I have a professional photographer friend who spent $25,000 for a digital camera back in the 90s. Now you can get great pro-sumer cameras for under $800. At CES, Sony debuted its $699 Alpha DSLR-A100. Like the Canon EOS Rebel XTi and the Nikon D40, this is a full featured camera with interchangeable lenses sold as a kit with a starter lens. The new Sony camera features a 10 megapixel sensor, the ability to take up to 3 frames per second and the support for ISOs ranging from 100 to 3,200. What that all adds up to is a camera that can perform well in a variety of lighting conditions. Also, like the competition, it has image stabilization which compensates for our shaky hands, especially when using a long zoom.

Casio introduced one of the most innovative cameras at show. It isnt an SLR, but the new Exilim Pro EX-F1 has a 12X optical zoom and what Casio says is the worlds fastest burst shooting performance.

Castro Departure Opens Economic Options for U.S.

America quietly has become the largest foreign supplier of food products to the communist nation, thanks to a loosening of the U.S. trade embargo in 2000. U.S. farmers sold an estimated $437 million worth of agricultural products to Cuba last year, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. The Cuban government puts the figure at more than $600 million.

Teen`s Interview With John Lennon Yields Oscar Nod

A 1969 encounter between a 14 year-old Beatles fan and John Lennon has inspired "I Met the Walrus," a five-minute Canadian film contending for an Oscar for best animated short.

Think "Almost Famous" with the Beatles. Except this portrait of a young boy in a dream landscape is told from his lips. The voice track for "I Met the Walrus" is based on an interview Jerry Levitan did 39 years ago with a surprisingly accommodating John Lennon.

"My heart was beating so fast. I was like Al Pacino in 'The Godfather,' where he's in the restaurant with the planted gun and about to kill the cop," he says, remembering how he summoned the courage to knock at Lennon's door.

Software Windows Vista SP1 Performance: Mixed Results

On the other side of things, CNET reports the SP1 update has somehow created a performance degradation in copy times to external USB 2.0 hard drives. Something is going wrong in Windows Vista SP1 during USB copies, and the issue is currently under investigation. Meanwhile Windows Vista SP1 takes a 40 to 50 percent performance hit in this type of file copies, when compared to base Windows Vista. Testers did comment on SP1's rather good job in delivering bug fixes. This leads to a more stable environment. Still, feelings towards SP1 will probably depend heavily on users' expectations as it delivers a mixed bag of performance changes. .

Samsung Soul Does Not Have GSM 850MHz

Other features on the flagship Samsung Soul include a 5MP camera, 2.2-inch QVGA display, Magical Touch by DaCP, a stainless steel finish, Web 2.0 tools, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio, MP3 playback, and a Bang & Olufsen digital power amplifier.



Via phonescoop.com

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