The best cheap compact camera
By Amadou Diallo
This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read the full article here.
If you want to buy a decent and basic point-and-shoot camera at an affordable price, the Canon PowerShot Elph 350 HS (the IXUS 275 HS outside of the US) is the camera you should get. After 32 hours of research, considering 24 different models, and doing some real-world shooting with the best of them, we found that the 350 HS is both simple to use and capable of delivering sharper photos with more-vibrant colors and cleaner images in low light than the competition. The PowerShot Elph 360 HS is the newer model, but the two cameras are virtually identical in features and performance. We recommend either camera equally, so keep an eye on pricing and buy whichever one is cheaper.
Who should buy this
The Canon 350 HS is nowhere near as thin as an iPhone, but it is still compact enough to slide into a loose-fitting pants pocket. Photo: Amadou Diallo
The low-end point-and-shoot market has been all but destroyed by smartphones, but for some people, a dedicated camera still makes sense. The major advantage of a stand-alone camera is that it has a zoom lens, which makes a world of difference when you can’t get physically close to your subject. Cheap cameras like this also have the advantage of being extremely simple to use, and their low price means that if the camera is lost or damaged, it’s a lot less painful, making these models great first-camera choices for kids and teens.
How we picked
If you’re looking to buy a digital camera for about $200, it’s mostly a matter of separating the wheat from the chaff—and you’ll find a lot of chaff. For years, camera makers have pumped out what feels like dozens of near-identical models that get bargain-binned almost immediately and are generally worthless. Lately they’ve slowed down the pace because fewer people are buying these cheap cameras, but you still have a lot to wade through.
We spent dozens of hours looking at more than 20 widely available sub-$200 cameras. We quickly dismissed a great number of them due to specs that just didn’t measure up to those of some of the more competent alternatives. Cameras with CCD sensors, in particular, are best avoided, as they’re usually limited to just 720p video, have slow shooting rates of around one frame per second, and generally don’t go beyond an ISO of 1600. With these limitations in mind, we removed the vast majority of the cheap cameras. We also eliminated cameras that had lower-resolution 230,000-dot screens, because 460,000-dot screens allow for sharper images on playback. We also cut any cameras that didn’t feature optical image stabilization (which helps you take steadier images), as well as those with poor user reviews on Amazon.
Our pick
The Canon 350 HS produces reasonably accurate colors when shooting outdoor scenes.
For most people looking for an affordable, basically decent camera, the pocketable Canon PowerShot Elph 350 HS—with an impressive 12x zoom—is the way to go. It takes sharp, brightly colored photos with minimal effort and produces cleaner low-light images than the competition. It keeps image noise to a manageable level up to ISO 800 (and even ISO 3200 is acceptable if you’re only going to post photos to Facebook). Plus, Canon’s engineers have set exposure parameters to prioritize faster shutter speeds in low light to avoid camera shake and blurry photos.
Though Canon’s DSLRs get all the attention, the company has long been a go-to brand for basic, affordable low-end cameras. If you want a solid option on the cheap, you can trust a Canon to be good for whatever price you paid for it. That hasn’t really changed over the years, and the 350 HS offers much of what you might expect in this class of camera. It covers the basics, and its flaws are more forgivable than much of the competition’s.
Canon updated the 350 HS with the release of the PowerShot Elph 360 HS, which is identical to the 350 HS apart from the color selection, so we suggest buying whichever model is cheaper.
Touchscreen selfie master
The Nikon S6900 has a fold-out rear stand that lets you take hands-free selfies.
If our main pick and its newer variant are both unavailable, we also like the Nikon Coolpix S6900. It suffers in low light because the camera stubbornly chooses slow shutter speeds, which can lead to blurry photos (the main reason it isn’t our top pick). But the S6900 does have a tilting and touch-sensitive rear screen and a faster high-resolution burst speed than our main pick. It also comes with a clever built-in stand that lets you prop the camera up in portrait-shooting position on a flat surface, which is great for taking selfies without having your arm in the picture.
Greater zoom and battery life
The Samsung WB350F is a solid option if you’re itching for something with a longer zoom.
If you’re willing to carry a slightly bulkier camera and sacrifice a bit of image quality for much greater zoom range, the Samsung WB350F is solid. Its 21x zoom range is bigger than that of any other camera in this class, its battery lasts 60 percent longer than the one in our main pick, and it has a wealth of wireless connectivity options.
