Nikon’s new top-of-the-line professional DSLR camera was announced yesterday. The Nikon D4 features improvements to still shooting but massive improvements for video shooting.

This morning my iPhone stopped dialing voicemail. I’m not sure why it is, but it displays a message saying “Cannot Connect to Voicemail”. A quick Google search found the solution:

Use the iPhone to dial:
*5005*86*[voicemail number]# and hit the call button

Where [voicemail number] will be the local calling number for your voicemail system. For Toronto on Rogers Wireless, the numbers are:
(416) 274-2817
(416) 901-6245
(416) 357-3229
(416) 358-1549

Paradigm is a Canadian speaker manufacturer. For years they’ve been able to make great speakers at a price point many of their competitors could not match. PerfectVision just reviewed their Monitor series speakers and were quite impressed. The summary is below and but see their full review for all their comments.

Paradigm’s Monitor Series 7 system offers a well-balanced mix of virtues while upholding the model line’s hard won reputation for value-first engineering. This system might serve as a “gateway to the high-end” for some listeners, but it is good enough that it will be a satisfying destination in its own right for many others.

While video capabilities on DSLR’s has been really awesome, Canon has taken things one step further with their new C300. This is a dedicated video camera that takes SLR lenses. Canon is trying to enter into the lower professional market now occupied by RED.

More information about the camera can be found from their announcements:
Canon EOS C300
Canon unveils Cinema EOS C300 interchangeable-lens video camera

Canon C300, A $20,000 SLR-Style Movie Camera
Canon C300: A Digital Killer Cam for the Hollywood Set

And a great tongue-in-cheek video that shows off it’s various capabilities is below:

Canon EOS C300 = Awesome from Jonathan Yi on Vimeo.

There’s a great article on DPReview right now about how the quality of lenses differs and can produce unwanted results when paired with different cameras (who also show variations). It’s a fascinating article – a lot of the data is on page 2.

Engadget has a list of recommended cameras for the holiday season. Here are there recommendations:

On the cheap
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH25
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX9
Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS

Mid-range
Canon PowerShot S100
Samsung MV800
Fujifilm X10

Interchangeable lens
Sony Alpha NEX-C3 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
Nikon D7000 with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
Canon EOS-1D X

There’s a new feature in the weather app: hourly forecasts. The weather app has always been very basic, so this addition is a nice upgrade. Most people will use third party apps like The Weather Network. However, it is the native weather app that powers the weather forecasts in the new notification bar so it’s worth getting to know the original app.

To access the hourly weather, just slide your finger down the daily forecast – it will reveal the hourly forecast above it.

I hate compact flourescent bulbs. I know they’re eco-friendly, but the light they give off is cold and impersonal. They take a while to warm up to full brightness. LED lighting doesn’t have any of these problems. Philips launched a replacement for the normal household bulb last year, but at $40 each they were pretty much out of reach for everyone. The price is much lower now, but still too expensive to consider replacing: $27 at Home Depot. However, I was curious about their design and wanted to test them side-by-side against an incandesent. The two pictures below are taken with incandescent then LED.

Actually I lied, the top is LED and the bottom is incandescent. Did you notice an appreciable difference? The incandescent are slightly brighter, but the effect is enhanced a bit with the camera. From a performance perspective, they perform just like incandescent: instant-on, warm lighting. They are quite heavy compared to normal bulbs and still ridiculously expensive. They do use only 12W compared to 60W so they do save quite a bit of electricity.

As Apple stuff more features into each new iPhone, some of the functions get hidden or streamlined. One of these features is Facetime, Apple’s video chat service. As of iOS5, there is no icon for facetime anymore, instead you initiate a call much like you do a phone call. You have to find the person you want to Facetime on your contact list, scroll to the bottom of their contact card, and then hit the “Facetime” button.

The iPhone OS has gone through five major revisions – each one comes with more and more features. However, the simplified interface that made the iPhone so successful also means that it’s sometimes hard to get to the more advanced features unless you know what you are looking for. iOS 5 includes some completely hidden features that you may not know about. This will be the first in a series of tips that show off some of the newer or hidden features in iOS 5.

You can now access the camera app quickly from your lock screen. Press the home button twice when your phone is locked, and you will see a “camera” button appear near the lock slider. Pressing this button brings you immediately to the camera app. No need to unlock the phone, find the camera app, and press the button.

Remember, you can now use the “volume up” button on the side of the phone to take a picture.

You may have noticed that the iPod controls also show up when you double-click the home button – allowing you to play/stop/forward/reverse through the current playlist. Great for when you’re on the go.