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Vibration-absorbing, sound-damping materials such as sheets of rubber and expanded foam tend to be thick, bulky and soft. A new material is a big exception to that tendency, however, as it absorbs vibrations while staying stiff and thin.
Tags: ETH Zurich, Sound, vibration, Glass
The last time we checked in at Serve Robotics, the Uber-backed company had partnered with Alphabet's Wing for a robot-to-drone delivery service in Dallas. That was with Serve's Gen2 bot, but a faster, smarter and more robust model has just launched.
Category: Technology
Tags: Delivery robots, Robots, Cargo
In what it calls "the world's first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors," Google has taken another step toward its goal of achieving net-zero emissions from its operational chain by 2030.
Category: Energy, Technology
Tags: Nuclear, Power, Reactors, US Department of Energy, Data Center, Google
MAD Architects has completed work on an amazing new residential building. Located in Colorado, it draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape and is defined by a facade that's cracked open to reveal a "Canyon" area that lets residents take a stroll along a mountain trail.
Category: Architecture, Lifestyle
Tags: MAD Architects, Building and Construction, Building Facades, High-rise, Residential towers
Battery tech firm ProLogium has taken the wraps off its 100% silicon composite anode battery. Highlighting its potential for use in EVs at the ongoing Paris Motor Show, the Taiwanese company claimed a major leap in energy density and charging efficiency, promising 186 miles (300 km) of range from a five-minute charge.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Battery, Battery+Electric+Vehicle, Battery Electric Vehicles, Battery Technology
As part of DPReview's 25th anniversary celebration, we're looking back at some of the more significant cameras to come along over the past 25 years, and today, we're highlighting the camera that led the 4K revolution in consumer cameras: the Panasonic GH4. Officially announced in early 2014, we published our GH4 review on October 16, 2014 – ten years ago today.
We've all become so used to 4K video that it no longer registers as unique. It's found on virtually every mirrorless camera made today, smartphones, action cameras, miniature gimbal cameras, webcams, security cameras, and even those wacky $100 'pro' video cameras you see on Amazon and wonder who buys them.
But, of course, it wasn't always that way, and we have the GH4 – the first mirrorless camera to capture 4K video internally – to thank for opening the metaphorical floodgates and ushering in the 4K era.
I had a personal interest in the GH4: as someone who had adopted the GH line early on for video projects, I was as curious as anyone to know how it stacked up. Although I was on staff at DPReview, I wasn't involved in writing the GH4 review and probably read it with as much anticipation as anyone else.
Photo: DPReview staffIt's worth remembering that the GH4 was a hybrid camera designed to appeal to both stills and video shooters, and it had features to appeal to those who wanted to do both. Like the GH3, the camera was built around a 16MP sensor, but it supported 12fps burst shooting (7.5fps with focus tracking), a 1/8000 shutter speed and 1/250th flash sync. It even had a rather lovely 2.36M-dot OLED viewfinder.
But realistically, nobody was buying a GH4 just to shoot stills. You bought it because you wanted a solid video camera that could shoot stills when needed.
"Realistically, nobody was buying a GH4 just to shoot stills."The GH4 could capture 4K video at up to UHD 4K/30p (3840x2160) or DCI 4K/24p (4096x2160) internally and supported both Long GOP and All-I codecs at bit rates up to 200Mbps. Although we take bit rates like this for granted today, this was very high at the time. The camera also produced pleasing 1080p video, though as we called out in our review, its HD video wasn't as good as the perfectly oversampled 1080p video from the Sony a7s.
Despite the impressive specs and beautiful video to match, we had some nitpicks. To start, 4K video captured internally only had 8-bit 4:2:0 color, providing less flexibility for color grading in post. (10-bit 4:2:2 color was supported, but only when recording externally.) Additionally, the GH4's sensor was 4608 pixels wide, requiring the camera to use a smaller, native crop of the sensor when shooting 4K. This resulted in a 1.1x crop for DCI 4K and a 1.2x crop for UHD 4K.
Equally as crucial as its video specs, the GH4 illustrated Panasonic's commitment to supporting a professional video workflow.
The camera included several now-common tools to improve the video shooting experience, including focus peaking, two zebra settings, control over Master Pedestal (black level) and luminance scale, and a 'cinema-like' gamma preset. It also allowed users to set the shutter speed and ISO as shutter angle and gain and could generate color bars for calibration. It was also possible to switch between capture frequencies, meaning the camera could support NTSC, PAL, and true 24fps cinema standards.
