FUJIFILM released new camera FUJIFILM FinePix S9900W with 50x optical zoom. Its CMOS sensor has 1/2.3 inch size and 16.2 MP resolution. It uses Fujinon lens and stabilization of image is performed by optics movement. Camera can shoot photos with 4608 x 3456 pixels maximal resolution and save them in JPEG format. It supports following video recording modes : Full HD 1920 x 1080 60i, HD 1280 x 720 60p and VGA 640 x 480 30p with stereo sound recording and wind cut functions; camera saves video in MOV format with H.264 image encoding and Linear PCM stereo sound format. Main TFT LCD display of camera has 3-inch size and 460K dots resolution; its LCD viewfinder has 0.2-inch size and 920K dots resolution. Its is powered by 4 AA batteries, charge of which is enough for 300 – 700 photos shooting, depending on batteries type. Camera sizes are : 122.6 x 86.9 x 116.2 mm ( width x height x depth ), and weight is : 670 g. Camera saves photos and videos on SD, SDHC and SDXC flash memory cards and supports Wi-Fi connections for their transmitting to mobile devices and remote control of camera from smartphone. It has following connectors : USB 2.0 for data transmitting and HDMI Mini Type C for photos and videos viewing on TV or monitor screen. Camera can work in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius temperatures range and in 10 – 80 % relative air humidity range. Package contains : FUJIFILM FinePix S9900W camera itself, 4 alkaline batteries, USB cable, lens cap, strap, CD-ROM disk with software and user’s guide. There is ability to buy additional power adapter, which allows camera to use electricity line as power source.
Philips released new ultralight headphones Philips Actionfit SHQ4300 for sports exercises. They are designed for in ears use and their weight equals to 11.4 g. Drivers diameter is 8.6 mm and they are moved by neodymium magnets. Headphones can reproduce sounds frequencies in 5 – 24000 Hz range, their sensitivity is 107 dBa / 1 mW, impedance 16 Ohms and maximal output power is 20 mW. Cable has length of 1.2 m, it is additionally reinforced by kevlar and it is connected to sound source via 3.5 mm gold plated mini-jack connector. They are sweet and moisture proof, so they can be used in intensive trainings and in rainy weather. Headphones are supplied with clip for cable, which allows to attach it to clothes during trainings; and with 3 ear tips of different sizes, so that they can be used by humans with different ears sizes. Package contains : Philips Actionfit SHQ4300 headphones, clip, 3 ear tips and user’s guide. There is need to remember, that headphones isolate human from surrounding sounds, so it is not recommended to use them near roads and on bicycle rides.
FUJIFILM released new tough camera FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 with shockproof ( does not brakes, when falls from heights up to 1.75 m ), splashproof, waterproof ( can be dived to depths down to 15 m ), dustproof and freezeproof ( can work in -10 – +40 degrees on Celsius temperatures range and 10 – 80% relative air humidity ) functions. It has CMOS sensor with 16.4 MP resolution and 1/2.3 size. Camera can shoot photos with 4608 x 3456 pixels maximal resolution and save them in JPEG format; it records videos in MOV format ( with H.264 image encoding and Linear PCM mono audio format ) in following modes : Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p / 30p, HD 1280 x 720 60p and VGA 640 x 480 30p. Camera lens can magnify image up to 5x times and it can stabilize image by moving CMOS sensor. FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 saves photo and video on SD, SDHC and SDXC flash memory cards and supports Wi-Fi connections for data transmitting to mobile devices and for remote control of camera from smartphone. Its TFT LCD display has 2.7-inch size. Camera supports following wires connections : USB 2.0 for data transmitting and battery recharging and HDMI Micro ( Type D ) for viewing of photos and videos on TV or monitor screen. One battery charge is enough for making of 240 photos. Package contains : FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 camera itself, USB cable, strap, recharger and user’s guide. Additionally there is ability to purchase swappable batteries and action objective lens. Camera is shipped in 4 colors variations : black-green, blue, yellow and violet.