What you get by paying more
If you’re willing to spend more cash, you can give yourself a huge image-quality boost by getting a compact camera geared more toward experienced shooters. We cover those upgrade models in our guide to the best point-and-shoot camera under $500. Those mid-tier cameras have significantly larger sensors and lenses that let in much more light across their entire zoom range, giving you the ability to capture sharp, clean images indoors and at night.
This guide may have been updated by The Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.
Samsung denies its mobile payment platform is insecure
Every year the Black Hat conference highlights and analyzes security vulnerabilities in common services public awareness and a little infamy. On Sunday, a researcher released a paper criticizing the point-of-service purchasing system Samsung Pay for perceived weakness in its algorithm that could be exploited by hackers. In its security blog, the Korean tech giant refuted the claims, insisting that its math is different than described in the report and therefore still sound.
Samsung Pay works kind of like bank card chips: slide a phone over a reader synced up to the service and it broadcasts a “token” number inspired by but not exactly like that of the linked financial account. Unlike a magnetic strip on the back of your typical bank plastic, which delivers exactly the sixteen digits on the front and therefore can be reused infinitely, these “tokenized” systems are only created for that single transaction.
Of course, the account and “token” numbers have to be linked somehow, or systems wouldn’t know where to charge purchases. That’s where the algorithm comes in, a formula that generates new temporary numbers that is, users trust, too complex for hackers to crack. In his paper, Black Hat researcher Salvador Mendoza lays out how he believes this system works, including how the one-time “tokens” are generated, and lays out three scenarios for hackers to break into that algorithm: use a magnetic card spoofer to generate tokens, jam a transaction to force another temporary code to be generated while the hacker uses the first and use a social engineering tool to capture tokens and transmit them by email.
Naturally, Samsung denies that its algorithm works how Mendoza described it. Its security blog post points to a technology FAQ illustrating how its system protects against hackers: first, with its Knox software-and-hardware identity verification, and second, with TrustZone processor architecture built specifically to run sensitive processes separately from typical ones.
The FAQ doesn’t say that some of these methods, like jamming the signal and “skimming” unused tokens, is impossible, just extremely unlikely. To work, it would have to meet several requirements: the hacker would have to be physically near the purchase and jam the user before approving it. Even then, the Samsung Pay user would be alerted when the scammer used the token. This is a known issue, the FAQ notes, but given that every purchase runs through both the tech giant’s and the bank’s fraud analysis algorithm, they deemed it extremely unlikely and therefore acceptable.
Update: Samsung has issued a statement, included below:
Recent reports implying that Samsung Pay is flawed are simply not true. Samsung Pay uses a multi-layer security system that works in tandem with the security systems of our partners to detect any emerging threats. Samsung Pay is safe, secure and consumers can be assured that there is no known risk associated to using our payment service.”
Source: Phandroid
Watching Olympics coverage in VR is fun, but TV is still better
Many people complained about the tape delay and excessive ads for NBC’s Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony coverage, but there was another option. If you had a Samsung Gear VR headset and were willing to wait a day, you could watch it in 360-degree video as if you were at Rio’s Maracanã Stadium. That’s what I did, and it was indeed pretty cool: You’re immersed in the event and can look at whatever grabs your eye. The execution and technology are still lacking, unfortunately, which degraded the experience, but it’s easy to see how it could one day be a spectacular way to view live events.
The setup was a bit difficult, given that I’m located in Paris and NBC’s sports app only works in the US. But thanks to a VPN and some cooperation from NBC’s PR team (being a tech journalist has its perks), I was able to get the app installed, authenticated and working with the Gear VR’s Oculus software. The 24-hour delay for the VR broadcast seems excessive, but it’s easy to understand why NBC did it. The Rio games are a big test for the feasibility of VR tech, so the broadcaster probably wanted to ensure that it worked perfectly before unleashing it on the public.
Another good reason to delay the VR broadcast is that it’s still pretty tricky to watch a live event on a VR headset. There are lot of things that can go wrong (app installation, et cetera), and it can take a lot of menu futzing to get it playing, so you’d hate to miss anything because of that. In other words, VR isn’t just complicated from the broadcaster’s side — it’s also tricky from the consumer end.
So how was it? First, the good. NBC had a handful of 360-degree cameras around the stadium, with several good views from a spectator perspective. There were also cameras on the floor, letting you scope the dancers, performers and athletes up close. You could also watch NBC’s regular TV feed by looking down at a virtual “screen.” But a lot of the fun is choosing where to look, whether at the dancers, fireworks or crowd. The audio quality was good, and with many shots, especially closeups, I felt immersed.