"Equally as crucial as its video specs, the GH4 illustrated Panasonic's commitment to supporting a professional video workflow."Alongside the camera, Panasonic released the optional DMW-YAGH interface unit. This $1999 accessory unit added two XLR inputs for audio, an SDI input for timecode, four 3D-SDI connectors capable of outputting 4:2:2 10-bit video and a 12V DC power socket. The unit attached to the bottom of the GH4 and felt oversized relative to the camera. Beginning with the GH5, the interface unit was phased out in favor of the DMW-XLR1, a much more affordable option in the style of the hotshoe-mounted XLR adapter we've become accustomed to today.
The GH4 was also the camera Panasonic used to debut its newest autofocus technology: Depth-from-Defocus, or DFD. DFD attempted to build a depth map of a scene by making tiny focus adjustments and analyzing changes in the image. With an understanding of the out-of-focus characteristics of a particular lens, the camera could build a depth map of the scene.
The optional DMW-YAGH 'Interface Unit' provided a more extensive selection of video industry connectors for using the GH4 as part of a high-end video rig.However promising the technology may have been, DFD never quite met expectations. Panasonic really wanted to make it work, and it's possible that, given fast enough sampling and processing, it might have continued to improve. Unfortunately for Panasonic, cameras using phase-detect autofocus consistently provided a better AF experience, particularly when shooting video, and the company eventually made the jump to phase-detection with the Lumix S5II in 2023, finally arriving in the GH series on the GH7 in 2024.
In our review of the GH4, we found a lot to like and a few frustrations. For example, despite having an autoexposure compensation dial, the camera didn't allow you to use it when using Auto ISO in manual exposure mode, and there was no Auto ISO option when shooting video in M mode. Overall, though, we were mighty impressed and saved our biggest praise for the camera's video capabilities:
"The GH4 was also the camera Panasonic used to debut its newest autofocus technology: Depth-from-Defocus, or DFD.""It's in terms of video that the GH4 really stands out. It produces some of the best video we've yet seen - losing out only to the Sony a7S's moiré-free 1080 output. The ability to capture good quality 4K, whether for use at full resolution, downsampling to 1080 or cropping to 1080, adds real flexibility to the camera. Low light performance is solid if not exceptional," we concluded.
The GH4 landed in the retail market at a price of $1699, or about $2260 today adjusted for inflation, which isn't far off the $2199 price of the GH7. It's amazing to think about how expectations for video have changed over the years. However, the GH7 has its work cut out for it: rather than being an obvious standout in the crowd, it has to compete in a marketplace of cameras brimming with video features. Maybe in another ten years, we'll look back to see how it held up.
The Fujifilm X-M5 is the company's latest APS-C mirrorless camera. Although it comes in at the budget end of the spectrum and is aimed at vloggers, it's also a great compact camera for still photography.
The X-M5 uses Fujifilm's previous generation 26MP X-Trans sensor – which is a good thing. That's the same sensor found inside cameras like the X100V, X-T4, and the X-Pro3, all cameras capable of delivering excellent image quality. Unlike some compact models and vlog cameras, it also includes twin control dials for easy operation and a fully mechanical shutter.
Our sample gallery includes photos shot with several lenses, including the camera's XC 15-45mm F3.5-5.6 OIS PZ kit lens. Take a look and let us know what you think.
Click here to see our Fujifilm X-M5 sample gallery
Buy now:
$799 at B&H Photo$899 w/ 15-45 at Amazon.com$799 at AdoramaThough streaming accounts for much of our music consumption these days, vinyl records have been rising in popularity over the last few years. If you want your latest purchase to stand out while playing, then why not have it stand up on the Fuse Audio GLD vertical turntable?
Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Kickstarter, Turntables, Vinyl, Records
In a much-needed update to 2003 data on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has found that an estimated 15.5 million US adults are living with the condition – and many are being let down by poor access to treatment.
Category: ADHD & Autism, Brain Health, Body & Mind
Tags: CDC, ADHD, mental health, Medication, FDA, Drug
The prospect of virtually unlimited clean geothermal power is now substantially brighter. EPFL’s Laboratory of Experimental Rock Mechanics (LEMR) has shown that the semi-plastic, gooey rock at supercritical depths can still be fractured to let water through.
