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Samsung's Galaxy S20 cameras: AI tools and gimmicky zooms
Samsung just announced its next-generation Galaxy S20 phones, and as you'd expect, the cameras are a highly anticipated part of that. Samsung didn't disappoint, unveiling photo features for its three new devices (the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra) that go far beyond the S10. While there's plenty to talk about, the key phrase today is "Space Zoom" and to a lesser extent, AI.
There's another macOS update to fix Zoom security exploits
Apple is still working to plug the holes created by a security exploit recently discovered in video conferencing app Zoom. According to The Verge, Apple quietly pushed out a security update for macOS that removes vulnerable software installed automatically by RingCenter and Zhumu -- two video conferencing tools that use Zoom technology and suffer from the same security holes.
Apple quietly updates Macs to remove Zoom webcam exploit
It's not just Zoom scrambling to fix the exploit that allowed intruders to hijack Mac webcams. Apple has issued a silent, automatic update to macOS that removes the web server used to streamline access to the video conferencing app. The update isn't completely necessary when Zoom has already issued its own patch, but this ensures that people running older Zoom releases won't be vulnerable.
Zoom will remove server behind Mac webcam security hole
Zoom is acting quickly on the security flaw that let intruders hijack Mac users' webcams. The video conferencing firm is releasing a patch on July 9th (that's today, if you're reading in time) that removes access to the local web server behind the vulnerability. It'll also let you manually uninstall Zoom and remove all traces of the app so that there's no chance of an exploit later on. Another update, due for the weekend of July 12th, will also ensure that rookies who choose "always turn off my video" will automatically have their preferences honored in those situations where a meeting host would normally require that video switches on.
A flaw in Zoom's Mac app may have let attackers hijack webcams
A serious security flaw in the Mac version of conferencing software Zoom can hijack webcams, but also leave users vulnerable to phishing and DOS attacks.
The best multi-effects pedal for new guitarists
When I first started playing guitar way back in 1995 (or maybe it was 1994?) the idea of a digital multi-effects pedal was still pretty new. The Zoom 505 was the biggest game in town, if you wanted a pile of effects in a compact package for a reasonable price. It was also the first pedal I ever bought. But, if I'm being honest, a lot of the sounds you got out of it were not great. And it could be a little confusing to operate at times. Thankfully things have come a long way since the mid '90s.
How Oppo fit a 10x zoom camera into its 5G phone
Oppo may have already teased its first 5G smartphone in Zurich earlier this month, but today, the company is bringing its entire Reno family -- including the mid-range Reno and the flagship Reno 10x Zoom -- to Europe. This means the Chinese brand will be going head to head with Huawei using its very own 10x hybrid zoom camera outside of its home territory. With the $1,000 Reno 5G leading the party ahead of its May launch, the Reno 10x Zoom follows with a €799 (about $890) base price due in early June, whereas the Reno lands at a more modest €499 ($560) on May 10th.
How to pick a lens for your mirrorless camera in 2019
When buying a mirrorless camera, there's an equally crucial side question: What lenses do I need for this thing? The glass you place in front of that sensor plays a key role in how your photos or videos look and what kind of shooting you can do. It's a complex decision too. You need to consider factors like sharpness, distortion, speed, prime or zoom and, most important, price. In this guide, I'll touch on all that and look at some of the best lenses for Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras.
Oppo's Reno 5G flagship has a pop-up camera wedge and 10x hybrid zoom
If you thought the leak from two weeks ago had given the game away for Oppo's new Reno smartphone series, don't worry, as the real deal has more to offer. At the Shanghai launch event today, Oppo finally unveiled its first two Reno devices -- the Reno Standard Edition and the Reno 10x Zoom Edition -- while also teasing the Reno 5G which will be shown off in Zurich later today.
Oppo phone with 10x zoom camera will launch this spring
Following the teaser from mid-January, today Oppo held an event just ahead of MWC to talk more about its upcoming 10x "lossless" camera zoom technology. This will still be enabled by a triple-camera module, but now we know that from top to bottom, it'll start with a 48-megapixel high-resolution main camera, followed by a 120-degree ultra-wide camera and a stealthy periscopic telephoto camera. Together, these cameras cover a range of 16mm to 160mm, hence the 10x zoom rating.
Oppo teases smartphone cameras with 10x hybrid zoom
Even though Oppo showed off a 5x "lossless" zoom dual camera back at MWC 2017, the system never showed up on any of the phones afterwards. But don't worry, the company hasn't given up on this precious tech. In fact, earlier today, Oppo teased a new and improved design that offers 10x hybrid zoom, ranging from an equivalent of 15.9mm all the way to 159mm. This is all thanks to a new triple-camera setup, starting from an ultra-wide camera, then a main camera in the middle, and then a periscope to top it off with some sweet optical zoom action -- likely the same 3x optical zoom in the previous design, based on the render.
DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom: Everything you need to know
If you are a fan of DJI's Mavic Pro, today is a good day. Or a bad day, depending on your perspective. Why? Because, as rumored, the drone behemoth didn't just reveal the Mavic 2 Pro, it also introduced a second option in the line: the Mavic 2 Zoom (note: no "Pro"). As the name suggests, the latter comes with a 2X optical zoom (24-48mm and 2X digital to 96mm), meaning there's no "greedy boy" option here, each has its own unique selling points -- so you'll need to think long and hard about which one you really want
Lenovo's UFO-like hub brings Dolby audio to conference calls
Business meetings can be dreary at the best of times, but that's made worse by the flakiness of modern technology. Between hard-to-hear remote callers and a lack of consistent file sharing, it could be hard to sustain what little interest you have. Give Lenovo some credit for trying to fix this sad state of affairs, though -- it's introducing the ThinkSmart Hub 700, a flying saucer-shaped mini PC that serves as the cornerstone of office chats. It promises a big boost in audio quality, for starters -- it revolves around a four-speaker Dolby Audio system that should help your Skype (or Zoom, or BlueJeans) conference calls.
A first look at Sony’s super-fast RX10 IV zoom camera
Sony just announced its latest flagship point-and-shoot at an event in New York City, the RX10 IV. The new camera, a successor to last year's RX10 III, again comes with a 24-600mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.4-4 Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens and a 1-inch, 20.1-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor. In terms of design, the RX10 IV is basically identical to its predecessor, featuring mode and exposure dials, a 3-inch LCD screen and an OLED viewfinder. Here's where it really shines, though: Sony says this zoom shooter sports the "world's fastest" autofocus speed of 0.03 seconds, complemented by 24fps continuous shooting (with full AF/AE tracking) and 4K (3,840 x 2,160) movie recording at 24 or 30fps.
iPhone 7 Plus adds a second camera for better zoom
Apple has been accused lately of being less than innovative -- boring even -- compared to rivals like Google. With the iPhone 7 and particularly the iPhone 7 Plus, however, Apple is trying to take back the lead. It's the first phone to fully exploit the promise of the dual camera tech, which will allow users to do optical-like zooming, shallower depth of field to blur out backgrounds, and even Lytro-like selective focus.
The best tech and apps for your home office
By The Wirecutter Staff This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. You don't need the thinnest, lightest, or most elegantly designed items for your home office. You want reliable, comfortable, efficient tools—but it doesn't hurt if they look nice, too. That's why a team of three experienced remote workers spent more than 150 hours researching and testing new gear and apps, and picking the most office-friendly items from The Wirecutter's guides, to give you a selection of tools that we're sure will earn a place in your workspace.
Galaxy K Zoom review: Samsung's best cameraphone yet
Samsung is on a mission to build the perfect cameraphone. Low-quality fixed lenses and tiny smartphone sensors are clearly insufficient for photography enthusiasts, but while you always bring your phone to parties, sporting events and trips to the zoo, it's often impractical to haul along a dedicated camera as well. The Galaxy K Zoom is Samsung's response to this dilemma, marrying a 10x optical zoom lens with an otherwise ordinary Android handset. It's hardly the best camera, or the best smartphone, but if you're willing to make some compromises, this may just be the most compelling option yet.
Samsung blurs the line between phone and camera (again) with the Galaxy K zoom
Last year, Samsung tried something a little kooky: it made a mash-up of a middling smartphone and a solid point-and-shoot camera (you know, the kind smartphones have nearly driven to extinction). The resulting chimaera was called the Galaxy S4 Zoom, and it was... not great. To absolutely no one's surprise, though, Samsung's fixation on fusion is still going strong and the company's trying to crack the code again with a new camera/phone combo called the Galaxy K zoom. Mildly silly name aside (the "K" stands for "kamera," seriously), the international K zoom packs 2GB of RAM and one of Samsung's hexa-core Exynos chipsets into its chubby, dimpled frame. In this case, the chip combines quad-core 1.3GHz and a dual-core 1.7GHz processors -- the pairing isn't as snappy as a Galaxy S5, but it's still beefy enough to handle most people's daily routines. Toss in 2GB of RAM, 3G and LTE radios, 8GB of internal storage and a spacious 4.8-inch 720p screen and you've got yourself a package that's a bit more robust than most. If the name wasn't a dead giveaway though, the K zoom's 20.7-megapixel BSI CMOS camera sensor is the star of the show here. Samsung's rear shooter is kitted out with optical image stabilization, the ability to shoot 1080p video at 60 frames per second and a slew of software features that aim to make your on-the-go photos less terrible. That all sounds fine enough on paper, but here's the bigger question: what's it like to actually use? Long story short, better than you might expect.
