Reviews | Imagination Works

Panasonic Lumix DMC GF7 – ultra modern camera in retro body

Recently among mirrorless compact cameras new model was released : Panasonic Lumix DMC GF7 its name with ultra modern technologies in retro body. It has 16 MP 4/3″ Live MOS sensor, Micro Four Thirds bayonet for interchangeable lenses, Venus Engine graphical processor and optical image stabilization with lenses, that support it. Camera makes photos with 4592 x 3448 pixels maximal resolution and saves them in JPEG ( DCF, Exif 2.3 ), RAW, JPEG+RAW and MPO formats; records videos in Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p/30p, HD 1280 x 720 30p and VGA 640 x 480 30p modes, saving them in MP4 or AVCHD formats with stereo sound in AAC or Dolby Digital 2ch formats, recorded via built in microphones. Camera supports sRGB and AdobeRGB color spaces; ISO sensitivity levels are in 100 – 25600 range; it has built-in flash and has no built-in viewfinder, its 3″ touch TFT LCD screen has 1.04 M dots resolution and can be tilted under different angles.

Photo camera Panasonic Lumix DMC GF7 ( top view )

Panasonic Lumix DMC GF7 saves photos and videos on SD, SDHC and SDXC ( with UHS-I support ) flash memory cards; and can establish wireless Wi-Fi connections ( IEEE 802.11b/g/n, WPA, WPA2 ) for remote data transfer and communication with other devices with QR code connection support; it can not establish NFC connections. Camera supports automatic and manual focus, diaphragm and exposure settings and can be used for astronomical photos making via T mount adapter. Following connectors are placed on it : USB 2.0 for connection with computer and HDMI Micro Type D; it has no Hot Shoe connector, speaker is only one, playing mono sound; 680 mAh charge of Li-ion battery is enough for 230 photos ( this is a small value for devices of such type ). Its sizes are 106.5 ( width ) x 64.6 ( height ) x 33.3 ( depth ) mm and mass is 236 g ( only camera without lens, battery and memory card ); operating conditions are temperature in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius range and relative air humidity level in 10 – 80 % range.

Photo camera Panasonic Lumix DMC GF7 ( back view )

Package contains : Panasonic Lumix DMC GF7 camera itself, Li-ion battery, recharger, USB cable, DVD-ROM disk with PHOTOfunSTUDIO 9.6 PE, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 4.2 SE and LoiLoScope trial version programs, power adapter cable, shoulder strap, bayonet cap, warranty card and user’s guide; there are also kits with included lenses and caps. Camera is very good, giving great quality photos and videos, it has weak sides and differs not much from other Panasonic Lumix DMC GF cameras, so, when one of them is being chosen, there is need to look on their prices, needed functions and capabilities of specific models.

ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE500KG – new balanced functional smartphone with adequate price

Lets look on new Android 5.0 smartphone ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE500KG, having balanced functions and price. It has 5″ TFT screen with HD 1280 x 720 pixels resolution, 294 PPI density and Corning Gorilla Glass 4, protecting from scratches; 64 bits Qualcomm MSM8916 QuadCore processor with 1.2 GHz frequency, Adreno 306 graphical chip with 400 MHz frequency, 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM, 8 or 16 GB of built in memory ( depending on modification ) with ability to save files on remote ASUS WebStorage cloud servers with 5 GB of available space and ability to extend via micro SD flash memory cards with 128 GB maximal capacity. It can work with 2 SIM cards, they both can work in 3G mode, but simultaneously only one of them can establish such connections, also it supports 2G networks and has no 4G support. Following navigation tools are built into it : GLONASS, GPS and AGPS; it has accelerometer, electronic compass and lighting and hall sensors.

Smartphone ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE500KG ( side view )

ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE500KG, as many of the other modern smartphones, has 2 cameras : 5 MP frontal one with 85 degrees field of view and f/2.0 diaphragm lens; and 13 MP main one with Toshiba sensor, Largan lens with 5 elements and f/2.0 diaphragm, laser auto focusing, 2-colors LED flash and HDR support. Smartphone supports wireless Wi-Fi ( WLAN 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth ( V4.0, EDR, A2DP ) connections for data transferring and communication with other devices; and has USB 2.0 port ( for communication with computer and Li-ion battery charging ) and 1/8″ mini-jack ( for headset ) connectors. Maybe there is ability to attach other devices to it via USB OTG technology. Li-ion battery has 2070 mAh capacity – this is an average value for smartphones; it supports FM radio and has following sizes 143.7 ( height ) x 71.5 ( width ) x 10.5 ( depth ) mm and mass 140 g. It is supplied in 5 color variants : black, white, silver, gold and red.

