Sharp Launches World's Smallest Image-Stabilized Cellphone Camera

Sharp's small, stable smartphone sensor

12 Megapixels in a smartphone camera? That sounds like a bad idea. But an image-stabilized sensor in a smartphone camera? That sounds ideal.

Those previous sentences describe Sharp's new super-thin 1x3.2-inch CMOS sensor which, at 0.31-inches on the diagonal, is the same size as that found in the iPhone 4. The stabilization works by shifting the lens, and will allow sharp shots in much lower light than a regular camera unit.

The 5.47 mm thick unit (the world's smallest for a stabilized module says Sharp) uses a backlit (circuitry behind the photo-sites) design, shoots 1080p video, outputs RAW files and has a maximum aperture of ƒ2.5. In short, it sounds like exactly the kind of camera you want in a cellphone.

All except the 12.1MP, that is. Squeezing that many pixels onto such a tiny chip can cause noise, but more importantly in a cellphone, you have to save big 12MP images onto a device with limited storage.

Still, that probably won't stop any manufacturers one-upping each other with these big numbers. The RJ63YC100, as it is named, can be had in sample form right now for ¥12,000, or around $155.

Sharp to Introduce Industry's Thinnest CMOS Camera Module with Optical Image Stabilization for Smartphones [Sharp via FarEast Gizmos and Andrew Liszewski]

Manfrotto 732CY M-Y Carbon Fiber Tripod

The Manfrotto 732CY M-Y carbon fiber tripod is now available for $119.95. The tripod can hold up to 7.71 lb (3.5 kg). Weighs only 0.95 kg, the Manfrotto 732CY M-Y is perfect for photographers who need a lightweight and simple tripod. It comes without a built-in head, so you can choose exactly the head you need based on your camera equipment. [Product Page]

Lovefilm replaces Flash with Silverlight for streaming

With the demise of Flash on mobile platforms as well as for the Smart TV in your living room, it goes without saying that companies which rely on Flash to stream or deliver their data to the masses will need to check out another alternative. Well, Lovefilm has decided that they will no longer use Flash from next year onwards to stream their movies over for your viewing pleasure, but has decided to stick to Microsoft's Silverlight instead. The reason behind this is because movie studios are asking them to do so.

According to Lovefilm, “We've been asked to make this change by the Studios who provide us with the films in the first place, because they're insisting - understandably - that we use robust security to protect their films from piracy, and they see the Silverlight software as more secure than Flash.”

This might just result in quality improvement for Lovefilm's streams, since Silverlight holds a technology known as Smooth Streaming that will automatically adjust the quality of the video stream to the best level, depending on the quality of your Internet connection. This means that buffering is reduced in the long run for those on a low broadband speed.

DSLR ban for UK tube station

Now this is a rather interesting bit of news – it seems that DSLRs are now banned from being used at a particular UK tube station, which would be the Aldwych tube station. This is an abandoned London Underground station which recently opened up for tours, where DSLRs were banned because of "their combination of high quality sensor and high resolution, digital SLR cameras are unfortunately not permitted inside the station”. Of course, smaller sized digital cameras are allowed to “participate”.

Perhaps there is some reason for this, where some other historical sites really do not allow the use of flash photography, while professional videographers and photographers will need to apply for licenses for off-hours shoots as well. I wonder whether the clever use of a Micro Four Thirds camera will be able to circumvent this ban, as they are certainly not large enough in size to be deemed as a DSLR, and yet are similar in some aspects to image quality captured.