The Canon PowerShot D10 is billed as a rugged camera for the adventurer, and it certainly looks and feels the part. The D10 is waterproof to 33′, shockproof to 4′, and freezeproof to 14° Fahrenheit. It incorporates important features, such as a 12.1-megapixel CCD sensor, optically stabilized 3x zoom lens (35–105mm equivalent), 2.5″ LCD, and video capability, all in a solid body. Also included is an innovative wrist strap that you can attach to any corner of the camera (a carabiner is optional).

You’ll find only essential buttons on the D10, but all settings are easy to access through the function buttons or menu. The zoom lens is fast and quiet, and the LCD is bright and easy to read in all lighting conditions. Battery life is great, requiring only one recharge during testing.

All of these features come together to produce images that are a mixed bag. My first recommendation is to use center weighted or spot metering only, as evaluative produced unpredictable results. The exposure and color were correct in some photos, while others had haloes, blown out subjects, or were out of focus. Switching to center weighted or spot metering remedied this, though focus was a bit soft at times.

The ISO range is from 80–1600, with a push to 3200. Noise is obvious at 400, prevalent at 800, and at 1600, the photos are so noisy and soft they’re unusable. Why ISO 3200 is even offered is beyond me (plus you have to access it as a scene mode and not through the ISO settings). Macro photos are sharp, and shooting underwater yielded good results when using center weighted or spot metering.

If you’re looking for a tough compact camera you can take almost anywhere, use poolside, or when kayaking or canoeing, the PowerShot D10 might be what you’re looking for, provided you’re not expecting professional results.—Mike Mackenzie

Company: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Price: $329.99
Web: www.usa.canon.com
Rating: 3.5

Hot: Rugged; great LCD; waterproof; versatile
Not: Somewhat unpredictable results; noise

Canon PowerShot D10 images

Click on thumbnail for larger image. All images ©Mike Mackenzie, except where noted.

The 14.7-megapixel Canon PowerShot G10 is a relatively compact point-and-shoot digital camera that offers professional features and excellent quality. It’s not surprising to hear a lot of professional photographers say that the G10 is their point-and-shoot of choice. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that the G10 can capture RAW files. Once you shoot RAW, it’s hard to go back to JPEG, and the fact that the G10 supports RAW definitely appeals to the professional.

The G10 is solidly built. Even after taking a spill onto the pavement from the floor of a vehicle, I couldn’t find one scratch or other problem with the G10; it just kept on shooting. Most of the controls are easily accessible and intuitive. Selecting the ISO is extremely easy with a dial that sits on top of the camera, and the settings range from 80 to 1600, plus an Auto and a Hi setting. You can also easily adjust your exposure from –2 to +2 with a second dial that sits on the top left of the camera. The best part is that the 3″ LCD reflects the changes in a live preview as you adjust the exposure, which is very helpful when trying to balance the highlights and shadows in a scene. Another nice feature is that there are tiny lights on top of the camera body next to the ISO and exposure dials that indicate their current settings (except when you’re in Auto mode).

The LCD live preview provides a live histogram at the top left of the display. The image preview is constantly updated based on exposure information (which can be set to evaluative, center-weighted, or spot), so as you move your focus point to different areas of the scene, the preview updates based on the available light. The LCD is sharp and bright. All of these features work well together for finding the best exposure for scenes that include things such as bright skies and dark subjects.

The G10 comes powered with a 5x optical zoom (28–140mm equivalent) and an Optical Image Stabilizer. The 5x zoom offers good flexibility for composing your scenes, and the stabilizer allows you to shoot with slightly lower shutter speeds. In Macro mode, I could get within an inch of a subject, and images contained pleasing depth-of-field.

One oddity (and distraction) is that if you’re using the viewfinder to compose a scene, and you’re zoomed all the way in, you can actually see the lens in the bottom of the viewfinder. But I usually used the LCD to compose my shots, so this wasn’t a problem. Startup time is very fast, and you can take your first shot in less then two seconds. In continuous shooting mode, you can capture around 1 frame per second. Battery life was good, and I only had to charge the battery every seven to eight days, after averaging around 250 shots (RAW) and 15 minutes of video.

