Thursday, February 05, 2015

New Iron-Aluminum Alloy Is Strong and Light as Titanium, 10% of the Cost

Source: http://gizmodo.com/new-iron-aluminum-alloy-is-strong-and-light-as-titanium-1683920338

New Iron-Aluminum Alloy Is Strong and Light as Titanium, 10% of the Cost

The best materials are, by and large, the most expensive: carbon fiber, diamond and scandium all have properties to lust for, but an eye-watering price tag to match. Now, material scientists have tweaked an iron-aluminum alloy at the nano-scale to make a material that's as strong and light as titanium, another expensive material, but just a tenth of the cost.

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drag2share: This Is What Wikipedia Looks Like Imagined as a Galaxy

source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/vip/~3/Hbr5D2nF5Bw/this-is-what-wikipedia-looks-like-imagined-as-a-galaxy-1683921800

This Is What Wikipedia Looks Like Imagined as a Galaxy

It may look like some kind of holographic AI, but this is actually Wikipedia's 100,000 most popular articles in 2014, mapped out as a galaxy.

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Olympus Air A01 Turns Your Phone Into a Lens-Swapping 16 MP Shooter  

Source: http://reframe.gizmodo.com/olympus-air-a01-turns-your-phone-into-a-lens-swapping-1-1683948845

Olympus Air A01 Turns Your Phone Into a Lens-Swapping 16 MP Shooter  

Olympus just announced a new Japan-only product that mimics what Sony did last year with their QX line. It's a camera sensor and lens mount that's controlled completely by your smartphone. The Air A01 uses a hot 16 megapixel micro four-thirds sensor and is compatible with all lenses for that system.

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With video in mind, Olympus introduces the E-M5 Mark II

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/05/olympus-om-d-e-m5-mark-ii/

The original OM-D E-M5 has had a great run since being announced roughly two years ago, but it's time for an upgrade. Accordingly, Olympus is taking the wraps off of the E-M5 Mark II, a Micro Four Thirds camera that aims to go head to head with the likes of Sony's recently released A7 II and other similar mirrorless shooters. Olympus says that the second-generation E-M5 isn't here to replace its flagship OM-D camera, the E-M1 -- though it very well could, at least on paper. And even though it is very similar in looks to its predecessor, the E-M5 Mark II brings enough internal changes to make it a worthy successor. For starters, it packs a redesigned 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor, coupled with a TruePic VII image processor, an upgraded 81-point autofocus system, a 40-megapixel high-res shot mode, a 3-inch (articulating) touchscreen and WiFi.

Where the E-M5 shines, however, and how it differentiates itself from the first model, is with the video-focused specs it features. This time around, Olympus has added support for 1080p shooting at 24/25/30/50/60 fps; it can handle up to 77 Mbps bit rate at 30 fps, which is great news for those of you who are into that sort of thing. Naturally, the company betting big on its in-body five-axis image stabilization system to help with video -- this is similar to what's found on the Sony A7 II, with Olympus emphasizing that it was the one to pioneer such technology. What's more, photography-wise, the E-M5 Mark II, which is dustproof and splashproof, has a max ISO of 25,600, a 9 fps sequential-shooting mode (with focus locked) and a battery rating of 470 shots.

The OM-D E-M5 Mark II will be available, in black and silver, later this month for $1,100 (body-only).

Meanwhile, if you already own the top-of-the-line E-M1, you should expect to get a firmware update over the next few days, which Olympus says is due to enhance the camera's overall performance and bump its sequential shooting support from 6.5 to 9 fps.

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Olympus Air is a lens camera that pairs with your smartphone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/05/olympus-air-lens-camera/

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We knew it was coming, but it's finally here. Not to be outdone by Sony, Olympus revealed last year, during Photokina 2014, that it was working on a lens camera of its own. And now we're starting to learn more about it. Meet the Olympus Air, the company's first attempt at this type of remote device. Aside from being able to connect with your iOS or Android smartphone wirelessly, the Olympus Air has a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor and can take up to 320 shots on a charge. Interestingly enough, Olympus is pegging the Air as an open-platform camera, since the company does plan to allow third-party developers to create applications for it.

In addition to that, Olympus says the Air is capable of producing "SLR-quality" images and can hook up with any Micro Four Third lens. Unfortunately, the company is only bringing it to the Japanese market for the time being, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it make its way to the US in the near future. There's no word on pricing at the moment -- however, we do know that it'll be up for grabs in the Land of the Rising Sun next month.

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