camera News - Page 48 of 60 - CNX Software

September 11, 2016November 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Vernee Apollo Lite Helio X20 Smartphone Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 Firmware

I’ve already taken pictures and shown Antutu benchmark in the first part of Vernee Apollo Lite review, an Android 6.0 smartphone powered by Mediatek Helio X20 deca-core processor. Now that I’ve had time to play with the phone for over 10 days, I’ve ready to report my experience and write the second part of the review about performance, features, and issues I encountered with the phone. General Impressions First, the build quality feel pretty good, the phone is light and slim. I’ve only called once or twice, and voice quality was good, but I mostly use my phone over WiFi to browse the web, check emails, watch YouTube, and access social networks. More rarely, I also use GPS while running and during trip, and play some games. To be honest, the first few days did not work as expected, as many apps would either be much slower than last year […]

September 8, 2016May 7, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Rockchip RV1108 Cortex A7 + DSP SoC is Made for Audio & Video Conference and Recording Applications

[Update May 2017: Rockchip has renamed RK1108 to RV1108.] Rockchip has introduced RV1108 ARM Cortex A7 SoC with a 600 MHz DSP targeting visual communication, consumer electronics, automotive DVR, and security applications thanks to its 8-channel I2S audio codec and 1440p H.264 video encoder and decoder. Detailed specifications can be found on the official Rockchip Wiki: CPU – Single-core ARM Cortex-A7 Core processor with NEON and FPU, 32KB/32KB L1 I-Cache/D-Cache, Unified 128KB L2 Cache, and Trustzone Video/Image DSP – Up to 600 MHz, 32KB I-TCM and 32KB I-cache, 128KB D-TCM Memory 12KB internal SRAM DDR3/DDR3L interface – 16 Bits data width, 1 ranks (chip selects), up to 512 MB RAM NAND Flash Interface – 8-bit async NAND flash, 16-bit hardware ECC eMMC Interface – Compatible with standard iNAND interface, eMMC 4.51 standard. SD/MMC Interface – Compatible with SD 3.0, MMC 4.41 System Component 2x 64-bit timers with interrupt-based operation 8x […]

September 4, 2016September 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Coowell V4 Android TV Box Review – Part 2: Camera, Skype, Google Hangouts and Duo

Coowell V4 Android TV box is based on Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor with 2GB RAM, and 16GB flash, and also includes a camera. In part 1 of Coowell V4 review, I have already taken photos of the device, and torn down the device to have a closer look at the board, and the camera which is based on a GC2145 2MP image sensor. Today, I’ll mostly test the camera and microphone, including firmware compatibility with Skype, Google Hangouts, and the latest Duo by Google app. Finally, it’s been a while since I’ve tested a RK3368 TV box, so I’ll run CPU-Z and Antutu again. Coowell V4 Hardware Setup and Launcher Coowell V4 hardware setup is pretty usual, and I connect an Ethernet port, and the USB RF dongle for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse, as well as a USB keyboard to take screenshots. However, while normally I’d use my […]

August 31, 2016August 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Yi Technology Releases an Open API SDK for Yi and Yi 2 4K Action Cameras

Yi Technology, the maker of Yi actions cameras, often wrongly reported as Xiaomi Yi cameras as they are sold in Xiaomi stores, has now released an Open API to allow software and hardware engineers to develop products – such as drones, robots, or 360 deg. video recording setups – using their cameras. YiOpenAPI supports three types of APIs available in Java or Swift languages: Camera control (start/stop recording, capture picture, turn on/off viewfinder, etc…) Camera settings (date/time, video resolution, photo size, video standard, etc…) Camera state (record started/completed, video finder started etc…) There are also some app samples, one of which being YI360Demo available in both binary and source code, and used to control multiple Yi cameras in order to shoot 360 deg. / VR videos. You can find YiOpenAPI on github, get support on YiOpenAPI Facebook group, and sign-up for news updates on YiOpen.com. Via GeekBuying Blog Jean-Luc Aufranc […]

August 26, 2016September 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Ambarella A12S SoC Allows For Cheaper 4K 30 fps Action Cameras, or Does it Not?

[Update: I’ve been informed that Ambarella A12S product brief from their website contains outdated information, and that A12S does indeed support 4K @ 30 fps, not only 2K @ 30 fps] [Update 2 (03/09/2016): The company has now updated the page, and I’ve myself updated the article accordingly] Some ultra cheap Allwinner V3 based cameras are advertised as 4K cameras, but in reality they are limited to 4K @ 15 fps, and on top of that the software have to extrapolate data to get to that resolution. So there are not usable for most people, unless maybe if you somehow need a 4K CCTV camera. Currently one of the cheapest “true” 4K action cameras is Yi Technology / Xiaomi Yi 2 sports camera based on Ambarella A9S SoC, capable of recording up to 4K @ 30 fps, and selling for around $250. But there’s now a new wave of cheaper […]

August 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Coowell V4 Android mini PC with Camera Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Coowell V4 is one of the rare Android mini PCs with a built-in camera. It is powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor combined with 2GB RAM and 16GB flash. GearBest asked me whether I wanted to review it, and since I was curious about the camera, I took the offer up. Today, in the first part of the review I’ll start by checking out the device and its accessories, and tear it down to find more about the hardware design, before specifically testing the camera in the second part of the review in a similar way to what I did for HD23 review. Coowell V4 Unboxing The device comes in a black retail package with SMART MEDIA HUB text. The only icon that may cause troubles at custom might be the Android logo and text lacking TM. There’s also sticker on the side indicate Model: V4. SO there may be […]

August 12, 2016August 12, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Project OWL Open Source Hardware Ophthalmoscope is 25 Times Cheaper than Commercial Products

Medical grade equipments are usually very expensive, partly because of their complexity, but also because of certifications, legal reasons, and low manufacturing volumes. That’s where open source hardware can make a big difference, and there has been several open source hardware prosthetic hands or arms such as Openbionics hand, but Ebin Philip and his team has tackled another issue with Project OWL, an open indirect ophthalmoscope (OIO) designed for screening retinal diseases, which normally costs between $10,000 to $25,000, but their open source hardware design can be put together for about $400. The design features a Raspberry Pi 2 board connected to a WaveShare 5″ Touchscreen LCD, a Raspberry Pi Pi IR Camera (M12 lens mount) with 16mm FL M12 lens, a 3 Watt Luxeon LED, two 50x50mm mirrors, a linear polarizer sheet, a 20 Dioptre disposable lens, and various passive components. While the Raspberry Pi board is not open […]

August 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Multiple Videos Encoding and Decoding in Android on Firefly-RK3288 Development Board

Some applications like digital signage and video surveillance may require simultaneous video playback, and encoding to send over the network. ARM platforms may not be powerful enough to achieve those tasks with the processor only, but luckily many ARM SoCs include powerful video processing unit (VPU) capable of doing both hardware video encoding and decoding, leaving the CPU cores mostly free for other tasks. Firefly team has demoed such capabilities on their Firefly-RK3288 development board by displaying 7 videos on a single screen, including two previews from two USB cameras attached to the board, which are then encoded and decoded on the fly and displayed on the screen. The last three videos are played from 3 different files. So that means that 5 video decode and 2 video encode are running simultaneously. The board can achieve 26 to 30fps with 720p videos, and around 13 to 15 fps with 1080p […]