Category: Energy, Technology
Tags: EPFL, Geothermal, Clean Energy, Renewable Energy
By obtaining high-resolution images of Alzheimer’s disease-affected brain cells as the condition progresses, researchers have identified the specific neurons that are damaged. The information the ‘cell atlas’ provides highlights potential new treatment targets.
Category: Alzheimer's & Dementia, Brain Health, Body & Mind
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, neurons, Treatment, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Two great minds in permanent-magnet-free motor design are fusing their know-how to create an even more capable inductive electric motor. Mahle and Valeo have teamed up to introduce what they call the Inner Brushless Electrical Excitation (iBEE) system, a form of e-machine that eliminates the need for sensitive rare earths, promises powerful performance and sends lifecycle carbon emissions right off a tall, steep cliff.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Electric Motors, Mahle, Electric Vehicles, Magnetism, Magnetic
A new review has highlighted how skin tone can affect the safety and effectiveness of some medications and why the current way we run clinical drug trials needs to change to include more historically underrepresented populations.
Category: Body & Mind
Tags: Skin, diversity, clinical trials, UC Riverside
Once you've ridden a bicycle with a bell, shouting out warnings to pedestrians seems very loudmouthed and ineffective. Well, the Runbell 3.0 gives runners a finger-worn bell, so they don't have to yell at people either.
Category: Wearables, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Running, Warning, Kickstarter
Nothing about the Tesla Cybertruck (or the pickup campers built for it) has made it look like a particularly inviting camping vehicle. After famously awful first impressions, Elon's tent debacle didn't help. It seems like we'll have to wait for trailer builders to step outside the pickup box (prism) for a better Cyber-camping experience. Living Vehicle's Cybertrailer, for example, looks like a downright pleasant place to base camp, if you can even call it camping so much as luxury apartment-like mobile living.
Tags: living-vehicle, Caravan, Electric Vehicles, electric-camper, smart RV, Trailer, trailers, RV, Cybertruck
DJI has announced the Air 3S, an update to its existing dual-camera Air 3 model that upgrades the primary camera to a larger Type 1 sensor and adds features that promise to make the drone easier to operate at night. DJI is positioning the Air 3S as "perfect for travel photography."
The main camera on the Air 3S gains a 50MP Type 1 (13.2 x 8.8mm) CMOS sensor and features a 24mm equiv. F1.8 lens. That's an upgrade from its predecessor, which utilized a smaller Type 1/1.3 (4.8 x 3.6mm) CMOS sensor with a marginally faster F1.7 lens. The telephoto camera remains unchanged between the two models, using a 48MP Type 1/1.3 sensor and featuring a 70mm equiv. F2.8 lens.
In addition to stills, both cameras can capture up to 4K/120p or 4K/60p when shooting HDR. All video can be captured in 10-bit, even in regular color mode, and D-Log M and HLG modes are available. The maximum ISO has been raised to 12,800 (3200 when shooting D-Log M). However, DJI says the Air 3S includes a new, more advanced video encoding algorithm that reduces video file size by over 30% without compromising image quality.
Buy now:
$1599 Fly More Combo (RC 2 controller) at DJI$1599 Fly More Combo (RC 2 controller) at B&H PhotoDJI claims both cameras can capture up to 14 stops of dynamic range and says the new main camera should capture even more detail than the camera on its more expensive Mavic 3 Pro model.
The DJI Air 3S is similar to its predecessor, the Air 3, but it gains a larger Type 1 (13.2 x 8.8mm) CMOS sensor on its main camera.
Image: DJI
Beyond the cameras, DJI has added several appealing features to the Air 3S:
A new Free Panorama mode enables users to create panoramic shots by stitching together images across a manually selected subject area. This works with either camera, but DJI suggests the best results will come from using the telephoto camera, which reduces distortion.
The Air 3S also includes features designed to make it easier and safer to fly at night, including Nightscape Obstacle Sensing, with the Air 3S becoming the first DJI drone to feature forward-facing LiDAR. Additionally, the drone includes downward-facing infrared sensors and six vision sensors (two each at the front, rear and bottom). According to DJI, this combination of sensors provides the Air 3S with "nightscape omnidirectional obstacle sensing," which should allow the drone to automatically identify and navigate around obstacles for safer nighttime photography.