The downside was the technology. The video quality was so poor, especially on wide shots, that I felt at times that I was watching a bad copy of a VHS tape. I’ve seen lots of 360-degree videos on the Gear VR, so I know it’s possible to do better. It wasn’t likely a streaming issue, as I had at least 100Mbps speeds, even with the VPN. The limited number of camera positions was also a negative; it would’ve been great to have athletes carry cameras, for instance.
I did watch the opening ceremonies live on French TV, and saw a replay of NBC’s broadcast on its sports app. For now, that’s clearly the superior medium. Crisp, high-def or 4K video, lots of closeups, live commentary and slick production.
Here’s what would make VR a superior experience to a regular broadcast for me. I’d like lots of 360 cameras from fixed and mobile positions, being carried by dedicated camera operators and even athletes. After all, why not take advantage of the relatively portable 360 camera gear made by Samsung, GoPro and others? I also want a better video feed, in order to max out the resolution of the Gear VR. It’d be nice to have more, well-chosen cuts from a dedicated VR director, or even the ability to choose my own camera angle, and I’d like the option to turn commentary from the regular broadcast on and off.
The next time, NBC should support all or most VR headsets on the market, especially the Vive and Rift, even if they do have a sponsor relationship with Samsung. And, while we’re dreaming, how about a higher-resolution smartphone? If Samsung or other smartphone makers (Sony, maybe?) could do 4K, that would help solve the quality issues. (Yes, I now regret saying that 4K smartphones were useless, by the way.)
All of this would require quite a commitment from a broadcaster like NBC, along with very fast internet speeds, high-resolution headsets and 360-degree cameras that don’t even exist yet. When can we expect that? Maybe in a few years. Once all of these pieces fall into place, though, viewers will get a unique hybrid of a live event and broadcast. The only drawback is being alone inside your headset — until they can virtually connect folks together, it’s always more fun to watch big events with others.
Six Flags adds a gaming twist to its VR roller coasters
Six Flags first announced that it was teaming up with Samsung to outfit roller coaster riders with Gear VR headsets back in the spring. The theme park company is taking its virtual reality project to another level though, adding a gaming component to the immersive visuals. Before now, the addition of VR to rides just added a different visual experience to the ride itself. With the new “Rage of the Gargoyles,” riders take flight in an Apache-style helicopter to battle “blood-thirsty” beasts.
How do you control the game? Well, the Gear VR headset does all of the work so you can keep your hands tightly wrapped around whatever handle the ride offers. As Six Flags explains it, riders aim at the gargoyles by looking in their direction to aim the helicopter’s Gatling guns. Once a target is locked on, the weapon fires automatically. Based on the details the company offered, it sounds like there’s a HMD (Head Mounting Display) UI to guide you through the whole thing. There’s no word on if you’ll be able to keep score and compete against fellow riders.
If you’re planning to take a road trip before summer officially comes to a close, “Rage of the Gargoyles” will be available on nine VR-equipped coasters at Six Flags parks in the US and Canada. Those locations and rides include Demon at Six Flags Great America, Skull Mountain at Six Flags Great Adventure, Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas, Kong at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags Over Georgia, Goliath at La Ronde, Ninja at Six Flags St. Louis and Steamin’ Demon at The Great Escape. What’s more, there are sure to be new VR adventures at the parks in the future as Six Flags touts the setup’s versatility.
“One of the most exciting things about this technology is that we have the ability to change the storylines to offer our guests new thrills and new reasons to visit our parks,” said Six Flags president and CEO John Duffey.
Rage of the Gargoyles virtual reality comes to the Demonhttps://t.co/xrpg9JzIYH
— SF Great America (@SFGreat_America) August 5, 2016
Source: Six Flags (Business Wire)
Recent Samsung Patent Filing Includes Images of Apple Watch
In a recent patent filing detailing smart watch band swapping mechanisms, Samsung appears to have cut some corners and borrowed a few familiar looking images from Apple.
The South Korean company’s patent application for a “Wearable Device” features several design drawings of the Apple Watch that appear to be based on Apple Watch marketing materials and images, as was discovered by Patently Apple and Business Insider.