Noise becomes slightly visible at around 200 ISO, but is acceptable up to 400 ISO. Images shot at 800 ISO are usable, but at 1600 ISO the noise overpowers the image. Colors are excellent, and sharpness is very good when shooting with lower ISOs and faster shutter speeds. If you’re looking for a point-and-shoot, I highly recommend that you take a look at the Canon PowerShot G10 before making any decisions.—Chris Main

Company: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Price: $499.99
Web: www.usa.canon.com
Rating: 4.5

Hot: Solid build; professional features
Not: Noisy at ISO 800 and above

The new workstations—which consist of the Z400, Z600, and Z800—have been redesigned from the inside out. The new design came about from a joint effort between HP and BMW Group DesignworksUSA. The designs are sleek with brushed aluminum sides and black grill in the front. HP was also able to include integrated handles at the top in both the front and the back without extending the chassis. The handles make it easy to lug the computer to wherever you need it.

REAL BEAUTY IS ON THE INSIDE
But the real beauty of the design is what’s on the inside. According to Terry Pilsner, Vice President Research & Development, Workstation Global Business Unit for HP, the new modular workstations require only the tools we already have—our hands. Everything from the motherboard to the hard drives can be removed without any tools. For example, the hard disk drive enclosures slide out easily and use posts to snap into the screw holes of internal drives. No screwdrivers are needed.

One of the most impressive design features revolves around the power supply. The power supply resides at the top and runs most of the length of the Z800. Just grab the handle with the green tab (green indicates serviceable areas) and the power supply comes right out. And even better, you can plug the power supply into an outlet once you’ve removed it from the computer and it will run a self-diagnostic check. If the green light comes on, the power supply isn’t the problem. If the green light doesn’t come on, HP can have a new power supply to you within 24 hours. Just snap it in and you’re up and running again.

The new design also offers less noise. Every new component is designed with airflow in mind. Airflow is monitored and fans run only at the necessary speed to keep components cool, thus reducing noise. HP claims the new workstations run 2db quieter than previous workstations. To increase airflow, just about every cable is hidden behind a panel behind all the internal components.

NEW FROM INTEL
The new workstations also support the brand-new Intel Xeon 5500-series processors that were just announced. The dual-socketed Z800 can take two Intel W55800 processors that run up to 3.2 GHz. The new processors each contain four cores, and with an enhanced version of Intel Hyper-Threading Technology that enables a core to run two threads at the same time, two processors are now capable of running up to 16 threads simultaneously. When only one thread is being used by an application, the processor can actually go into Turbo Boost mode which turns off unused resources and increases the frequency of the processor as long as it stays within an acceptable temperature range.

The processors use the new QuickPath architecture from Intel, which eliminates the frontside bus. Each processor now has its own integrated memory controller, eliminating the bottleneck created by the frontside bus. According to Kirk B. Skaugen—Vice President, Digital Enterprise Group and General Manager, Server Platforms Group—this new architecture offers 3.5x the bandwidth compared to the previous-generation 5400 processors.

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Along with the new processors, HP has been able to lower the power consumption of the Z workstations. In fact, they use up to 35% less power. In idle mode, consumption drops an additional 35%; in sleep mode, it drops to 5 watts; and in hibernation mode it drops to 2 watts. Less power consumption means less money.

And speaking of money, HP claims these machines can pay for themselves in just a couple of months based on the increased power and performance. For example, HP says that someone using an app like 3ds Max could see a return on investment (ROI) in as little as 19 days. Designers using CAD applications can see an ROI in just 41 days.

