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Nikon D90's 720p movie mode gets critiqued

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 25th 2008 at 8:48PM

While being the first DSLR to shoot HD video sounds mighty excellent on paper, it's not worth much if the execution isn't there, right? The general consensus was that Nikon's D90 was a stellar DSLR, but the 720p movie mode was simply a so-so cherry on top. The gurus over at CamcorderInfo decided to take things one step further and actually write up an in-depth review on the movie mode alone. The long and short of it is this: the D90's movie mode simply can't produce the same results as a dedicated HD camcorder, and while it was "often able to produce impressive results (especially in moderately low light)," the unfortunate "wobble effect" really put a damper on things. In essence, the aforementioned problem causes objects to look like Jell-o when the user pans quickly from left to right, and the only real way to avoid it is to utilize a tripod or slow down your pans -- neither of which are terribly convenient. Critics did find quite a bit to praise, and they certainly appreciated the inclusion in an otherwise amazing camera, but it's still far from being ideal in all scenarios.

Oprah calls Kindle "her new favorite thing," gives everyone $50 off

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 25th 2008 at 6:36PM


Been waiting patiently for the next-generation Kindle(s) to hit the market? Growing increasingly frustrated with the wait? Thanks to the Amazon e-reader becoming Oprah Winfrey's "new favorite, favorite thing in the world (can't you see the jubilation on her face?)," you might just have to finally pull the trigger on the existing iteration. As a special offer for Oprah Show viewers (and by extension, everyone who reads this post), Amazon.com is now offering $50 off of the Kindle's $359 price tag by simply entering the code OPRAHWINFREY at checkout and envisioning Tom Cruise leaping on your computer desk. Better act fast, though -- the offer's only good through November 1st, and yes, that Tom Cruise bit is required.

[Thanks, Chad]