Zoom's H5 brings high-quality audio recording to budget-minded pros
Are you serious about capturing high-quality audio away from a studio, but not so serious that you need a do-everything recorder like Zoom's H6? You'll want to look into the company's newly unveiled H5, then. While it should match the H6's audio quality and can use the same stereo microphone add-ons, it ditches two of the XLR /TLS combo inputs in the name of cost; you'll also find a monochrome display in lieu of the H6's color panel. The H5 has an analog output for backup recordings, and you can add two more XLR/TLS inputs through a module if your ambition ever grows. Launch details aren't available just yet, but we'd expect the new handheld's pricing to slot in between the $299 H4n and the $399 H6.
Zoom iQ5: A tiny professional stereo microphone for Lightning connector devices
For podcasters, reporters and others who want to capture sound on the go with their iOS devices, there's been a lack of options for the newer models of iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Why? Well, those models sport the new Lightning adapter. Zoom, the company that makes those amazing digital recorders like the H1 through H6 line, is now shipping the Zoom iQ5, a tiny Lightning-equipped stereo microphone to help you capture high-quality stereo sound. Specifications Suggested Retail Price: US$99.99 Dimensions: 58.6 x 62.45 x 38.5 mm Weight: 30.5 grams Audio quality: 44.1 kHz/16 bit Connectors: Lightning connector, USB Mini-B connector (for recharging your iOS device), stereo mini jack for combined headphone/line level output Microphone: Mid-side (M-S) stereo mic (90°/120°/M-S) Design Highlights The first thing that jumps out at you about the Zoom iQ5 is just how small it is. The microphone is in a spherical ball that's held by two small arms. The ball can be rotated 90 degrees around two different axes, allowing users to set up proper stereo L-R orientation regardless of how their iOS device is held. A switch on the left-front side of the iQ5 provides a way to set the pickup for either directional or more omnidirectional stereo. According to Zoom, the iQ5 uses two microphone elements -- a directional "mid" mic that grabs sound coming in from the front and a bidirectional "side" mic that picks up ambient sound. Mid-side recording captures the mid and side mic signals as RAW data, which is then post-processed to adjust the stereo width or collapse the signal into mono. The mid-side post-processing can be done with Zoom's free HandyRecorder app, which I found to be surprisingly useful. For additional information on the mic design and the app, I'll defer to this video from Zoom. There's also a switch for gain control, which can be turned off, set with a limiter to avoid overpowering the mic or set to auto gain presets for concerts, solos and meetings. Once again, the presets require Zoom's HandyRecorder app. A mic gain wheel on the right side of the iQ5 makes it simple to manually adjust gain as well. Functionality Highlights One note to potential users of the iQ5 -- you'd better use it with a case that allows full access to the bottom of your device, since I found that I could not install it on my iPhone 5s without removing the case. Once the case was removed, plugging in the iQ5 immediately rewarded me with a glowing red LED indicating that the device was powered up. Having used some of Zoom's digital recorders for podcasting, I was dubious that the iQ5 would be able to capture audio with the same clarity and depth of sound as those dedicated devices. I'm glad to say that I was wrong. Monitoring the recording in progress was helpful, and there was no noticeable lag. I won't go into too many details about the HandyRecorder app, only to say that it works well and is simple to figure out. One issue I have is that the only way to share your recordings is through SoundCloud. For podcasters, having the ability to send files through FTP is often a requirement. There's no way to do that; you can't email the files; nor can they be saved to your song library. However, that's a problem with the app, not the microphone. You can always choose to use a different application like GarageBand or BossJock Studio. One possible issue -- twice during my testing I heard what appeared to be interference from the iPhone's cellular radio through the Apple headset I was using to monitor. That doesn't happen when I use the headset normally, and the sound did not appear on the recording I was making. I'm wondering if it was feedback from the Apple headset's built-in microphone interfering with the iQ5, so I'd warn users to use headsets without a mic for monitoring purposes. Conclusion The Zoom iQ5 is perfect for anyone who wants to do high-quality digital stereo recording, whether it's for interviewing, music or nature sounds. This compact and lightweight mic can slip into a pocket for immediate availability, and it's less expensive than most of the dedicated digital recorders. Rating: 3-1/2 possible out of 4 stars possible Giveaway One lucky TUAW reader is going to get his or her hands on a Zoom iQ5. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before January 27, 2014 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Zoom iQ5 Professional Stereo Microphone with Lightning Connector valued at $99.99. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
