't have the luxury of slowly perfecting its mirrorless lineup like Sony did five or six years ago. The market is mature now and the Z50 is going up against formidable models in its price range, including Sony's A6400, the Canon M6 Mark II and Fujifilm's X-T30. In an early hands-on look, I was impressed by the Z50's ergonomics and its petite size. Now, let's see how it stacks up against the competition in the crucial areas of autofocus, image quality and 4K video features.
Hands-on with the Z 50, Nikon's first mirrorless APS-C camera
Nikon has unveiled its first-ever APS-C DX mirrorless camera, the 20.8-megapixel Z 50. That makes two different camera systems launched a year apart, which is quite a pace for a conservative company like Nikon. The Z 50 is less than half the price of the Z 6, so it should appeal to a broader market, especially folks who already own Nikon DSLR lenses. Nikon now has both full-frame and crop sensor mirrorless systems, just like its rivals Canon and Sony. Just over a year ago, it essentially had zero, not counting the moribund Nikon 1. The company decided to follow Sony's lead by using the same mount for both systems to allow for lens compatibility and because the large diameter allows it to build sharper glass, according to a Nikon spokesperson. Meanwhile, Canon uses two different mirrorless mounts (EOS R and M mount) that aren't compatible with each other.
New Lenovo PCs shipped with factory-installed adware
Buy a new Lenovo computer recently? Well, it looks like it could be infected with some factory-installed adware. Users on the official Lenovo forums started noticing that search results were being injected with sponsored links (like what happens when a machine is infected with typical adware or spyware) as far back as last September, and some even report that sites including Kelley Blue Book and JetBlue wouldn't render properly at all. This apparently isn't the only problem, however. As Facebook engineer Mike Shaver recently discovered, the program at fault, Superfish, appears to install a man-in-the-middle certificate that allows outside parties to take a peek at secure websites you might be visiting, too. Like your bank's, for example.
CES 2014: Laptops roundup
It wasn't exactly a banner year for laptops at CES. Hell, the "Best of CES" award for PCs ended up going to a desktop, and was nearly upstaged by an all-in-one running Chrome OS. Still, that didn't stop some companies (especially Lenovo) from trotting out new models. From a simple Haswell refresh to a dual-OS hybrid, we've rounded up every laptop announced at the show. Couldn't keep up with all the news the first time? Get ready to catch up right here.
Lenovo unveils line of low-cost 'Miix 2' convertibles, refreshes its Flex, Y and Z series laptops
Well, this is a little confusing. After releasing the Miix 2, an 8-inch Windows tablet, Lenovo is announcing two more products called the Miix 2, except these aren't even tablets, but rather, detachable laptops. True to their name, the Miix 2 10 and 11 have 10.1- and 11.6-inch screens, respectively, and come with both a tablet and keyboard dock. In particular, as you can see in the photo above, you can insert the tablet with the screen facing either in or out -- yep, just like on last year's ThinkPad Helix, not to mention Lenovo's growing Yoga line. Either way, you get a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display, an eight-hour battery, dual 5MP/2MP cameras, optional 3G, a microSD slot, micro-HDMI, JBL speakers and a full-sized USB port on the dock. Aside from screen size, the biggest difference is in processing power: The 10-inch model uses a low-power Intel Bay Trail processor with up to 128GB of storage, whereas the bigger guy packs a more powerful Core i5 chip. What's more, that model goes up to 256 gigs of space, not 128. The Miix 2 10 is slated to arrive in March, starting at $499, with the 11-incher following in April for $699.