REVIEWING THE WORKSTATIONS
So from design to performance, the new Z Workstations are something to get excited about. Click here to read our initial hands-on review. You may be surprised that in our tests the Z600 performs just as well if not better than the Z800 in some cases. Keep in mind that HP loaded up these machines so they could outperform any competitor. The Z800 is a much more expandable machine. By the end of the year, you’ll be able to put up to 192-GB of memory into the Z800 (versus 24 GB in the Z600) and 7.5-TB of storage (versus 4.5 TB in the Z600.) HP is also adding optional liquid cooling (on the Z800 and Z400 only) and solid state drives this year. If you’re a print or Web designer, the Z600 should offer enough expandability for your needs. But if you plan to edit multiple HD streams or 2K (up to 120 fps) and 4K (up to 30 fps) video from cameras such as the RED One, and you want to edit in real time, than you may want to consider the Z800.

We plan to update the review over the next few weeks with benchmark and real-world tests, so be sure to check back for the latest information. And if there’s a particular test you’d like to see us run on the new workstations, just leave us a comment at the bottom of our review, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your request.

HP PARTNERSHIPS
After the press conference, we had the unique opportunity to tour BMW Group DesignworksUSA. The facility was very impressive from the large and open design area (which was redesigned in 2007) to the mill, where prototypes from cell phones to cars can be etched out in Styrofoam-like material of various densities. It was like a giant printer that can print in 3D. One interesting aspect throughout the complex was the white walls. According to Alec Bernstein—Senior Director, Strategy, Research & Strategic Partnering—white was used so as not to influence the color of any designs that someone is currently working on.

Next on the tour was the Dreamworks Campus. Dreamworks is a strong HP partner and they use HP workstations and monitors for everything they do, and that includes their massive (and heat intensive) render farm. The HP Dreamcolor display that was announced last year came about as a solution to a problem that Dreamworks was facing: CRTs were being phased out and they needed a (relatively) inexpensive, color-accurate LCD to replace their CRTs. Thus the Dreamcolor was born.

While at Dreamworks, we had the opportunity to view Monsters Vs. Aliens, their just-released 3D animated film. We have to admit, while the story was entertaining, the 3D just blew us away. If you get the chance to see this movie, go see it. You’ll see the future of animation before your very eyes.

Bigger is better, and the PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 UB from Epson delivers a theater-like experience that really is big. The 1080 UB supports resolutions up to 1080p, claims a 50,000:1 (dynamic) and 4,000:1 (native) contrast ratio, and is rated at 1,600 lumens for a bright picture.

To take advantage of 1080p, we connected a Blu-ray player via HDMI. The ability to manually shift the lens vertically and horizontally, combined with a zoom range of 2.1:1, gave us plenty of flexibility for positioning the projector. We then popped in Speed Racer, and our jaws dropped to the floor—the sharpness and colors where incredible, and the picture jumped off the screen.

Out of the box, however, the picture had a little too much bias toward yellow and green. Fortunately, there are plenty of controls for adjusting the picture. After selecting one of the viewing presets—Dynamic; Living Room; Natural; Theater; or Theater Black 1 and 2 — you can fine-tune everything from brightness and contrast to gamma and individual colors.

Viewing presets are selected based on lighting conditions. With lots of ambient light, your best choice is Dynamic, which delivers a bright picture. The tradeoff is slightly oversaturated and unnatural colors, but just go into your picture controls to fine-tune the image. If you have control over your lighting, then you’ll want to go with the Theater settings, which offer a more natural and film-like experience.

The 1080 UB delivered deep blacks and good contrast in the shadow areas, making even dark scenes a pleasure to watch. And finally, the price: Yes, you could buy a 60″ or 70″ LCD TV for around the same price, but you get a much bigger picture from a much smaller unit that delivers an image that’s just as good.—Chris Main

PRICE: $2,799.99
FROM: Epson America, Inc.
WEB: www.epson.com
RATING: 4.5

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Picture quality and contrast
NOT Out-of-the-box calibration

You may ask, “Why is third-party software necessary to simply burn CDs and DVDs?” For Roxio, there always seems to be more features that go beyond the burn. Toast 9 Titanium adds functionality that makes it slightly ahead of its time, such as the latest mobility, digital video recorder (DVR), and compression tools. Version 9 is one of the best ever updates for this software.