Package contains : ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE500KG smartphone itself, Li-ion battery, recharger, USB cable, headset, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all, smartphone is good and has quite balanced value/price ratio, wherein there is ability to buy for smaller sum Microsoft Lumia device with similar characteristics and 4G additionally to them.

M-Audio Super DAC – compact external sound card with stereo input and outputs and 192 kHz

Today’s audio part will be devoted to compact external USB sound card M-Audio Super DAC, able to record and play stereo sound and supporting 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : output work mode switch ( headphones/line output ), source switch ( digital/analogue, effectively this is a Direct Monitor switch ); 1/8″ mini-jack stereo linear input; and 1/8″ mini-jack and TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) headphones outputs. Its top side has power on and sampling rate choosing knob; on back side USB for communication with computer and powering from it, 2 RCA linear analogue outputs and digital optical and coaxial outputs are placed. Manufacturer says, that high-quality headphone amplifier is used in card, and about Wolfson DAC and ADC.

External sound card M-Audio Super DAC ( top view )

M-Audio Super DAC dynamic range is 110 dB, maximal output power is 210 mW with 16 Ohms headphones or speakers; besides 192 kHz it also supports 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 and 176.4 kHz sampling rates; THD+N equal to 0.00003%. Card sizes are 91 ( width ) × 94 ( depth ) × 27 ( height ) mm and mass is 210 g; it is powered only from USB connection and does not require additional power adapter, judging by its small sizes and small amount of functions and connectors, it should not draw too much current. Audio interface is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7.5 and newer operating systems; in first ones it works via specialized drivers ( judging by them, it supports ASIO 2.0 interface ) and in second ones via native OS drivers with Core Audio interface support, so, it can be used in DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others.

Package contains : M-Audio Super DAC sound card itself, USB cable, optical disk with drivers and software, warranty card and user’s guide. This card is oriented for high-quality stereo sound recording and playback on nature, live performances and in small studio; it has good technical characteristics, but costs as more functional entry-level studio sound cards, so, it is better to look on Steinberg, Behringer, Roland, Focusrite, M-Audio itself, ESI and other manufacturers audio interfaces of such level.

M-Audio – is a company, founded in USA in 1998 year, it produces audio interfaces, MIDI keyboards, synthesizers, loudspeakers, monitor headphones, DJs equipment, microphones and other sound devices. Company offices are also located in Canada, UK, Germany, France and Japan. Many popular artists use its products, among them there are The Crystal Method, Depeche Mode, Evanescence and others.

PROEL HFC16 – monitor headphones with adequate price

Lets review new monitor wired headphones PROEL HFC16 with interesting design and adequate for their technical characteristics price. 40 mm drivers are built into them ( manufacturer does not tell which magnets are used, but the most probably neodymium magnets ), reproducible frequencies range is 20 – 20000 Hz, sensitivity is 106 dB, impedance is 32 Ohms, THD is 0.1 % and maximal power input is 200 mW. To one of cups 2 m cable is connected with 1/8″ mini-jack connector. Headphones mass is 178 g, they can be folded for convenient carrying. Package contains : PROEL HFC16 headphones themselves, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all, these are good headphones : frequencies range is sufficient ( in most cases people do not hear sounds outside 20 Hz – 20 kHz range ), all other characteristics are on high enough level and they cost around 25 USD, which is quite adequate price for their technical abilities.