Panasonic announced new professional level camera Panasonic LUMIX GX8, that can record 4K ( 3840 x 2160 pixels ) videos. Its Live MOS Sensor has 20 MP resolution and 17.3 x 13.0 mm sizes, camera uses Micro Four Thirds standart for lenses mounting. Maximal photos resolution is 5184 x 3888 pixels, camera saves them in JPEG, RAW and MPO formats and sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces. Panasonic LUMIX GX8 can save videos in AVCHD ( with Dolby Digital 2ch sound format ) and MP4 ( with AAC 2ch sound format ) formats, it supports following videos recording modes : 4K ( 3840 x 2160 25p / 24p ), Full HD ( 1920 x 1080 50p / 25p ), HD ( 1280 x 720 25p ) and VGA ( 640 x 480 25p ). Camera have images stabilization functions, which move sensor, when camera is shaked. Its sensory OLED display has 3-inch size and 1040 dots resolution; viewfinder also manufactured with use of OLED technology and has 2360 pixels resolution. Microphone of camera records audio in stereo format and supports wind cut functions, there is ability to plug external microphone via 2.5 mm connector. It has following connectors options : USB 2.0 for data transmitting and battery recharging, micro HDMI Type D for photos and videos viewing on TV and monitor screens, audio-video output and 2.5 mm input for external microphone or remote shutter. One charge of Li-ion battery is enough for making of approximately 330 photos. Camera sizes are : 133.2 x 77.9 x 63.1 ( width x height x depth ), and weight is : 487 g. It can save photos and videos on SD, SDHC and SDXC flash memory cards with recommended speed class UHS-I UHS Speed Class 3 and above; and supports Wi-Fi connections for transmitting of photos and videos to mobile devices and for remote control of camera from smartphone. It can work under 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius temperatures and in 10 – 80 % air humidity range. There are lots of accessories already released for camera, among them are : different objective lenses, external flashes and microphones, optical filters, additional batteries and other accessories. Package contains : Panasonic LUMIX GX8 camera itself, USB cable, recharger, DVD disk with software, power cable, user’s guide and different caps, straps and coverings for camera. It will be available in shops from 16th August of this year.
DJI released quadrocopter DJI Phantom 3 with Professional and Advanced modifications. This device is little helicopter with 4 propellers and with camera attached to it, which can record photos and videos. It has Sony EXMOR sensor with 1/2,3” size and 12.76 MP ( 4000 x 3000 pixels ) resolution and objective lenses with 94 degrees field of view. Professional version can record videos in following formats UHD ( 4096 x 2160p 24 / 25 and 3840 x 2160p 24 / 25 / 30 ), Full HD ( 1920 x 1080p 24 / 25 / 30 / 48 / 50 / 60 ) and HD ( 1280 x 720p 24 / 25 / 30 / 48 / 50 / 60 ); advanced version can record videos only in Full HD and HD formats. Dron saves photos in JPEG and DNG formats and video in MP4 or MOV formats ( with MPEG-4 AVC or H.264 encoding ). Its camera writes them on Micro SD flash cards with 64 GB maximal capacity ( it is recommended to use Class 10 or UHS-1 speed class memory cards ). Weight of quadrocopter is 1280 g and its size on diagonal is 590 mm. Maximal speeds are : 5 m/s ( ascent ), 3 m/s ( descent ) and 16 m/s ( in horizontal plane without wind ). Vertical positioning accuracies are : +- 0.1 m ( with visual positioning mode on ) and +- 0.5 m ( without it ); and horizontal is : +- 1.5 m. Maximal altitude above sea level is 6000 m and operating temperatures range is 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius. Drone navigates with use of GPS and GLONASS. Quadrocopter is supplied with remote control unit, which works in 2.4 – 2.483 GHz frequencies range with 2000 m maximal connection distance and USB connector for data transfers. One charge of DJI Phantom 3 battery is enough for approximately 23 minutes of flight. Drone can be controlled from smartphone with use of DJI GO application; it supports auto return home function, when control is lost or when battery charge is low.