Although the cool Quartz-effect progress bar is gone, the look and feel of Toast is essentially the same. Just pick your item, drag it to your source, and burn to your heart’s content. With the optional HD/BD plug-in (see below), Roxio has added Blu-ray burning to store up to 50 GB of data, HD DVD support for up to 30 GB, and video capture from your AVCHD camcorder and DVR hardware and software (such as TiVo or EyeTV).

In addition, there’s live audio capture to record from any source—including live Web radio—and you can stream content from your home Mac to any Wi-Fi-connected iPhone or iPod touch, or Internet-connected Mac or PC. Toast 9 Titanium also adds long-awaited integration with Apple Aperture and iLife ’08 software, making it a great solution for consumers and professionals.

To use all of the Blu-ray and HD DVD-authoring features, you’ll need to add the HD/BD plug-in for around $19.99. This is a great value that includes 15 high-definition menu styles for your discs. Once again, Roxio has delivered so much more than just another disc-burning utility.—Daniel M. East

PRICE: $99.99
FROM: Roxio
WEB: www.roxio.com
RATING: 5

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Batch processing; Blu-ray; import DVR video; audio capturee
NOT

Plustek’s OpticFilm 7500i SE is a compact, high-resolution, portable (3.5 lb) dedicated film scanner that does a quality job of digitizing and archiving 35mm transparencies and negatives. It has an optical resolution of up to 7200 dots per inch (dpi) at 48 bits, and ships with two hard plastic film holders for either four mounted slides or a six-frame filmstrip.

Powered by USB 2, the scanner is a solidly built, elongated box measuring 4.7×10.7×4.7″. The holders grip and hold the film flat and are manually fed through the 7500i. A clicking sound indicates successful advancement and positioning of the next frame or transparency. Two buttons on the front of the scanner, labeled IntelliScan and QuickScan, provide rapid access to SilverFast’s standalone scanning software or Plustek’s PC-only QuickScan standalone software.

QuickScan is a barebones, straightforward, scanning application that does a surprisingly good job, requiring few image adjustments. By comparison, SilverFast is more sophisticated, bulging with image adjustments and correctional tools. It works as a standalone and as a CS3 plug-in and features multi-exposure, which effectively increases the scan’s dynamic range and provides more effective, dust-and-scratch-removal sequential scanning with the 7500’s built-in fluorescent and infrared light sources. One caveat: SilverFast always opens with the last settings used, which can grossly affect your next file. To get back to the default settings, you must reset them with every launch. Plus I couldn’t find any feature in SilverFast for creating and saving customized presets.

The OpticFilm 7500i SE is a good performer, with scanning times that vary due to some features requiring more processing time. Using a dual Intel processor, a straight scan at 7200 dpi/48 bit took on average two minutes coming into Photoshop as a 363-MB file.—Steve Baczewski

PRICE: $399
FROM: Plustek Inc.
WEB: www.plustek.com
RATING: 4

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Quality, high-resolution scans
NOT Silverfast’s excessive amount of tools is confusing

The 10.1-megapixel Nikon COOLPIX P80 camera features an impressive f/2.8–4.5, 27–486mm focal length (35mm equivalent), 18x optical zoom lens that maintains sharpness with few aberrations throughout its focal length. Nikon bolsters the lens with Vibration Reduction technology, which compensates for operator movement and is especially useful for telephoto and macro shooting.

This digital camera is well designed and lightweight and will fit in a large coat pocket (too big for a shirt). It has a comfortable rubberized handgrip and easy access of the camera’s controls and menus. For viewing, you can toggle between the electronic viewfinder (EVF) and the 2.7″ LCD; both display identical pertinent shooting data. The EVF is small but necessary for composing in bright light because the LCD washes out. The P80 has an ISO range of 64–6400; however, noise becomes an issue above ISO 200. Metering options include matrix, center-weighted, and spot. The exposure modes include Manual, Aperture, and Shutter priority for advanced users and an Auto mode for beginners, plus a collection of 14 presets covering typical situations, such as landscapes, nightscapes, portraits, etc. The Sport mode allows continuous shooting up to 30 frames at 13 fps at a reduced resolution of 3 megapixels. The D-Lighting feature is an impressive bit of in-camera, postprocessing technology used when you view your files on the LCD. It lightens and restores color to midtones and shadows in high-contrast and backlit files, without affecting the highlights or destroying the original.