Nikon 1 J5 – camera with 20.8 MP sensor and 4K video

Today we will talk about new compact mirrorless camera Nikon 1 J5 with interchangeable lenses for Nikon 1 bayonet, 1″ CMOS sensor with 20.8 MP effective resolution, Expeed 5A graphical processor and support of 4K video recording. Camera can make photos with 5568 x 3712 pixels maximal resolution and save them in JPEG, RAW ( NEF ) and RAW+JPEG formats; supported video recording modes are 4K 3840 x 2160 15p, Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p/30p and HD 1280 x 720 60p/30p with saving in MOV format with H.264 or MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding image encoding and stereo PCM sound recording via built in microphones. ISO sensitivity levels are in 160 – 12800 range; camera has built-in flash and has no built-in viewfinder, its 3″ touch TFT LCD screen can be tilted under different angles and has 1.037 M dots resolution.

Nikon 1 J5 saves photos and videos on micro SD, micro SDHC and micro SDXC ( UHS-I ) flash memory cards, and supports wireless Wi-Fi ( IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g ) and NFC ( Forum Type 3 Tag ) connections for remote data transfers and control. It has following connectors USB for connection with computer and HDMI Micro Type D, it has no Hot Shoe connector; one charge of its Li-ion battery EN-EL24 enough for approximately 250 photos, which is relatively low in comparison with other mirrorless compact cameras with interchangeable optics. Device sizes are 98.3 ( width ) x 59.7 ( height ) x 31.5 ( depth ) mm and mass is 231 g ( only camera without lens, memory card and battery ); operating segment of Nikon 1 bayonet is 17 mm – this is one of the smallest operating segments of mounts, so there should be no problems for use of optics of other cameras via according adapters rings, as Nikon F bayonet for mirrored cameras of company has, operating segment of which is 46.5 mm – it is one of the biggest segments and causes problems with use of lenses of other manufacturers. Operating conditions are : temperature in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius range and relative air humidity level below 80 % without condensate.

Photo camera Nikon 1 J5 ( tilting display )

Package contains : Nikon 1 J5 camera itself, USB cable, Li-ion battery EN-EL24, recharger MH-31, bayonet cap, CD-ROM disk with ViewNX 2 software, shoulder strap, warranty card and user’s guide; there are also kits with included lenses. From one side : camera is quite good and gives good-quality photos and videos and has modern advanced technologies in it; from the other : it records 4K video only with 15 fps ( which is not enough for smooth video playback in most cases ), its sensor is one of the smallest among mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses ( it has large resolution, but physical sensor sizes are more important for high quality photo and video recording ) and this camera costs the same or even larger amount of money, than cameras of the same type with larger sensors, like Micro Four Thirds Panasonic and Olympus cameras and APS-C sensored Sony, Fujifilm, Canon and Pentax cameras; so, it is better to look on then, than to buy Nikon 1 J5. Especially if Olympus PEN PL and PM cameras are also designed for novice photographers and provide lots of automation during work.

Fujitsu F-04G Arrows NX – smartphone with iris scanner and 2560 × 1440 pixels screen

New smartphone Fujitsu F-04G Arrows NX – is one of the first mobile devices, able to scan eyes iris and having advanced features, like 5.2″ multitouch IPS LCD screen with WQHD 2560 × 1440 pixels resolution and 570 PPI density and Android 5.0 OS. Following modules are built into it : 8 cores processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Adreno 430 graphical chip, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of built-in memory with ability to extend via flash memory cards with 128 GB max capacity; it has only 1 Nano SIM card slot. It can work in 2G, 3G and 4G networks; GLONASS and GPS navigation tools are built into it; among sensors there are : iris scanner and orientation, lighting and proximity sensors. Body of smartphone is protected from water splashes and dust.

Fujitsu F-04G Arrows NX has 2 cameras : main one with 21.5 MP resolution, LED flash and 4K video recording ability ( with High Dynamic Range support ) and frontal one with 2.4 MP resolution; smartphone supports Wi-Fi ( 802.11ac ), Bluetooth ( 4.1 ) and NFC wireless connections for data transferring and communication with other devices. Among connectors there are USB port for connection with computer and Li-ion battery charging ( maybe external devices can be connected to smartphone via it ) and 1/8″ mini-jack for headset; battery capacity is 3120 mAh; from other abilities FM radio support can be noted. Device sizes are 70 ( width ) x 146 ( height ) x 8.8 ( depth ) mm and mass is 155 g; it is supplied in 3 colors variants : green, white and black.