Samsung uses Apple Watch drawings alongside its own product drawings as examples of methods for attaching a band to a smart watch. The Apple Watch’s lug attachment site is clearly depicted along with bands like the Classic Buckle, Modern Buckle, Milanese Loop, and Leather Loop, suggesting Samsung’s product designers and engineers are drawing inspiration from Apple’s wearable device.
Figures 10A to 10F and 11A to 11F are views illustrating diverse shapes, structures, and materials of a first strap portion or second strap portion in a wearable device according to am embodiment of the present disclosure.
Samsung has a long history of copying Apple designs and is often ridiculed for its tendencies to emulate Apple, so the use of Apple Watch design images for its patent examples is a curious choice.
One of Samsung’s images (right) compared to a marketing image of the Apple Watch (left). Via BusinessInsider.
Apple and Samsung continue to be embroiled in a long-running lawsuit that found Samsung guilty of infringing on iPhone design patents, and Samsung has already paid Apple $548 million as a result. Just today, more than 100 designers wrote an amicus brief supporting Apple in its ongoing battle with Samsung, describing how the visual design of a product has “powerful effects on the human mind and decision making processes.”
Tag: Samsung
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Calvin Klein thinks Apple was paid fairly in Samsung patent case
The exhausting brawl between Apple and Samsung over patents simply refuses to die the horrible, gruesome death it deserves. Samsung is the more bloodied, you may recall, having paid Apple a $548 million settlement for violating a bunch of patents (not that Cupertino is done squeezing money from the Korean company). That big payout is due to be reviewed and potentially reduced by the US Supreme Court, however, with Samsung arguing it shouldn’t have had to hand over every cent of profit it made on devices that were found to specifically infringe Apple design patents. Naturally, Apple disagrees, and now it’s got none other than Calvin Klein fighting in its corner.
The underwear mogul, seminal designer Dieter Rams and architect Lord Norman Foster are some of the better-known names among over 100 signatories of an amicus brief published today by Apple (PDF). These documents are submitted to courts as supporting evidence — supporting Apple’s agenda, in this instance — and often feature the opinions of interested parties that aren’t directly involved in the case at hand. Unsurprisingly, the key takeaway of the report is the Supreme Court shouldn’t revisit the settlement after “the jury properly awarded to Apple all of Samsung’s profits from selling its copycat devices.”
The amicus brief gives us a bitesized history lesson on the importance of product design. Coca-Cola wouldn’t have become “the most widely distributed product on earth” if its contoured bottle hadn’t contributed to its appeal, is one example. Similarly, General Motors would never have outpaced Ford if it hadn’t focused on attractive vehicle designs. The document goes on to argue design has never been more important, since tech products like smartphones all do more or less the same thing. “The iPhone did not fundamentally alter the core functionality of the smartphone.”
Take that quote with a pinch of humblebrag, though, as Apple does go on to say that the design of the iPhone is what elevated it so very far above competing products. Add in a ton of cognitive science research, and the message is that design is basically the only thing that gives a device meaning. A consumer doesn’t see components, features or functionality; their initial impressions are rooted in visual design. In other words, they judge a book by its cover. “Appearance becomes identified with the underlying functional features and with a particular level of product quality and safety.”
“Thus, when a consumer encounters a known product (or an infringing copy), the consumer identifies the look of the product with the underlying functional features.” Apple is saying here: Yes, we were entitled to the total profits from infringing Samsung devices because everything that makes iPhones great is embodied by their design. Samsung was piggybacking on Apple’s legacy, and profiting. “Indeed, Samsung’s infringement covered the most important design elements of the iPhone. The rectangular face with rounded corners, and the home screen with colorful icons…”
This is just Apple’s position, of course, which is apparently shared by numerous designers, relevant academics, experts and the like who would rather not see the value of design patents eroded by a partial refund. “We all share a strong professional interest in seeing that design patent law continues to protect investments in product design.”
Much like lobbying, the extent to which amicus briefs effect court proceedings is indeterminable. This document was put together by Apple in support of Apple’s interests, after all, but it’s also just one to Samsung’s many. In fact, seven pro-Samsung amicus briefs have been submitted thus far, including one undersigned by Google, Facebook, Dell, HP, eBay and other tech companies. You see, there is widespread worry that awarding the total profits for products deemed to violate design patents sets a dangerous precedent.