FUJIFILM announced new professional level camera FUJIFILM X-T1. It is equipped with X-Trans CMOS II sensor with sizes 23.6 x 15.6 mm and 16.3 MP ( 4896 x 3264 pixels ) resolution and with image processor EXR Processor II. Camera can save images in JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG formats. It supports following videos recording modes : Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p and HD 1280 x 720 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p, and saves them in MOV format with H.264 compression; audio is stored in Linear PCM stereo format. FUJIFILM X-T1 supports optical image stabilization with OIS-compatible objectives lenses and have 3-inch LCD-display and 0,5-inch OLED viewfinder. Its body is protected from dust and water splashes and allows it to work under low temperatures ( it can work in -10 – +40 degrees on Celsius temperatures range with 10 – 80 % humidity ). One battery charge is enough for shooting of 350 photos or for recording of 103 minutes of video. Camera saves photo and video files on SD, SDHC and SDXC ( UHS-II ) flash memory cards. Its sizes are : 129 x 89.8 x 46.7 mm ( width x height x depth ), and weight is : 440 g. FUJIFILM X-T1 supports Wi-Fi connections for data transmits to mobile devices and for remote control of camera from mobile phone. It has USB 2.0 connector ( for data transfers and battery recharging ), HDMI-output ( for images and videos watching on TV or monitor screen ) and 2.5 mm stereo connector for external microphone or remote shutter. Package contains : FUJIFILM X-T1 camera itself, Li-ion battery, recharger, external flash, CD-ROM disk with software, user’s guide and different straps, caps and coverings for camera. It will be available in shops from 31-st October of this year.
KRK released monitor-type headset KRK KNS8400 of studio level. Their earpads contain 40 mm drivers, that are powered by neodymium magnets. They are able to reproduce 5 Hz – 23 kHz sounds frequencies and their impedance : is 36 Ohms, sensitivity : 97 dBa / 1 mWt, and max output power : 1000 mWt. Headset is connected to sound source with 2.5 m long detachable cable with 3.5 mm mini-jack gold plated connector. Cable also has detachable volume control unit. Earpuffs isolate ears from background sounds with max volume 30 dBa; they and headband are covered with soft material, that allow comfortable long-time use. Pressure of headset does not exceed 4 N for head of average size. Dimensions of headset are 94 mm x 267 mm x 244 mm ( depth x height x width ); their weight is 230 g. Package contains : KRK KNS8400 headset itself, detachable cable and volume control unit, and user’s guide.
At the Sunday August 9th there were cross-country bicycles competitions Grand Rock 2015 were held in Upper Ufaley city. There were many distances options for riders : 2 laps x 40 km or 1 lap for men; 2 laps x 30 km or 1 lap x 40 km for women; and Fun mini-marathon with 1 lap x 30 km. Race started at 11 o’clock and were held in warm and dry weather, only closer to finish of the competitions there was small rain. Around 100 athletes from different cities of Russia participated in event. There were lots of road areas with big stones on it, fast downhills with length around 1 km, cross-country uphills on rocks on forest path on the way to Grand Rock, wetlands with little wood bridges in the most muddy areas and grand uphills ( the most memorable is the uphill to Wolfs’ Hill, on which only few sportsmen were able to ride on their bikes, the rest moved on feet with bike nearby ). Cars movement was limited on the roads, because of that they were mostly free and those cars, that moved through them, did that with slow speed. On the key points there were police officers and marshals, who showed right way for the riders. Track was marked very good and there was no feeling of movement “in the wrong way”; with thank to that there was ability to move fast and do not turn in wrong directions. Competitions were concluded with awards ceremony and prizes drawing among competitions participants.