The maximum resolution of 3648×2736, combined with the sharp lens at ISO 200 (or lower), produced quality files that made beautiful 13×19″ prints. It’s too bad Nikon decided to use only JPEG format and not include a RAW option.—Steve Baczewski

PRICE: $399.95
FROM: Nikon USA
WEB: www.nikonusa.com
RATING: 4

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Quality lens
NOT No RAW format; 2–3 second delay between shots

With Apple’s blessing, Axiotron Corp. made modifications to a standard Apple MacBook laptop to produce a tablet with a screen that’s sensitive to a Wacom stylus—similar to a Wacom Cintiq. Called the Modbook, it’s the only Mac-based slate on the market and it’s designed for artists and photographers.

The Modbook doesn’t have a keyboard so if you buy it with the idea of using it as a standard laptop computer, you might be disappointed. The tablet we tested came with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, a 2.2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and 4 GB of RAM. Its input/output panel is identical to an Apple MacBook—USB, FireWire, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Airport connectivity—and it also includes iSight and a Global Positioning System.

The Modbook design is unique: besides having no keyboard, there’s no cover. Its 13″ LCD screen, with a native resolution of 1280×800, is always exposed. It is protected by a scratch-resistant plate of nonreflective matte glass that Axiotron calls ForceGlass, which is sensitive to the stylus. The screen is framed by scratch-resistant magnesium. The stylus, housed in a pocket built into the right corner of the frame, has two programmable buttons and a digital eraser at the top, and the Modbook ships with an extra stylus and tips. The tablet is slightly thicker than its MacBook counterpart and, at 5.5 lbs, weighs 0.5 lbs more. Axiotron deserves high marks for the Modbook’s solid feel and rugged construction; for some, however, the weight might be an issue. With continuous use, the Modbook’s rechargeable lithium battery is good for an average of 2.5 hours.

The Modbook elevates the experience of working in graphics programs such as Photoshop by bringing users physically closer to their work, allowing a more intimate relationship with their images. It’s similar to drawing on paper and it’s seductive. The stylus has 512 levels of sensitivity (by comparison, the Wacom Intuos has 1024) and the screen reacts accurately and instantaneously. Draw with light or heavy pressure and the screen quickly complies with the right shade of opacity. Create accurate thin, thick, straight, or curvy lines and the Modbook keeps up with you. I did notice that over time the pen and cursor don’t correspond accurately, especially at the screen’s edges; however, there’s a utility that will reset the stylus to correct this behavior.

The tablet might be disappointing to some, however. Its screen size of 13″ probably isn’t big enough for graphic artists used to a larger workspace, and although the screen is sharp and clear, it has a narrow angle of view, with brightness and colors dropping off as you tilt your head. The corners vignette if you don’t hold the Modbook in exactly the right position and the screen washes out in bright, outdoor light. Then there’s the lack of a built-in keyboard. You can connect a USB or Bluetooth keyboard, but that’s an awkward setup. For typing, Axiotron includes Quickclicks, a virtual onscreen floating keyboard for tapping out commands with the stylus. Quickclicks is programmed for easy accessibility by pressing on the stylus toggle switch. It has several setup options and, between scrolling menus and pecking on the Quickclick’s keyboard, it’s workable…but certainly not if you’re going to do a lot of writing. Using Ink, Mac OS X’s handwriting recognition program, adds little to help the situation.