Package contains : Fujitsu F-04G Arrows NX smartphone itself, USB cable, Li-ion battery, recharger, headset, warranty card and user’s guide. Smartphone impresses : WQHD 2560 × 1440 pixels display, 4G, 4K video recording support with HDR and high-capacity battery; price of this device is accordingly high. There is no need to pay for advanced photo and video functions of smartphones, because they will not produce high-quality results, due to small sensor and lenses sizes, so it is better to buy lower-priced smartphone with similar characteristics without advanced photo and video functions and standalone camera with interchangeable lenses.

Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 – compact stereo sound card with Toslink optical output

External sound card Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202

Lets meet with external USB sound card Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202, able to record and play stereo sound and having digital optical Toslink S/PDIF out. Its top side has : Direct Monitor switch, allowing to send signal from inputs directly to headphones, 2 RCA inputs and 2 RCA outputs with gold-plated connectors; on front side there is USB connection indicator; to its left side USB cable itself is mounted. Bottom side has : digital optical Toslink S/PDIF output, 1/8″ mini-jack output for headphones and volume control wheel. Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 works with sampling rates up to 48 kHz and 16 bits per sample precision ( this is too small for high-quality audio recording ); all inputs and outputs are unbalanced, it has no ability of phantom power +48 V plugging to inputs; connectors technical details are as following : outputs ( 27 kOhms impedance, maximal input signal level 2 dBV ), outputs ( 400 Ohms, 2 dBV ) and headphones output ( 50 Ohms, 3.7 mW ).

Device draws maximum 100 mA of current; its THD is 0.05 % ( this is relatively high in comparison with studio audio interfaces ), channels penetration -77 dB ( this is good value, if all audio tract supports it and not only DAC or ADC ) and signal to noise ratio 89 dB for analogue to digital conversions and 96 dB for digital to analogue conversions ( it seems, that it is related only to DAC and ADC and analogue part considerably lowers these values ). Card’s sizes are 88 ( width ) x 60 ( height ) x 22 ( depth ) mm and mass is 0.1 kg; card is fully powered from USB connection. With it DAW Tracktion is supplied for sounds recording and processing; it is eligible to 3-years warranty. It has no specialized ASIO 2.0 drivers, so it is not very well suited for work with DAWs; but there is ability to download and install ASIO4ALL drivers, which emulate this interface.

Package contains : Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 sound card itself, warranty card and user’s guide. Its strong sides are : compact sizes and small mass, stereo recording and playback support, digital optical output and not too high price; wherein 16 bits per sample precision is too small for high quality sounds recording and inputs and outputs and DAC and ADC have not very high characteristics for studio sounds recording. So, it is better to invest slightly more money in sound card purchasing and buy enrtry-level studio audio interface with much better connectors and DAC and ADC, then to invest them into purchasing of device, which costs almost like entry-level studio interfaces, but is much weaker than them.

Panasonic RP-HD5 – new headphones with 4 Hz – 40 kHz reproducible sounds frequencies

Lets devote today’s audio part to new monitor headphones Panasonic RP-HD5, which are able to reproduce sounds in 4 Hz – 40 kHz frequencies range. 40 mm drivers, moved by neodymium magnets, are built into them with 44 Ohms impedance; sensitivity is 99 dB/mW, maximal input power is 1000 mW. Cable length is 1.2 m, it has 1/8″ mini-jack gold-plated connector; headphones mass, without accounting cable, is 228 g. Package contains : Panasonic RP-HD5 headphones themselves, warranty card and user’s guide. Headphones have great characteristics and cost around 80 – 90 USD, for device of such level of quality it is acceptable, at least it is 2 – 3 or more times smaller, than prices of some overly branded and overly marketed devices, which do not have even half of audio capabilities of these ones.