Polevskoy station
I rode 40 km on competition; there was wish to ride 80 km, but, taking into account forthcoming 60 – 80 km of way home, I rode only 40 km. Road from Upper Ufaley to Polevskoy sometimes looks like westerns scene : with sandy and stony roads, quarries and abandoned industrial and living buildings; sometimes like Soviet times park with posters from Soviet Union times; at some areas road is so broken, that bicycle rider can move much faster, than cars with powerful engines; but mostly it is the road through beautiful forest with small villages, that are located on its length ( most memorable is the Selki village, in which there are only 5 – 6 homes on the bank of small half-boggy waters ). First around 20 km there was warm and dry weather and it was pleasure to ride on this road; then intense rain started and fell till Itkul lake, it ended with beautiful rainbow over Itkul lake and with magnificient views of sunset above wet road and forest, that mirrored its light, and humid atmosphere, that scattered it. There were lots of steep uphils with long and fast downhills after them. From Upper Ufaley till Itkul lake road is relatively good; then along its coast and to border of Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions there is very broken part of road. Then from border of Sverdlosk region there is excellent road surface, on which it is pleasure to ride fast. After sunset fog descended on land and there was need to be careful in low altitude areas, especially when cars moved from behind or from frontal direction.
On the way to Upper Ufaley
After Poldnevaya village it was so dark, that road signs was not distinguishable and there was need to pedal, while orienting on white road marks and light of sky, that mirrored from wet road surface. In 10 – 8 km from Polevskoy its lights on the sky appeared and it was much easier to pedal on the bike. After entrance into city there were additional 6 – 10 km of ride on its lighted roads with cars, that moved from behind and from frontal direction, and in 11 – 12 o’clock I at last came to home. Then : eat and sleep. See you on the next bicycles event!
Wolfs’ HillNear the Nikel stadiumNikel stadium, evening before competitionsNikel stadium, morningSlag hillSlag hillMap of Grand Rock 2015 competitionsSlag hillWay home ( between Upper Ufaley and Polevskoy )Itkul lakeWay home ( between Upper Ufaley and Polevskoy )Near Poldnevaya village
Panasonic released new Panasonic DMC-FZ300K camera, that is able to shoot videos in 4K resolution ( 3840 x 2160 pixels ). It has 12,1 MP MOS sensor, which allows camera to make good quality photos in low light conditions. Image lenses give 24x optical magnification, wherein camera supports 5-axis optical image stabilization. Body of Panasonic DMC-FZ300K is splashproof and dustproof, its 3-inch display can rotate under different angles and have sensor functions support. Camera can save photos in RAW format and record series of photos for shooting of dynamic scenes, for example, for shooting sports events. It can record high-speed videos with 240 frames per second frequency in VGA resolution ( 640 x 480 pixels ) and 120 fps in HD resolution ( 1280 x 720 pixels ) and supports macro shooting of objects at 1 cm distance from objective lens. Viewfinder display is produced with use of OLED technology and have good color reproduction and contrast ratio. Camera supports Wi-Fi connections for video and photo files transmitting and for remote control of camera from mobile phones. It saves data on SDXC flash cards, it is recommended to use UHS Speed 3 Class cards for 4K video recording. There are lots of accessories released for Panasonic DMC-FZ300K : external flashes, stereo microphones, different objectives and other accessories. Package contains : camera itself, USB cable for data transmitting and battery recharging, recharger and user’s guide.
JVC released JVC HAMR60X XX headset with Xtreme Bass function. They have 50 mm drivers with neodymium magnets, which allow more clear low frequencies sounds reproduction. For comparison : most of monitor type headphones have 40 mm drivers. Headset’s cord is 1.2 m in length and is connected to audio source via 3.5 mm gold plated mini jack connector. It has microphone and button for remote control of mobile phone. Body of JVC HAMR60X XX Xtreme Bass consits from hard plastic and have tough shockproof functions. Headband and earpads are covered with soft material, which makes it comfortable to wear headphones for a long time. Package contains : JVC HAMR60X XX Xtreme Bass headset itself with mounted cord and user’s manual. Recommended price for headset is 48.99 USD.