I repeat: Don’t buy the Modbook for general computer use; it’s designed for graphic artists.
—Steve Baczewski

PRICE: Starts at $2,290
FROM: Axiotron Corp.
WEB: www.axiotron.com
RATING: 3.5

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT A visceral way to work for artists
NOT No keyboard

Let me begin by saying that the HP xw4600 Workstation was not what I was expecting. When I knew that I was going to get a workstation priced at $3,044, with 1.5 TB of storage and a Core 2 processor with an NVIDIA Quadro FX video card, I was sure that the FedEx guy would probably need a visit to the doctor after he dropped it off, but I was pleasantly surprised and admittedly very doubtful when I saw the size of the machine, as it was literally about half the size of my current “under-desk space heater.” How did they get everything in there and how was it going to stay cool? I was sure that, with the small footprint of the box and all that horsepower, something was going to give.

So…I took it out of the box and proceeded to open it, noting that the wiring and components were very well organized and nothing was out of place or difficult to get to. I then put the cover back on and, within minutes, had it hooked up and running. Now it was time to get to the good stuff. I loaded the Adobe Creative Suite and Autodesk’s Maya software on the workstation without a problem.

But, here’s where the fun began. I wanted to put the HP xw4600 through its paces, so I simply used it in my studio for a project that I’m working on, which included illustration, animation, voice-overs, video, and special effects. You can do all of the benchmarking you want but in the real world, what it comes down to is how many programs can you have open (and move between) before you bring the system to its knees. I have to admit that I dubbed this the “little machine that could.” There were many times that I had Maya, Adobe After Effects, Premiere, and Photoshop open all at once (not intentionally, until I figured out that the machine could handle it). Not once did I notice the machine bogging down or hesitating.

To give you an idea of what I put the xw4600 through: I was character modeling in Maya while rendering out and exporting a 42-minute video that included 120 illustrations, 15 sequenced short animations, complete voice-overs, and transitions. I don’t know about you but I’ve never found a box in this price category that could do that.

Well, the HP xw4600 Workstation performed well above my expectations and with the flexibility of being able to customize the machine to your own specs online (depending, of course, on your budget and needs), I think HP has a serious contender in this market and a very welcome alternative to the machines that are designed for gamers (nothing wrong with that, I play and design games) and not creative professionals. (For a list of the specs of the HP xw4600 Workstation that I tested, see “Customized Specs.”)

I would recommend the xw4600 to anyone on a reasonable budget who’s looking for a machine designed with creative professionals in mind.—Bruce Bicknel

PRICE: From $628
FROM: Hewlett-Packard
WEB: www.hp.com
RATING: 4.5

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Customizable; energy efficient; very quiet
NOT Needs a better sound card

Canon’s reputation for outstanding image quality carries over throughout their product lines and, in this high-definition world that allows us to create everything from Blu-ray to YouTube videos, getting serious about camcorders is becoming more mainstream. The XH A1 high-definition camcorder has so much going for it that all of the other manufacturers will have to sit up and take notice, again.

In this class of video equipment, the XH A1 is relatively lightweight at just over 4 lbs, but there are so many features for this size. You can shoot with almost zero effort in fully automatic mode or explore the huge range of functions including HD SDI, time code, and 60i/50i modes, as well as both miniDV and 16:9 HD aspect ratios. Lens and overall image quality are very high, especially at this price, and Canon has included two built-in neutral-density filters (1/6 and 1/32) for nearly any shooting environment.

For all of its impressive video, the only bump in the road was in the audio levels. The XLR input was always a bit hot, even with the basic attenuation on-board, but the built-in microphones distorted beyond around 102 dB, with poor frequency response between 180 and 320 Hz (depending on proximity to the audio source).

As impressive as its features are, the XH A1 is surprisingly easy to operate. This is a great choice for broadcasting applications for users ranging from professionals to film students. Overall, this is an incredible value for a video camcorder that produces impressive results and outperforms some other brands charging more than twice the price.—Daniel M. East

PRICE: $3,999
FROM: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
WEB: www.usa.canon.com
RATING: 4.5

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Stunning image and lens quality; lightweight; value
NOT Distorted audio at higher SPLs from onboard mics