Sony Alpha A5000 – new APS-C sensored compact camera with Sony E bayonet

Lets look on new compact mirrorless camera Sony Alpha A5000 with APS-C sensor ( 3:2 ratio ) with 20.1 MP resolution, Sony E bayonet for interchangeable lenses, new BIONZ X graphical processor and optical image stabilization with lenses, that support it. It can make photos with 5456 x 3632 pixels maximal resolution, saving them in JPEG ( DCF ver. 2.0, Exif Ver.2.3, MPF Baseline ), RAW ( Sony ARW 2.3 ) and RAW+JPEG formats; supported video recording modes are Full HD 1920 x 1080 60/24, 1440 x 1080 30 and VGA 640 x 480 30 with saving in AVCHD 2.0 or MP4 ( with H.264 image encoding ) formats and stereo sound recording ( in AAC LC, AC3 or Dolby Digital 2ch formats ) via built-in microphones. ISO sensitivity levels are in 100 – 16000 range; camera has built-in flash and has no built-in viewfinder, its 3″ LCD screen can be tilted and has 460.8 K dots resolution, it has no touch functions.

Photo camera Sony Alpha A5000 ( top view )

Sony Alpha A5000 saves photos and videos on Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick XC-HG Duo, SD, SDHC and SDXC ( UHS-I ) flash memory cards; it supports wireless Wi-Fi and NFC connections for remote data transfers and control. It supports automatic and manual focus, diaphragm and exposure control and can be used for astronomical photos making via T-mount adapter. Following connectors are built into it : Micro USB for connection to computer ( with battery charhing ability ) and HDMI Micro Type D, it has no Hot Shoe connector; one charge of its Li-ion battery NP-FW50 W enough for approximately 420 photos, camera can be powered via AC-PW20 adapter. Its sizes are 109.6 ( width ) x 62.8 ( height ) x 35.7 ( depth ) mm and mass is 210 g; operating conditions are the same, as other cameras have : temperatures in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius range and relative air humidity levels in 30 – 90 % range.

Photo camera Sony Alpha A5000 ( rear view )

Package contains : Sony Alpha A5000 camera itself, Micro USB cable, Li-ion battery NP-FW50, recharger AC-UB10, bayonet cap, shoulder strap, warranty card and user’s guide; there are kits with included lenses and their caps. Camera is great, giving high-quality photos and videos, its price corresponds to its functions.

ZTE Nubia Z9 Max – new Android 5.1 smartphone with Full HD display and 8 cores CPU

Lets review new Android 5.1 smartphone ZTE Nubia Z9 Max with 5.5″ multitouch IPS Full HD 1920 x 1080 display with 401 pixels per inch density and tough Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and 8 cores processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994, depending on modification. It is equipped with 2 or 3 GB of RAM, Adreno 405 or Adreno 430 graphical chip, 16 GB of built in memory with ability to extend via MicroSD flash memory cards with 128 GB max capacity and 2 Nano SIM cards slots. Smartphone can work in 2G, 3G and 4G networks; GLONASS, GPS and A-GPS navigation tools are built into it; among sensors there are electronic compass, gyroscope and light and proximity sensors.

Smartphone ZTE Nubia Z9 Max ( side view )

In ZTE Nubia Z9 Max 2 cameras are built in : frontal one with 8 MP optical sensor resolution and f/2.2 lens aperture and main one with 16 MP resolution, f/2.0 aperture, flash and autofocusing and ability to record 4K video with 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution. It supports Wi-Fi ( IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac ), Bluetooth ( 4.0 ) and NFC wireless connections for data transmitting and communication with other devices; among connectors there are Micro USB port ( with OTG support for other devices connection ) for connection with computer and Li-ion battery charging and 1/8″ mini-jack out for headset. AKM AK4375 audio chip and AW8736 amplifier are built into smartphone, this should give good quality of music and sounds playback, but there is need to test it to see level of noises and quality of overall audio tract of device. Its Li-ion battery is built into smartphone ( it cannot be replaced without contacting service center or warranty void ) with 2900 mAh capacity. Device sizes are 154.8 ( height ) x 76.6 ( width ) x 7.9 ( depth ) mm and mass is 165 g.

Package contains : ZTE Nubia Z9 Max smartphone itself, USB cable, recharger, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all smartphone is good, especially 4K video, 8 cores processor and high quality audio components impress; from its minuses only built-in battery can be noted; price of device is adequate to its characteristics. This is from one side; from the other : smartphone cameras will not give high quality photos and videos due to small optical sensors and miniature lenses used, so is there sense to spend additional money on them? It is better to buy device with similar characteristics without bias into photo and video functions and buy separate photo camera with interchangeable lenses, which is far superior, than smartphone in this respect.

Category: Reviews