Gizmodo: lighting review

Casio EX-FH20 Budget Super Slow-Mo Camera Lightning Review

Benny Goldman — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST

The Gadget: The Casio EX-FH20 camera, bargain brother to the popular EX-F1. It features 1000 fps slow-mo video, a 40 fps burst mode for still shooting and a 9.1-megapixel sensor, as well as good ol' 720p at regular speeds, all for just over half the price of the original slow-mo star. The Price: $600 The Verdict: Casio did a great job of bringing the power of the EX-F1 down to a beginner's level for the EX-FH20. The functions on the new camera are more streamlined than its bulkier predecessor: missing are the dedicated shooting mode switch dial, the multi-use focus/zoom ring and separate buttons for video and still capture from the F1. But on the other hand, the FH20 bests the F1 in a couple places, with its 9.1MP sensor and 20X optical zoom, compared to 6MP and 12X in the original. The on-board video editor is still there and simple to use for cutting down lengthy slow-mo clips. And whaddya know, it takes decent (albeit more point-and-shoot than DSLR quality) pictures too, as seen in the gallery below. But we know what you really want to see: how the slow motion video compares to the original exploding Mentos-capturing beast. As seen in the clip above, it does the job much like the original. You give up some video frames when opting for the budget cam—it records 210, 420 and 1000 fps instead of 300, 600 and 1200 fps—but that's not a huge difference. And while 1000 fps video shrinks is at a paltry resolution of 224x56 pixels—even measlier than the original—it doesn't get as dark as the F1's output tended to, so you'll have slightly more clarity in the crazy slow but still mostly novelty setting. It also shoots other types of video well. The 30 fps-210 fps "She Walked in the Room" mode is still there, and is a fun way to make otherwise typical activities look extremely epic. Also, 720p HD video is crisp and clean, and doesn't have the nasty "jello effect" when panning that cheaper camcorders designed specifically for this purpose often suffer from. If you choose an FH20 over the F1, you sacrifice more than just not-as-slow-mo video. Without separate buttons for video and stills, you lose the ability to capture images while you record video, a great feature in the last model and the hardest thing to lose. Also gone is ultra-fast 60 fps LED strobe flash option, but it can still fire off 5 fps with the standard flash firing (vs. the F1's 7 fps). Most of the other features remain, though slightly dialed down: 40fps high-speed burst shooting (with resolution dropped to 7MP) instead of 60fps on the F1, and smaller sizes for slow-mo video as mentioned earlier. And you better bring some rechargeable batteries—gone is the rechargeable Li-ion, and this camera eats four AAs like they were a delicious piece of cake. But with the steep discount over the F1 and the more direct, easier to use interface, for those who mostly want to shoot slow-mo video while taking a few pictures on the side it's not a hard sacrifice to make. [Casio] What you gain with the EX-FH20 over the EX-F1: • 9.1MP camera sensor over 6MP • 20X optical zoom over 12X • Easier interface for beginners • $400 in your pocket (vs. the EX-F1's $1000 price tag) What you lose: • Slow-motion video size and frames (EX-FH20 records in 210, 420 and 1000fps at 480×360 224×168 and 224×56 respectively—EX-F1 records in 300, 600 and 1200fps) • Taking still shots while shooting HD video • 60fps LED flash strobe mode • 20 fps of burst still shooting (down to 40 fps compared to 60 before) Once again, if you can't get Giz's slow-mo song du jour out of your head, here's the Amazon MP3 link. [Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap] And if you're still humming the song made famous by the Harlem Globetrotters, here's an Amazon MP3 link to that too. [Sweet Georgia Brown by Brother Bones]

Lighting Review: Berkeley Lamp II - 'The Only Lamp Designed By Science'

Jason Chen — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EDT

The Gadget: A lamp with two bulbs, both dimmable, that provides a 50% energy savings over incandescent lamps, an extra 120v port on its base to make up for the one it takes up, and a choice of either 5500K daylight bulbs or 3500K sunset bulbs. It's patented by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, which is the oldest national laboratory and is responsible for a bunch of cool research.

The Price: $289

The Verdict: Probably the best lamp we've ever used. The light is a bright white, which is both inviting and soothing. The upper "room light" is bright enough to illuminate an average living room—no small feat for a desk lamp—so it's definitely more than enough for bedrooms and offices. The lower task light is plenty bright enough for any detail work you want to get done, from studying to hacking your PSP. The extra outlet on its base is plenty useful for any other devices you need to plug in, and the base itself is HEAVY. No mere stiff breeze would knock this over; it requires a stiff shove from a man who could do with skipping a meal.

The lamp comes with a 3-year fixture warranty and a 2-year bulb warranty. For $289, it's not a cheap lamp, but it's a quality lamp. If we had unlimited money, all our lamps would be Berkeley Lamps. Science + Lamps = Good. [Berkeley Lamp]

Lightning Review: LG Chocolate 3 Cellphone

Benny Goldman — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:40:23 EDT

The Gadget: The Chocolate 3 from LG, it replaces the old slider with a new thin flip form and adds an extra screen, 1GB of memory, a better camera, FM transmitter and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Price: $130 with 2-year Verizon Wireless contract, $300 retail.

The Verdict: For a phone that will be in millions of people's hands no matter what I say, I think the Chocolate 3 has decent specs but isn't worth the money. The browser sucks and it doesn't have nearly as many features as other phones just outside its price range. It's good for making calls, taking pictures and playing music, but not much else.

Still, it's noticeably better than the last version, and supports 8GB microSDHC cards so you can get a decent amount of music on it. The new front screen is very useful and gives access to the bare essentials like music, camera, and text messages when the phone is closed. The control-wheel is responsive, and not as twitchy as old Chocos. It also takes good pictures, and calls and music sound clear.

Since they got rid of the haptic feedback and turned the slider into a clamshell, I don't see how they can still call it a Chocolate, but this isn't a bad phone. It's just not worth the price tag. [Verizon Wireless]

Lightning Review: Electric Socks

Brian Lam — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:53:42 EDT

In honor of the upcoming Tahoe reader meetup on April 5th at Alpine Meadows, I'm going to be doing end of season reviews of some outdoor gadgetry that's been floating around the cabin. First up, these electric socks originally designed to keep North Atlantic fishermen warm.
The idea: Wool/Poly blend Socks with wiring and thin resistors that run from the D cells mounted in the top of the sock liner to under the ball of the foot. Sweaty feeling, and any activity causes sock droop as the batteries overpower the elastic. Yet, warmish. And $22.

Actually: These might make a good last resort, but the chemical toe warmers are a better bargain than buying a new pair of D cells every 6 hours. And let's not forget, warming the torso with proper layering, etc, warms the extremities. [REI and the Giz Reader Meetup, thanks to Adam for being the leg model]