Tech Talk

After weeks of rumours and leaked specifications circulating around the Internet, the Canon EOS 500D is finally unveiled to the world.

This consumer-targeted digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera has a whopping 15.0-megapixel CMOS sensor utilising Canon’s latest DIGIC 4 image processor, allowing you to record full high-definition (HD) video and delivering improved Live View capability via a big three-inch display.

I was among the few lucky local journalists to have an early hands-on with the only available EOS 500D in Singapore. However, I left the launch hoping that this latest DSLR will not trigger another megapixel race.

Despite many articles explaining that a higher megapixel count doesn’t necessarily translate to better image quality, the megapixel myth persists.

I had a conversation with a colleague recently and he was talking about this camera having 10 megapixels and that, to him, means the camera is definitely good. So, I told him about the megapixel myth. His reply: “More megapixels doesn’t mean better quality? Then, what’s the point? I thought it should be like a car – the higher engine capacity, the more power the car?”

It was then I realised that for the lay person, the megapixel factor has become the first point of reference. For example, every time I went on an assignment with my company-issued Canon 1D MK II, I was asked how many megapixels my “big camera” has. When I said eight megapixels, a few unimpressed quipped: “Even my small digital camera has 10 megapixels!”

I think the megapixel myth has to do with advertising and marketing. However, you can’t blame the marketers. They can’t really tout noiseless images as a factor, can they? Half the people out there don’t even understand ISO settings, let alone noise in digital images.

Megapixel is a number and it is thus easily understood and remembered. It’s a dream word and number for marketers seeking to differentiate their products in the current flood of digital cameras. However, when engineers have to squeeze in more megapixels just to please the marketing department, it can result in cameras that produce horrid images with awful noise.

It is the onus of consumers to educate themselves more about photography and focus less on a camera’s specifications. Once you understand the inner workings of photography, all the camera’s specifications will make sense to you.

And when you go to the camera shop next time, see the sales person’s face crumble as you ask about features such as startup/shutdown time, accurate colour reproduction, noiseless images, fast auto-focusing, intuitive controls and weather-proof capabilities.

Let’s work together to debunk the megapixel myth!

Tags: DSLR

The Sony Rolly is by far one of the more interesting devices I’ve reviewed. Well, it’s one thing to read our review (text or PDF) but to really understand the appeal of the Rolly, you have to see it in action. In the video above, we managed to capture it giving Ricky Martin a run for his money with its own dance moves. Watch out for the part where it spins in overdrive just before the song ends – I love it when robots go mental like that.

And floating around the Internet, there’s another video of the Rolly orchestrating a whole slew of its robot brethren, the Aibo, in some cute dog tricks. Must watch:

Tags: Audio, Music, Robots, Sony

You’re In The Movies uses the Live Vision Camera accessory for the Xbox 360 console to capture movies of you and your friends. You can read what our reviewer, Grass-Hopper, has to say about it in the paper (PDF or text).

As you can see from the movie we’ve posted up (the lead actor’s Grass-hopper’s brother!), the game’s “green screen” effect doesn’t work quite well if your interiors are dimly-lit. This results in some patchy results. So if you’d like it to work well, Grass-Hopper recommends putting up a big, white screen (mahjong paper backdrop, anyone?) with even and bright lighting.

Tags: Gaming, Xbox 360

Every now and then, when an act of violence or a crime is committed, there’s an uncanny enthusiasm from the media to report the perpetrators’ liking or love for video games if they manage to find a link. It has become an all-too-convenient “truth”.

For example, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s liking for the video game Doom was repeatedly highlighted and even blamed for the massacre after they had killed 13 at Columbine High School in 1999. Some suggested Cho Seung-Hui, the mentally-ill loner behind 32 deaths in the Virginia Tech massacre of 2007, had been influenced by the online multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) CounterStrike. The list goes on and on.

Closer to home on Monday, Indonesian undergraduate David Hartanto Widjaja allegedly stabbed Professor Chan Kap Lup before falling to his death at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Again, media here felt compelled to put Mr Widjaja’s interest in playing World of Warcraft (WOW) into their report. Some local tabloid Chinese newspaper even highlighted that Mr Widjaja played “WOW3” (By the way, there’s no World of Warcraft 3, but it’s second expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King) an hour before meeting Prof Chan. I doubt these reporters could even differentiate between Master Chief and Super Mario, let alone the difference between a role-playing game (like WOW) and an FPS.

Then, during a discussion with a former colleague on the tragedy, she insinuated a link between video games and psycho killers. I must say I was really surprised to hear that from someone with a mass communications background. But with the constant media harping on on that topic, it is no wonder such a perception lingers in the mind of the public.

Undoubtedly, these are sad tragedies but to point the finger at video games only covers up the real reasons behind such attacks. It’s not only counter-intuitive but baseless on many counts.

In terms of scientific studies, there is very few evidence that could prove even a casual link between playing violent video games and actual violence. No doubt there are studies that show a correlation between the two factors, but it might be a case of the person who has violent tendency exhibiting such behaviour in front of the computer screen.

Even a meta-analysis of 200 published media-violence studies by psychologist Jonathan Freedman in 2007 found no casual link between violent video games and actual violence. In fact, a new study this year by researchers from the University of Rochester found that violence does not make video games more enjoyable but quite the opposite: Violence decreases gamers’ interest and pleasure when playing the game.

So, I seriously don’t see why video games have come to become the scapegoat for violent acts committed in our society.

Perhaps, there is a lack of understanding with regard to video games and their contents. Perhaps, the typical stereotype of gamers being introvert nerds who can’t string a line of conversation with anyone runs deep in people’s minds. Perhaps, people still don’t take video gaming seriously, even though it’s a billion-dollar industry.

Thus, gamers should do their utmost to change people’s perceptions, not sit and wallow in their mistaken sorrows.

Let the world know that video gaming is no longer about Pong or Pac-Man. Let the world knows that video gaming requires teamwork, strategy, communication and mental strength to succeed. Let the world get rid of this convenient untruth altogether!

Tags: video games, violence