So I’ve had my trusty Fuji F30 for quite a while now but what replacement should I get and more to the point do I really need to  replace it?

The reason that I was so attracted to the F30 when it was launched was its stunning low light ability, at the time people were comparing it to SLR’s. It was never as good as the SLR’s lets be honest but it was way better than just about any compact camera that was on sale.

So this time around I think that a good sensor and thus great low light ability has to be top of the list, I’d like a longer reaching and wider lens greedy I know and potentially some nice HD video.

The contenders

• Panasonic LX3
• Canon S90
• Canon G11
• Sony DSC-HX5V

Well firstly I think I will clarify some of my requirements, I don’t want it to be too big, I’ve got an SLR to take full on shots, if I want to take those that will be with me, so it needs to be able to fit in my jeans pocket.

First to GO

That has to be the G11 then, its a great camera that ticks just about all the boxes but its just to big for what I want. I hear that the G11 is going to be the last in the G series range and it will be re-launched as an all new model with a complete re-design. I personally don’t think it needs to be as big and clunky as it is, many other cameras can do the same for much less size admittedly without so much control but maybe they have something new up their sleeve on that front.

Seconds out

Next to go is the Panasonic LX3, I don’t know why but its never really floated my boat. When I handled it I wasn’t too happy with the bulge on the front to contain the lens or the need to have a lens cap, I mean why surely a little shutter wouldn’t have been that hard would it.

Secondly the camera fixed the lens’s distortion for you which isn’t bad I guess I mean who needs a photo showing lots of barrel distortion, but then you aren’t getting the full shot for it to do this. So if you do shoot really wide and it does go fairly wide but it doesn’t go very long. The lens is nice and quick though at F2 when wide open, but ultimately this isn’t the camera for me, plus it must be due and update soon surely.

So its down to the Sony HX5 or the Canon S90

This is going to be tough, both of these cameras have their pro’s and cons.

Canon                                Sony

Lens         28-105 F2-4.9           ¦       25-250 f3.5-5.9

Sensor    1/1.7″ Type CCD        ¦       1 / 2.4 inch “Exmor R” CMOS sensor
10 Mpix                                10.2 Mpix

Screen    3.0″ 460k                      ¦       3.0″ 230k

Video      640 x 480 @ 30fps  ¦       1920 x 1080 50i AVCHD format

So the specs so far aren’t that much different, the Sony sensor is smaller but it is back lit so the photo sites are a similar size or possibly larger. The Lens is a different matter, do you want the long 250 or the super fast f/2 or the Canon, its a tough choice to say the least.

The Sony also has some pretty funky modes, like an auto panoramic mode, sweep the camera across the horizon and hey presto a panoramic shot. It also has a clever low light function that quickly takes 6 shots, merges them together and creates stunning hand held low light shots, or at least so some of the forums are saying for the existing model.

However when it comes to control the Canon probably has the nod, if you know what you are doing with a camera then you want to be able to control things and this is something the Canon does very well. From the unique wheel on the front of the camera to modes to control aperture and shutter priority it really excels at allowing full control over what you are shooting. But it appears that the old Sony doesn’t seem to have much control at all, fingers crossed they have realised this isn’t what people want form a top of the range camera and adds some more.

The Sony also has a GPS sensor, no I don’t know why more cameras don’t have it either especially SLRs but hey ho it seems camera manufactures can be a bit slow.

So which one would I go for?

Well that is a tough one, compact cameras are a funny thing. The Canon has a good sensor and a good lens, it is f/2 after all but then it is meant to have lots of distortion and it doesn’t really go that long. And what is that video mode about, 640×480 I had on a 3 year old mobile phone let along a top of the range compact camera. The extra potential adjustment and one thing I haven’t mention yet the ability to capture RAW is a big bonus.

The Sony does however have the newest feature set and do I really want to use a compact camera to shoot RAW or just get it out to take quick family shots, Mmmm this is a tough one indeed. The video mode will embarrass some Camcorders so that gets it a big vote and some of the clever features would be useful.

I’ve already seen some comparison high ISO shots of the same test scene and the Sony took the nod surprisingly but it was quite close. I think its a draw at the moment and I will see what the results of some of the reviews are and see a few more shots. I’d be interested to see if the control issues have been resolved and how sharp the lens is.

Either way both of these cameras are great, if only one could be created that merged best parts of both I’d be very happy indeed.

UPDATE

Well only a day after I’ve posted I might have found the camera and its not one of those already mentioned. Its the all new just announced Samsung TL350 or WB2000 depending on the market. So what makes this the potential choice I hear you asked.

Well its got a nice big 10Mpix 1/1.7″ sensor, a fairly quick f/2.8 Schnider lens at a super wide 24mm and it also goes all the way to 120mm at full zoom, so far so good. As for movie mode, well what can I say its got HD video at 30fps and even a very low resolution 1000fps slow motion function, a bit pointless but the HD video certainly isn’t.

Its also got a nice AMOLED screen with 640,000 pixels, so nice and high res. Its got a few other nice features like a panoramic mode and you can also take 10mpix images in the middle of taking a video, things are looking good.

But I’ve left the best bit till last, it can take photos in RAW and, it has fully manual controls hallelujah, why others don’t on a top end camera is a mystery to me. On and look at the power and memory meters, a nice little analogue dial, nice and retro.

So this could be it, will have to see what the image quality is like first and then make a final decision.

Its existence has already been discussed on Gumpdump Could the Google Nexus One challenge the iPhone but now its been launched and it looks great, the specs are brilliant.

Google Nexus One Full Specs

Android 2.1

3.7″ OLED Screen resolution 480×800

1Ghz Snapdragon processor

512Mb ROM and 512Mb of memory

4GB SD expandable to 32Gb (Currently)

5Mpix Camera with LED flash

Oh and its as thin as an iPhone!

Now I don’t know about you but if nothing else Apple are really going to have to up their game with the new iPhone that’s set to be launched in June. By comparison the current iPhone is beaten on just about every front bar the interface but the video on engadget certainly shows its potential power, the animated backgrounds certainly look nifty.

No word on when the Nexus One is out I will keep an eye out for the date and I expect it to be out on T-Mobile first, competition is great isn’t it.

And now Google has launched a website for the new phone about all of the features and loads of extra photos.

Full as yet confirmed specification list now available. Google Specs page

Size and weight

Height    119mm
Width    59.8mm
Depth    11.5mm
Weight
130 grams w/battery
100g w/o battery

Display

3.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen WVGA AMOLED touchscreen

800 x 480 pixels

100,000:1 typical contrast ratio

1ms typical response rate
Camera & Flash

5 megapixels

Autofocus from 6cm to infinity

2X digital zoom

LED flash

User can include location of photos from phone’s AGPS receiver

Video captured at 720×480 pixels at 20 frames per second or higher, depending on lighting conditions
Cellular & Wireless

UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900)

HSDPA 7.2Mbps

HSUPA 2Mbps

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)

Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

A2DP stereo Bluetooth

Power and battery

Removable 1400 mAH battery

Charges at 480mA from USB, at 980mA from supplied charger

Talk time
Up to 10 hours on 2G
Up to 7 hours on 3G
Standby time
Up to 290 hours on 2G Up to 250 hours on 3G
Internet use
Up to 5 hours on 3G
Up to 6.5 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback
Up to 7 hours
Audio playback
Up to 20 hours

Processor

Qualcomm QSD 8250 1 GHz
Operating system

Android Mobile Technology Platform 2.1 (Eclair)
Capacity

512MB Flash

512MB RAM

4GB Micro SD Card (Expandable to 32 GB)
Location

Assisted global positioning system (AGPS) receiver

Cell tower and Wi-Fi positioning

Digital compass

Accelerometer

Image courtesy of Engaget.

I’m sitting here writing this on a good old laptop with a keyboard and a lovely LED backlit 13″ screen. But could I do that with the new iPad, well I don’t think so I quite like having a nice keyboard to use thank you very much. But maybe this isn’t the audiance for the new iPad, well thats if what the new Apple Tablet is going to get called.

So what is it going to be used for?

Well I can see it as being a good way of viewing and surfing the net and looking at news articles and yes you guessed it reading books, how will Apple cope with having a device that doesn’t have a glossy screen. So thats good but I’m not sure I want to spend upwards of £400 or even more to get one. Surely its going to have to be more than that, it might be quite good for larger strategy games the developers have been asked to look at higher resolution games after all and expect it to have 3D graphics chips to spice things up.

Yes it will be super thin, and have a nice big 10″ OLED screen which will help to improve the battery life, it will need to be quite light aswell. I’d expect it might also have 3G as well as Wifi otherwise how would it update when you are on the move, I bet the networks will love having more devices to deal with.

So we could be looking at a device that is going to start to shape computing into the next decade or a big flop and and expensive one at that. It will probably be a great hit that many will love and an equal measure hate, me I’m yet to be convinced but I guess we will find out more on the 26th of January, launch date? I’d go for April or May pre-updated iPhone etc. likely in June.

The SLR market never stands still with Nikon and Canon looking to get as much market share as possible. Canon recently surprised many with the launch of the 7D, a Crop sensor SLR but with many of the features and nearly the same level of Auto Focus as many of the pro models.

So this leaves the 5D Mark II in a tricky spot, yes it has a stunning Full Frame sensor and excellent dynamic range but many complain about its outer focusing points not being up to the job. Now this isn’t a view I hold having used one it seems to do a great job. However I can understand the frustration of those that want a FF sensor and more of the pro level features without needing to get a huge 1D body.

So what are Canon going to do? Well if rumours are to be believed they are going to launch a 3D specifically at the Wedding / semi-pro market in early 2010. Canon  Rumors have recently reported the following specs,

3D Specs:
16.7mp FF
7.2 µm pixel pitch
DIGIC V
Small magnesium alloy body similar to the 5D2

However there is still no news on the AF or any more of the features.  Fingers crossed they add all the features from the 7D onto a FF sensor, the reported 16mp is just about perfect as well. The only worrying thing is the price, it seems that they might pitch it way higher than the 5DII but this would be a mistake. Nikon is close on Canons heals and are about to release a D800 with an updated sensor to challenge the 5DII and it has the full Pro level focusing and remote flash triggers built in.

So come on Canon get it launch oh and with eye focusing please and for not too much money and I might be about to upgrade my 40D to something new.

Now this is going to be interesting. The Android OS is pretty good, allows for background tasks and is as easy to use (just) as the iPhone so could it challenge the iPhone.

Well the Nexus One pictured above seems to be a potential challenger  and could be coming as early is January 2010 . Some would say that will be the  first of its kind to really start to push Apple’s iPhone. Checking out the specs must have Apple a bit worried. Its going to have a nice quick processor, be thinner (yes thats a shock to me as well) and have a high resolution OLED screen.

The camera appears to be a none to shabby 5Mpix and also has a flash, looking good so far? yes I think so as well. Add to that a couple of microphones (one on the front the other on the back) to help with noise cancellation and even dictation to text and its looking even better. The proof will be in the pudding however but it looks like for the first time in a very long time there could be a phone that could genuinely (sorry I don’t count the Pre or Nokia’s frankly hard to use rivals) be able to challenge the all conquering  iPhone.

So then Apple, we need a better camera, an OLED screen with a higher resolution and the same fantastic usability oh and go on better battery life in the new phone please, over to you.

When I first got Sky HD a few years ago it was great. The menu’s were fast the picture excellent, it wasn’t perfect no. Yes the series linking would sometimes take 10 attempts and fast forwarding at 30x would often see it jump 30minutes for no apparent reason.

So I was looking forward to the much delayed upgrade. But if only I’d know it was going to be so slow. Going into the planner and scrolling down the list is ssslllloooowwwwwww to say the least. Several times I’ve deleted 2 programs as its taken so long to respond I thought it hadn’t received the signal. The series linking does work now and overall things aren’t bad but I was hoping for so much more and certainly wasn’t expecting it to get so slow.

Oh and whilst am having a rant why didn’t they take more of an advantage with the resolution that’s being used, why do programs still not show the full name something Tivo did years ago.

Maybe the slow response is only on my box I’d love to know if other people are having problems, OK so I know they are because three friends have almost thrown their HD box out of the window because its so damn slow.

Sky if you are reading this can we have some of the features of the new one but the response of the old guide please, pretty please.

Well I have it by a reliable source that the tablet definitely exists and is going to be launched but I don’t know when. This was let slip via a senior exec involved in product development.

Set to be a 10.2” display and running iPhone OS not MAC OS. They need to be very careful on the price point as there is more and more competition in this sector including rival Tablet type designs.

When I can find out a bit more about it I will let you know, watch this space.

So I’ve been looking for a replacement wireless N ADSL router. Some have Gigabit ports, others Dual Band wireless N but few have both at least not in the UK anyway.

But I think I’ve found the best compromise and here it is, the New Billion BiPAC 7800N Wireless N ADSL2+ with Gigabit Ethernet Switch, catchy name isn’t it!? But it has all the features that I need, but will it perform how I hope.

My ISP is Bethere Internet or Be as they like to be known and they offer a potential connection speed of up to 24Mbits if you live right on top of it. But I don’t so typically my connection speeds are about 13-15Mbits with my old router a Speedtouch 780 that was supplied with by my ISP, but that is still a lot higher than most sub 8Mbit speeds.

After I’d ordered the new router I did a set of test and noted down the speeds and times of transferring a 780Mb file to multiple different locations around the house and to different PC’s.

Equipment used for test

Homeserver – 1.5tb Green WD drive – Gigabit Ethernet

PC – XPS 430 -  Quad core – Duel stripped drives = Wireless G

Laptop – Duel Core Dell XPS 1330 = Intel Wireless G / N

PS3 via Ethernet

False Start

You know what its like, you order a new gadget and can’t wait for it to arrive. Only this time the excitement didn’t last for long as when I opened the box there was no power supply inside. I was a bit disappointed to say the least but hey these things happen. A quick call to broadbandbuyer.co.uk from whom I’d purchase the router and they got onto Billion as they had sold out of the router and there was a new power supply on the way. It arrived only a couple of days later so did it live up to the performance expectations.

A quick note on the instructions supplied before I get to the performance. Lets just say they are a bit rough and ready, no more than a few pages of photocopied A4 pages to get you started and they really aren’t that useful. If you know what you are doing then it won’t be a problem but for the novice you might be a little daunted.

Performance and Set-up

Set-up wasn’t to complex but I did need to make a few tweaks to get everything working well. The Auto configure didn’t work so I had to use the manual method.  I used this Billion Be/O2 help page to get the right settings and it almost worked, the trick was to add in the correct manual Primary DNS IP address as the AUTO setting wasn’t working. Hey presto it was up and running, but what have I connected at?

Speedtouch – 1090(Up)/14834(Down)

Billion 7800 – 1191/15801kbps (initial figure)

But things are set to get better, Be/O2 use Annex M and this means I might be able to get an even better upload and download speed but how good? Very good is the answer check out the figures below, this is far better than I have ever got before so I did a speed check as well to see if things go better.

Billion 7800 Annex M – 1347 / 17931 kbps

That’s a 3000kbps or 3Mbit improvement in upload speeds, a very healthy increase indeed. A quick speed test confirmed the boosted speed, going from 13.2Mb/s to 15.7Mb/s, not quite the sync speed but as it was via wireless and there are other factors involved that’s still a healthy increase. Another reason is that the Billion 7800 N uses a broadcom which is know to often get better download speeds.

Wireless N, is it any quicker?

I’d say maybe a little but that would be a lie, it is much much quicker for me at least. Rather than waffle on to much here are the transfer differences I saw below on the PC and the Laptop. The test was to transfer a 780Mb AVI file.

Laptop performance

Wireless G – 99% Signal – 1.82Mb/s – 6 minutes 47 seconds.

Wireless N – 99% Signal – 2.72Mb/s – 4 minutes 57 seconds.

PC Performance

Wireless G – 81% Signal – 2.42Mb/s – 5 minutes 41 seconds.

Wireless N – 50/70% Signal – 8.92Mb/s – 1 minutes 25 seconds.

The Laptop is a bit quicker but the test was done when the laptop was as close as it can get to the router, this can cause an issue with performance thus why the difference in speed is small. Also the laptop was having to try fairly hard to transfer the data @35/40% processor usage meaning it will start to be a bit of a factor in the transfer speeds.

But for the PC the speed improvement is dramatic to say the least and a clear view of how much faster wireless N can be. It wasn’t initially that quick, I had to play around with the location of the Wireless N dongal and ariels before I got a better figure and the 50/70% still doesn’t look great. I used a Billion 3010N that I bought with the router that doesn’t have a wireless antenna, but regardless of the noise the performance the speed speaks for itself.

Initial Conclusion 9/10

Well the Billion 7800N is cheaper than many of the other wireless N and Gigabit Ethernet routers, add to that it has full ADSL2+ and Annex M support and its a great package that these initial speed results show. The slight disappointment with the power supply is now  forgotten as everything else is as good or better than I hoped for.

I will update this review when I have done the Ethernet performance tests and if the router is more stable than the frankly terrible Speedtouch.  If you are in the market for a new ADSL router and are with Be or 02 or anyone for that matter then I would give this a serious look as it ticks all the boxes for me.

We have bought handheld vacuums in the past, you know the black and decker £50 ones that really don’t seem to do the job, they just suck a bit, clog up and need to be emptied every two seconds. They don’t last that long either and the range of attachments is limited to say the least.

I’d looked at the previous range of Dyson handhelds and wasn’t convinced. But they have just launched a new range of which the flagship of the range is the DC31 Animal. The new vacuum comes with an all new patented digital electric motor that spins at up to 104,000rpm. This new motor helps to give the vacuum cleaner truly stunning suction power.

The model I decided to purchase was the DC31 Animal and it has turned out to be an excellent choice. The most useful element of the DC31 Animal is the motorised brush. Using it on the stairs its brilliant and better than using a normal vacuum cleaner. Its also very easy to clean the motorised brush, a simple turn of the end with a coin and the bar comes out and you can untangle anything thats in its way and then slip it back in and lock it in place.  Its not heavy to use either it feels surprisingly light in fact, my wife prefers to use it than the standard vacuum sometimes.

Battery life is good but not great, you can do the stairs and a bit more with ease or do the entire car with it no problem. Charging takes a good while but it is a Li-Ion battery so you should get any loss of battery performance for a long time after your purchase. You can use the boost mode (there is a button on the back to get full power mode) to get even more suction but to be honest I don’t tend to use it that much and on the standard setting there is more than enough suction for most situations.

Emptying the cylinder is easy peasy, press the button and bing, the rubbish is gone. It does fling out quite quickly so hold it in the bin not over it when you do it otherwise you will get the rubbish flying everywhere.

There is a filter that needs washing once a month or so depending on usage but do keep it clean. Many people don’t keep the filters clean on their Dysons and wonder why they aren’t performing as well as when they bought them.

The 2 year warranty is good and gives a good bit of piece of mind.

Conclusion

Lets face it at £150 its expensive but do you know what it just works and does a brilliant job in the process. It would be better if the price was sub £100 but to be honest it really is THAT much better than any other handheld I’ve used, and then some. You could go for the standard DC31 model without the motorised brush but I wouldn’t its a great addition that really is worth having. Oh and the colour purple does look great on it and very funcky sitting there in the house (did I really just say that?!?).

9/10 for me, a little improvement to the battery life and reduced cost and this would be 10/10

# Motorised brush bar for pet hair pick-up
# Dyson digital motor
# Dual power mode for 10 minutes of high constant suction or 6 minutes with 40% higher suction
# Lightweight – only 1.5kg for easy handling
# LED low battery power indicator
# Patented Root Cyclone technology
# Quick and hygienic to empty – just press the button
# No extra costs – no bags or filters to buy
# 22.2V lithium ion battery – recharges up to 3 times faster than others
# Crevice tool converts to brush tool for dusting
# 2 years parts and labour guarantee