Twelve Black Code Monkeys

When I first heard about the new Epson P-2000, I thought it would be the perfect convergence media device. It has a hard drive and plays a bunch of different audio and video formats, and, given Epson’s reputation in the photographic print business, it provides some features not seen on other such devices, like ports for different memory sizes and support for numerous digital photo RAW file formats. With its huge 3.8” LCD and profusion of features, I suspected it would be at least as much as its predecessor, the P-1000, but Epson has actually dropped the price to $500! And it will be out next month here in the U.S.! Considering it has a 40GB hard drive, the same as the iPod’s current top-of-the line, plus has a huge amount of additional functionality, I can’t see why someone would pick the iPod instead.

Oh I suppose there is the user interface to consider. It’s hard to beat Apple in that area. But the UI on the P-2000 would have to be mighty clunky to opt for an iPod. Also, what about Apple’s online digital music store iTunes? For those who have downloaded a bunch of songs or hope to in the future, will this device be able to? It’s unclear. It is supposed to support AAC files, which is the format Apple uses with iTunes, but it’s not clear if that automatically means it can support iTunes specific DRM. I’m sure Apple controls which devices can and can’t access their DRM’d files and so far there’s been no mention from any camp. There is one more issue which probably is not a big one for most but is for me, and that is that I use the iPod primarily to listen to audio books that I download from Audible.com. These also have a proprietary DRM and while they can be played on an iPod, that also doesn’t mean by extension that they can be played by any device that can play an AAC file. I’ve been attempting to get answers to these questions from the various parties and I will post any information as soon as I get it.

Link to Gizmodo

Well, maybe I should say “less expensive” huh? The Fuji S3 Pro, Fuji’s top-of-the-line digital SLR announced last month and due to come out in November, is apparently going to be priced at $2,499. This is at least $500 cheaper than earlier estimates and almost half of the $4,000 that original rumors had said. With this kind of price tag, I think it will be even more irresistible to budget-conscious pros or even some amateurs who have a little more pocket change. The big difference that it will have even over the most recently announced Nikon D2X DSLR and Canon EOS 1DS Mark II, other than the vastly lower price tag, will be the newly designed sensor which according to Fuji expands the dynamic range of the images to be closer to film. (Briefly “dynamic range” relatest to how large a range of levels one has between black and white - the more levels, or the larger the range, the more ability to capture scenes with lots of contrast without either under or overexposing the picture) While it may not be as capable in other areas, like continuous shot speed, battery options, even sensor size and megapixels, this increased dynamic range could make it a must have even for Nikon afficianados (it takes Nikon lenses) who want to replace their backup film cameras and use it as a complement to their D2H or D2X. Unfortunately my wife reads my blog and I just know that this entry is going to have her wanting to start working a second job so that she can buy one of these (she has the current Fuji S2)!

Link to Photography Blog