CES 2012 Video Pictures and Impressions

[NorthStar]

Contrast is different from Brightness Bob. Contrast is the ratio of highest brightness to darkest level. If you double the brightness but also double the dark level, contrast remains the same. Were you saying something different?

I simply meant that the Contrast control is the White level adjustment.

And Brightness control ...

[NorthStar]

Also the issue with some of the pictures is not focus but me hand-holding a tiny camera with exposures of nearly a second! If you magnify the image, you see the camera shake. My camera had image stabilization but still, it can't do miracles.

Just buy a better camera.

[Peter Breuninger]

Amir,

Thanks for the great report. It's comforting to know that there is a (way) better panel than the Pioneer Plasma. I thought for a while that we were taking back steps. I'll loan you my S95 for next year if you want

[amirm]

Just buy a better camera.

My wife would kill me if I did . I currently own 6-8 DSLRs, including the 21 megapixel Canon. I also have about 20 pro lenses, the combination of which would buy multiple new cars . Alas, all of them are heavy/large and I wanted to enjoy the show as much as document it.

[NorthStar]

See, that's the thing. The minute you put all your energy into a subject, you simply lose the true focus of that subject. Like taking your time to snap some great shots, but not concentrating on the sound quality. Or vice versa. And same with HDTVs and their picture.
Time goes too fast, life has no rest.

You know what I mean Amir? We try to balance things proportionally,
but without ever going into depth within the specific subject(s).

You can do for you only, in one specific area of interest from the moment,
or you can do for others that thing you do, but with greater emphasis on what others expect.

What I mean is that it is very hard to excel at everything perfectly.
No matter what, there'll be always someone to criticize your work.
It's like a controversy, a contradiction, a life compromise, a paradox ...

Anyway many (most) of your shots are excellent enough, and so are your commentaries.
Tres tres satisfait moi-meme, and you should be too.

[Matt193]

Excellent posts, Amir. With the US economy still on shaky ground, do you see more of an emphasis towards budget friendly products, or do "cheap" products take back seat to the biggest and best at CES?

What was the one product that left you most impressed?

[Steve Williams]

Amir,

Thanks for the great report. It's comforting to know that there is a (way) better panel than the Pioneer Plasma. I thought for a while that we were taking back steps. I'll loan you my S95 for next year if you want

That's what I use

[amirm]

Everything is about making things cheaper in this economy. That's why I think the OLED displays are a long shot right now.

I found this CES rather unexciting. The industry has no really "new" thing. All the excitement comes from other factions (tablets, etc).

The things I liked are the myriad of "ultrabooks." These are laptops that are hardly thicker than a tablet but have fast CPUs, run Windows and have a keyboard which I find a necessity given how much I post on forums . They are clones of the MacBook Air but nevertheless, the best move I have seen the PC companies do to hold their own against the onslaught of the tablets. Here is the Samsung: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-new...-series-9/6409



"The whole point of Ultrabooks is to get thin and light enough to compete with the MacBook Air, and the Series 9 does that easily. At only 0.4 inches at its thickest point and just 2.6 pounds, the Series 9 is easy to throw in the bag and head out the door. The 7 hours of battery life is decent given the quad-core Core i7 processor and 128GB solid-state disk onboard.

The 13.3-inch SuperBright Plus display delivers good resolution (1600×900) and a bright display to handle every lighting situation. Samsung was able to cram lots of ports in spite of the thin duralumin case, including two USB, HDMI, RJ-45 and even an SD slot."

The other thing that stood out is how 3-d gaming will be coming to all devices. I gave an example of the Panasonic LCD. Phones and tablets are leading the charge here also.

I also liked the new Samsung 7 inch Tablet. No price or availability but featherweight and very responsive with LTE modem built in:



What I didn't like is everyone becoming a reporter, with cameras and interviews happening everywhere, forcing you to stand on the side at times per above. Oops!

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

I also liked the new Samsung 7 inch Tablet. No price or availability but featherweight and very responsive with LTE modem built in:



What I didn't like is everyone becoming a reporter, with cameras and interviews happening everywhere, forcing you to stand on the side at times per above. Oops!

Nice Sony PMW-EX3 on a stabilizer, in the background.. (I always notice my gear when I see it out in the field).