Samsung likens it to handing over profits on the sale of a car with a patent-infringing cup holder. It’s the obvious counter-argument: That design is just one element of a product, not the be all and end all. Furthermore, such cases could inspire trolls that will attempt to take credit for a complex piece of hardware or software based on one relatively inconsequential design similarity. It’s important to note that even the Department of Justice has chimed in with a (neutral) amicus brief of its own, recommending the case be sent back to a lower court so more evidence can be collected to inform a verdict.
Whichever way the cookie crumbles, it’ll be interesting fuel for patent reform debate, and it’s important that it’ll be decided in the Supreme Court. It’s basically unheard of for design patent cases to be decided at this level — the first in over 120 years, to be more precise.
[Inline image credits: Janitors/Flickr & Shutterstock / Brandon Bourdages]
Source: Apple (PDF)
Dieter Rams and Over 100 Top Designers File Amicus in Support of Apple in Longstanding Samsung Lawsuit
Calvin Klein, Dieter Rams, Norman Foster, and over 100 of the world’s leading design professionals have filed a lengthy amicus brief [PDF] in support of Apple in an over five year old patent lawsuit against rival Samsung.
Apple was awarded nearly $1 billion in damages in 2012 after Samsung was found to have copied the “look and feel” of the iPhone, but a significant part of the decision was reversed in 2015, leaving Samsung owing $548 million — a sum that Samsung has paid but continues to appeal. The patent lawsuit began back in 2011 and has since made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Apple is fighting for it to remain.
The design professionals, which have collectively provided services to Apple, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Ford, General Electric, GM, Google, IBM, Knoll, Lenovo, LG, Louis Vuitton, NASA, Nike, Polaroid, Porsche, Starbucks, Target, Xerox, and even Samsung itself, among others, believe that Apple was entitled to the full amount of damages, citing the importance of industrial design.
Tags: Samsung, lawsuit
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Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 costs at least $850 in the US
Pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 7 have started in the US, and it’s clear that you’ll be paying a pretty penny for Samsung’s pen-toting flagship phone. The best deals among major carriers are at Sprint and T-Mobile, where the Note 7 will cost $850 if you buy it outright — it may be wiser to go with the installment plans ($35 monthly for 2 years at Sprint, $33 per month with $70 down at T-Mobile). AT&T will sell you the new Note for either $880 outright or $37 per month for 2 years, while our overlords at Verizon offer it for $864 up front or $36 per month over 2 years.
At least you’ll get perks for ordering early. As a general rule, carriers are offering a free Gear Fit 2 or 256GB microSD card if you pre-order. AT&T will also give you a free Gear S2 or 99-cent Galaxy Tab E if you’re willing to subscribe to a data plan for that second device, and it’s continuing a promo where buying a second qualifying Samsung device will score you $695 in bill credits. In T-Mobile’s case, you can choose a year’s worth of Netflix as your freebie if shows are more important than fitness or storage. While your bank account might be hurting by the time you leave the store, you might not have to go accessory shopping at the same time.
Via: Mashable
Source: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon
What happened at Samsung Unpacked 2016?
Wondering what all the fuss was about Samsung’s Unpacked 2016 event earlier today? Let our Senior Mobile Editor Chris Velazco explain everything you need to know about the new Galaxy Note 7 and its accompanying accessories. Those include an upgraded S Pen stylus, a new and improved Gear VR headset, and the US debut of the Gear 360 camera. Of course, the spectacle of the show may have surpassed the tech, so press play and get a taste of what it was like — all in just two and a half minutes.
Everything you need to know about Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 event
Sure, there might not have been many surprises going into Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 launch event, but you can’t say the massive conglomerate can’t put on a good show. For about an hour, we saw execs take the stage, make lousy dad jokes, throw shade at their competitors, show off a few products and convinced hundreds of people to strap VR headsets to their faces more than once. It was a hell of a thing.
If you happened to miss the event, or just can’t be bothered to sit through an hour-long informercial, never fear: we trimmed the fat from Samsung’s presentation to leave you with about seven minutes of juicy news morsels (and part of Samsung’s head-scratchingly nutty closing ceremony). Oh, and a friendly reminder: we went hands-on with the Galaxy Note 7 and the updated Gear VR in case you’re itching for more context around today’s announcements. We won’t spoil the stories for you, but here’s the TL;DR in case you’re really pressed for time: both new bits of hardware are thoughtful improvements over their predecessors, though they’re perhaps not the fascinating leaps forward some were hoping for. Alright! We’ve said enough — do as you please.
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