This technology also enables DJI's next-gen Smart RTH (return-to-home) feature, intended to allow the drone to return safely to its takeoff location, even at night.
The Air 3S is available with either DJI's RC-N3 controller, which requires a smartphone to monitor the camera feed and aircraft status, or the RC 2 controller (above), which includes a built-in 700-nit 5.5" 1080 screen.
Image: DJI
The Air 3S also includes real-time vision positioning and map construction technology, designed to allow the drone to memorize a flight path and to return safely when adequate light is available, even in areas without satellite coverage.
The new model also features DJI's ActiveTrack 360 subject tracking but introduces a new subject focusing feature designed to keep a subject in sharp focus, even during manual flight or when a subject moves off-center. This should allow a pilot to focus on creative decisions like composition or camera movement while ActiveTrack keeps the subject in focus.
There are a few hardware specs worth noting as well. The Air 3S weighs 724g (1.6 lbs), just 4g more than its predecessor, and is rated for 45 minutes of flight time. It includes DJI's O4 video transmission system that transmits 10-bit video at up to 1080/60p and 42GB of built-in storage. A new Off-state Quick Transfer feature allows files to be transferred from the drone to a smartphone or a computer even when powered off.
Finally, for the privacy-conscious, a new Local Data mode completely disconnects the drone from the internet, ensuring that all data stays only on the device. DJI likens this mode to airplane mode on a smartphone.
The Air 3S is available in several packages. The Fly More combo shown above includes the RC 2 controller, ND filter set, two additional batteries (for a total of three), a charging hub, extra props and a shoulder bag, will retail for $1599.
Image: DJI
The charging hub that ships with the Air 3S supports PD fast charging and features a power accumulation function. It allows users to transfer the remaining power from several depleted batteries into the battery with the most remaining power – something anyone who has had to use drones in remote locations without a charging station is likely to appreciate.
Price and availabilityThe DJI Air 3S is available for purchase in several configurations: the drone with the RC-N3 controller, which requires a smartphone to monitor the camera feed and flight status, will retail for $1099. A Fly More combo with the RC-N3 controller, ND filter set, two additional batteries, a battery charging hub and shoulder back will retail for $1399. Finally, a Fly More combo with DJI's RC 2 controller, which includes a built-in 700-nit 5.5" 1080p screen, ND filter set, two additional batteries, charging hub and shoulder pack, will retail for $1599.
Buy now:
$1599 Fly More Combo (RC 2 controller) at DJI$1599 Fly More Combo (RC 2 controller) at B&H PhotoAlthough best known for its bikes, Yamaha is working on a rather gorgeous-looking electric sports coupe with Caterham EVo. The concept debuted last year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and promises 268 horses for its impressively low curb weight.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Yamaha, Caterham, Concept Vehicle, Sports Cars, Automotive
When it comes to things that have a reputation for being hard to learn, flying an airplane certainly ranks among the hardest. The Airhart Sling could soon change that, however, as it's designed to radically automate and simplify the flying process.
This teaser image, released by Canon, shows its existing RF L-series lenses, the RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z and the RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM alongside three new mystery lenses.
Image: Canon
Canon has announced plans to introduce new lenses to its hybrid RF-L series on October 30. No additional details were provided.
However, a teaser photo released with the announcement offers some hints. It shows five lenses, including the two previously announced RF L-series lenses: the RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z, a fast wide to moderate telephoto zoom, and the RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM prime lens. The implication is that we can expect to see three new lenses, possibly a zoom and a couple of smaller primes.
The RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z was the first lens in Canon's RF L series of hybrid lenses. Unlike any EF or RF lens before it, it includes a manual aperture ring.
Image: Canon
According to Canon, its RF L-series of lenses are designed to meet the needs of both still photographers and video shooters, borrowing design elements from both its existing RF lenses as well as technology from the company's broadcast and cinema lenses.
Previously announced RF L lenses include manual aperture rings, something that hadn't previously appeared on Canon EF or RF lenses, and include support for stepless aperture control, a feature desired by filmmakers. The lenses are also designed to minimize focus breathing.
We'll hold our breath until Canon provides more details at the end of the month.
High-end Brit audio gear maker Bowers & Wilkins has given its iconic Zeppelin portable speaker a Pro upgrade. The blimp-shaped unit is home to improved drivers, better support for hi-res streaming, plus a few eyeball pleasers for good measure.
Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology
