Nikon unveils D5200 DSLR, borrows from pricier D7000

It's been a busy year for Nikon's DSLR range, with the Japanese camera company today announcing its fifth model since January. The new D5200 shooter is an improved version of the D5100 and incorporates several features found on Nikon's more advanced D7000 device.

Nikon unveiled the latest addition to its DSLR range on Tuesday. The D5200 is an improved version of the D5100 that it released 18 months ago, though the earlier model will continue to roll off the production line – for the time being, at least.

The new consumer-level DSLR shooter pulls a number of features from Nikon’s pricier D7000 camera, including its 39-point autofocus system (up from the 11 points found on the D5100) and 2016-pixel RGB metering sensor.

Buyers of the new camera might want to consider investing in some beefy SDHC/SDXC cards and hefty external hard drive, with its new super-sized 24.1-megapixel APS-C sensor guaranteeing snap-happy photographers rapid memory usage with the large picture files the camera will be serving up.

The frames-per-second rate of the D5200 shows a slight improvement over the D5100, increasing from four shots to five thanks to its new Expeed 3 processor.

For camera operation, Nikon is promising that the device’s newly designed graphical user interface will be “easier and more intuitive” to operate than previous versions, with ‘classic’ or ‘graphic’ options to choose from.

Anyone wanting to make use of its 1080p movie capabilities can now shoot at rates of up to 60 fps, and will also be able to utilize its new built-in stereo microphone for improved sound over the older D5100.

Owners of iOS and Android devices who want to receive pictures wirelessly from the camera can do so with the optional WU-1a adapter, which also allows remote shutter control.

As with the older model, the new mid-range camera incorporates a 921k-dot TFT LCD screen that flips out, twists and turns, making it more likely you’ll get the picture you’re after when shooting at arms’ length over the top of people’s heads.

For those who prefer a dash of color with their camera bodies instead of the usual black, the Japanese camera giant is offering the D5200 in two other flavors – bronze and red.

Pricing for the new device hasn’t yet been confirmed, though it’s expected to arrive in stores in December.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 gets all-new 6.2-liter V8

Chevrolet says this new engine, code named LT1, will make the 2014 Corvette the quickest and most fuel efficient 'Vette ever.

When it arrives in Detroit on January 13, 2013, the new 2014 Corvette will have a new heart. The seventh generation Vette, nicknamed C7, will be powered by a V8 code named LT1, the first of General Motors’ new Gen V family of small block V8s.

While some reports suggested displacement would drop to 5.5 liters, the LT1 will in fact displace 6.2 liters, just like the current Corvette C6’s engine. Chevy released a “preliminary” output figure of 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. That’s 20 more horses and 26 more torques than the C6.

Chevy says that power will make the C7 the quickest standard Corvette ever (Z06s and ZR1s are another matter), with a 0 to 60 mph time of under four seconds.

At the same time, the C7 is also expected to be the most fuel efficient Corvette ever, achieving a ballpark 26 mpg highway. However, the power, performance, and fuel economy numbers could change before the C7 goes on sale next year.

To achieve its new benchmarks, Chevy gave its small block V8, which has been in production in one form or another since 1955, an extensive redesign. The new LT1 small block brings several new technologies to the party.

The C7 will be the first Corvette to have direct injection, which sprays a precise amount of fuel directly into the combustion chamber for a more efficient burn.

Another Vette first is Active Fuel Management, GM’s name for cylinder deactivation, which shuts off four of the eight cylinders when less power is needed, to conserve fuel.

Rounding off the new technology list is continuously variable valve timing, which varies the rhythm of the valves at different speeds to make the engine more efficient. Advancing it creates more torque, while retarding it increases mpg.

All of these systems were fine-tuned with more than 10 million hours of computational analysis.

Why did GM wait so long to adopt technologies that can be found in cheaper Fords and Hondas? Unlike most new cars, the Corvette does not have overhead valves, so getting the hardware for direct injection and variable valve timing onto the LT1 required a bit of a rethink.

Also helping efficiency is a lighter aluminum block. Chevy says the LT1 is 40 pounds lighter than “a competitor’s twin-turbo 4.4-liter, DOHC V8 with similar output,” probably a reference to the engine BMW uses in the 5 Series, M5, and other models.

The lighter block should also give the C7 an ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, and an improved power-to-weight ratio.

The 2014 LT1 is actually the third engine to bear that alphanumeric name; two previous versions were released in 1970 and 1992. The new LT1 will be built at GM’s Tonawanda, New York engine plant, while the rest of the Corvette will continue to be built in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The 2014 Corvette C7, and its new engine, will be unveiled on January 13, 2013 in Detroit.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

The Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg arrested in Cambodia

After skipping bail in January of this year, The Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg has been arrested in Cambodia.

After a global search, The Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was found in Phnom Penh and taken in handcuffs by Cambodian police on Thursday.

The founder had skipped his 12-month jail term and the responsibility of paying off his $1.1 million share of the $6.9 million fine in Sweden after being found guilty of copyright infringement in 2009 for operating The Pirate Bay. His two co-founders, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde, and the site’s financier, Carl Lundstroem, were also sentenced by Swedish court, but an appeal in 2010 reduced their one-year jail sentences to between 4 to 10 months.

Warg was the only sentenced member to have failed to appear during the appeals hearing, with his lawyer citing an illness that prevented Warg from leaving his hospital bed in Cambodia. After not turning up for the beginning of his sentencing on January 2, he was placed on an international wanted list. He was eventually found by Cambodian authorities in the apartment he has lived in since fleeing Sweden to the Southeast Asian country.

“[Warg's] arrest was made at the request of the Swedish government for a crime related to information technology,” Cambodia’s police spokesman Kirth Chantharith told the AFP news agency.

The Cambodian government is reportedly working with Swedish authorities to determine the next course of action. “We don’t have an extradition treaty with Sweden but we’ll look into our laws and see how we can handle this case,” Chantharith said. However, Warg’s lawyers deduced that he would eventually be sent back to Sweden, pending some paperwork and legal documents that the Cambodian government is waiting upon.

The Pirate Bay was founded in 2003 as a file-sharing site and has long been a target of the MPAA and RIAA. Weeks earlier, the United States government sought recommendations for strategies that would influence an updated copyright enforcement policy. Among the organizations submitting strategies included a joint filing by the MPAA and RIAA in the hopes that their efforts will step up the fight against illegal file sharing sites.

Despite international efforts to rid of the site from threats, and arrests and bans in the United Kingdom, The Pirate Bay has amassed more than 31 million users and continues to operate today.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com