Mike Perlman grew up in Nintendo Land and developed a relationship with all things electronic and nerdy early on in his childhood career. Today, Mike covers digital imaging, mobile technology and other various forms of peculiar gadgetry to the best of his gumshoe-like ability for TechnoBuffalo. In his spare time, Mike rides motorcycles, plays Nintendo, ice hockey, drums, and dances around in neon green as Lazer, captain of the world's #1 renegade dance troupe, 123 Party!
Overview My First Digital Camera Was A Beast! My first digital camera was a Minolta DiMAGE X. It was a Hanukkah/Christmas present back in 2002. That little Minolta had a 2-megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom and a pixilated LCD screen with dimensions that rivaled a postage stamp. Although severely under-specced, the DiMAGE X succeeded in capturing impressive images and was surprisingly...
Are your teens just hitting the open road? Do you manage a fleet of young, phone-obsessed drivers? Do you need your own personal texting and driving intervention? The Scosche cellCONTROL module might be the answer to those questions. Driving accessory manufacturer Scosche announced the Scosche cellCONTROL accessory at CES 2012 and it's just starting to gain popularity. The system works...
When it came to digital imaging, the biggest stars of CES 2012 were Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Lytro. Panasonic, Sony, Olympus, Pentax and Samsung stuck to their current lineups on the show floor, but I know most of the lot will be unleashing new cameras within the next few months. Then there was Casio. Oh, Casio. The company unveiled two high-speed point-and-shoots equipped with...
Lytro Camera Overview Here at CES in Las Vegas, we were lucky enough to be awarded with a few hours of playtime with the Lytro camera at the Wynn Garden Lobby. For those of you unfamiliar with this peculiar weapon of the digital imaging persuasion, the Lytro camera’s specialty is that it can capture images without the need to focus. Instead, images can be focused after the shot is...
The LTE-capable LG Spectrum for Verizon Wireless was officially announced this morning at CES, boasting Verizon’s first 4.5-inch True HD In-Plane Switching (IPS) display. ESPN has already stuck its finger in LG’s HD display pie, offering 720p HD quality sports videos via the ScoreCenter app on the new Spectrum. The LG Spectrum will be available January 19th for $199.99 with a new two-...
Nikon arrived a bit later to the Mirrorless party with the Nikon 1 V1 and Nikon 1 J1 compact interchangeable lens cameras. What sets both mirrorless cams apart from the Micro Four Thirds crowd (pioneered by Olympus and Panasonic) is that they both feature a brand new sensor size: the 1-inch CX type sensor. Hence the name Nikon 1. The Nikon 1-inch CX sensor is slightly smaller than the...
The Nikon Coolpix P7100 ($499.95) is one of those cameras that will send the average consumer running for the hills because this badass has more controls, dials, bells and whistles than R2-D2. On the other hand, the Nikon Coolpix P7100 will turn an advanced photographer into a bottle rocket of excitement, thanks to its arsenal of external and internal features. The Nikon Coolpix P7100...
GMC invited me out to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to take part in a winter driving class. Driving 2011 GMC Terrains, our task was to learn how to cope with snow covered roads while climbing 1,000 vertical feet near the Rockies. I gave my driving instructor Gary Osteen quite a challenge, but in the end, I took away some highly valuable techniques that will certainly come in handy during...
I think the 'Q' in the Pentax Q name stands for Quagmire because this camera is nearly impossible to categorize. On one hand, it's a great portable interchangeable lens camera system, which will appeal to more advanced shooters. Yet on the other hand, the Pentax Q has a point-and-shoot worthy 1/2.3-inch 12-megapixel CMOS sensor inside. As a result, the Pentax Q is the world's first...
The iPhone 4S is equipped with arguably the best phone cameras on the market, but its native Camera application leaves much to be desired for the advanced shooter. While HDR was a nice addition, the iPhone’s Camera application is devoid of manual controls and digital image effects. But that’s what applications are for, right? I’ve spent a good deal of time playing with various camera...
The Tesla Model S has been officially priced, but it’s a bit of a quagmire for those who are not familiar with the company’s lineup of EV sedans. The base price of the Tesla Model S will be $49,900 after the $7,500 federal tax credit, but that’s where the pricing starts to jump around like a flea circus. Tesla will be offering a base Model S and a performance model, in addition to two...
After writing a Top 5 Point-and-Shoot countdown, where most of my choices hovered between the $400-500 mark, I decided I’d make a Top 5 Budget Point-and-Shoot countdown, so here we are. This is the most popular consumer market in the digital camera industry, so picking the right camera was bewildering. I judged my choices based on image quality, design, ease of use, and performance....
Since when did the cell phone become a digital Swiss Army Knife? Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that—hold your horses because there’s a caveat involved here. And before my ADHD takes hold and blasts me into 199 different channels in space, I’m going to lay down that caveat right now: cell phone manufacturers are adding too many colors to a palette. It’s a phone that’...
The aperture is one of the primary sources of consternation for most photographers. It’s bad enough that we have to compute shutter speed/aperture ratios, but understanding the mathematical principals behind an aperture and how it works is like decoding hieroglyphics to any beginner. I’m here to break it down for you, to the best of my ability. However, I’m not much of a math wizard, so...
This was one of the most difficult lists I’ve ever had to make. You see, the point-and-shoot market is not only vast, but it’s ever expanding and it morphs like a shape shifter. Point-and-shoot models that were advanced a few years ago are now in the middle tier while newer models like the Fujifilm X10 barrel onto the scene. But I didn’t include the X10 because of its high price tag,...
I get this question a lot: What’s the best DSLR on the market? In my opinion, the best DSLR is not the most expensive camera, nor is it the camera that features the most external chachkas and internal doodads. The best DSLR on the market is the one that suits you—the camera that fits your style of shooting to a T. This is my list. I’ve tested most of the cameras on this list, or their...
In a world where darkness has fallen over everything, robots determine the future of the last remaining members of the human race. And only one cyborg can stop them before it’s too late. Same Make. Same Model. New Mission. Once he was programmed to destroy the future. Now his mission is to protect it. His loyalty is to a child. And his enemy is the deadliest machine ever built. -...
Dr. Seuss-like product name aside, Native Union's high-end bluetooth receiver is an essential gadget for those who rely on cell phones as their primary form of communication in the workplace or at home. While the FCC continues to approve flawed cell phone radiation studies, there is compelling evidence in the science world that cell phones do in fact promote brain tumors when used...
In this edition of the world renowned Mastering Camera Controls series, we’re going to focus on one of the most neglected camera controls in the consumer photography world: The Mode Dial. I’m here to tell you that there’s nothing to fear—the Mode Dial is your friend. Think of the mode dial as your Starship Enterprise command center and you’re Captain Picard. You have the power! Most...
One of the iPhone 4/4S camera's shortcomings is its fixed lens with narrow field of view and mediocre macro capability. That's where the OlloClip comes in! This little guy packs three lenses into one: A 180-degree Fisheye, Wide-angle that doubles the iPhone's field of view and a Macro that offers a 10x magnification and can shoot from a mere 12mm away from the subject. Not only does the...