Engadget

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from is from William who is looking for an solution to the problem of badly designed public spaces. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"Hi guys. I'm getting married in a church with a weird split-hall design. The result is that half of the attendees won't be able to see the ceremony at all! I'm wondering if I could hook up my Canon Rebel T3i up to my 3rd-generation iPad and use it as a quick-and-dirty closed-circuit display? There's no WiFi in the location, so it has to be a wired solution too. Please help me!"

It's an interesting request and that's why we're here: solving those problems that three minutes on Google just can't. So, dear friends, what say you? Wish the soon-to-be-wed couple all the best by adding a helpful solution to the comment feed and spread a little joy.

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we've spotted the Lumia 610 in two new colors, and the open source community received new goodies from the likes of HTC, Qualcomm and Samsung. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of March 19th, 2012.

We here at Engadget tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol' Federal Communications Commission's site. Since we couldn't possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there individually, we've gathered up an exhaustive listing of every phone and / or tablet getting the stamp of approval over the last week. Enjoy!

We'd normally use this space to give you a little insight into what might happen on this week's edition of the Engadget Podcast but if you're reading this, you probably already know, and Tim's not around this week to tell us how to run things, so we'll just go ahead and do the practical thing here and try to attract a couple new demographics by telling you that this episode of the Engadget Podcast is the perfect companion to waiting in line for The Hunger Games alone after school at the mall for an hour and change.

Host: Brian Heater
Guests: Terrence O'Brien, Billy Steele
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Orbital - Never

00:06:15 - iPad review (2012)
00:15:50 - Apple touts three million new iPads sold since launch
00:22:00 - Apple: don't worry about hot iPad reports, it's cool
00:28:00 - Apple announces dividend and share repurchase program for 2012, expects to spend $45 billion over three years
00:32:44 - Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 preview (video)
00:40:25 - Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 review (Verizon Wireless LTE)
00:48:21 - Wacom Intuos5 touch review
00:53:45 - Samsung Rugby Smart review
00:59:30 - Angry Birds Space now available for download, pigs will fly
01:03:50 - Listener questions

This waif of a tablet certainly took its sweet time getting here. We first laid eyes on this lightweight beauty last August and while it still hasn't landed in the US just yet (under the guise of the Excite 10 LE) we've brought in the international version -- already in stores in the UK -- to test out the hardware, which appears to be identical. On first appearances, it's an attractive sliver of a slab, due to the magnesium alloy body, of which there isn't much. Measuring in at just 7.7mm thick, we're talking RAZR-scale thinness and a 1.18 pound weigh-in that embarrasses 7-inch devices. Despite this, we still have a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP processor, running Honeycomb 3.2 on a 10.1 inch touchscreen. But surely, sacrifices must have been made, right? Well, it looks like it's a financial cost that has to be paid. The 16GB version is currently on sale for £399, matching the new iPad in the UK, and likely to arrive in the US at around $530, pricing itself quite a bit above existing, similarly-specced, Android favorites like the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Are you willing to pay a fair chunk of change extra to skim a few millimeters off your tablet profile? Is it worth it? The full story is right after the break.

Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. You can follow the series here. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com.
Is learning how to meter with your camera really necessary? With all the intelligent models out today, who needs it, right? Well, you may, depending on the type of killer photography you hope to produce. When it comes to the person behind the camera, there are a few types of photographers. First, there's the photog who just wants to snap away, not terribly concerned about how their photos turn out -- or, at the very least, not interested in knowing how to alter the camera. If this describes you, that's fine -- the latest-and-greatest compact cameras may be your cup of tea. But then there's the amateur shooter who desires a better understanding of how their cameras determine exposure, and if you fit into this category, this piece should be right up your alley.

Metering is not a subject you can easily master, let alone explain entirely in an article of this length, but we can give you an idea of how it all works. I consistently see the faces of my workshop students glaze over as I wax rhapsodic about the wonders of metering, but I also notice wry smiles from time to time, which shows me the wheels are turning -- they begin to realize all the things they can do if only they can conquer this aspect of photography. However, comprehension and applied mastery are two separate balls of wax. Putting what you learn to practice is the start, and you can improve over a number of months, but true metering control in any situation requires years of practice.

So for our 2012 pre-apocalyptic installment of Primed, we'll break down the world of camera metering, giving you a bit of history, dissecting the main components, describing what your camera wants to do and telling you what the future may hold. By the end, you'll have a better understanding of this vital photographic topic... either that or you'll be in a nice deep sleep.

Note: Check out our recent Primed articles on aperture and image sensors to add to your metering knowledge.

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Shoot in the dark. That's essentially what you can do with the Canon 5D Mark III -- with a top sensitivity of ISO 102,400, what was once unfathomable could soon become an acceptable standard. While point-and-shoot manufacturers are adding WiFi and GPS, and tweaking algorithms in an effort to boost sensitivity beyond the 6400 mark, Canon and Nikon are making clear cases for a DSLR upgrade, by drastically improving image quality. The 5D Mark II had an excellent three-year run, but with its 22.3-megapixel sensor, 1.04M-dot 3.2-inch LCD, improved autofocus and high-performance video capabilities, Canon's latest full-frame DSLR is an entirely different beast, and a very compelling successor.

We spent two glorious weeks with a pre-production 5D Mark III before reluctantly shipping it back to Canon. The biggest benefit (for us, at least) has been high-ISO shooting. While the former 5D could theoretically handle ISO 25,600 captures as well, its native range topped out at 6400 -- venturing beyond that territory meant taking a hit on image quality, making it a seldom-used feature that benefited the camera's spec sheet far more than our low-light snap collection. With this latest iteration, we were able to capture sharp images in environments where there was far too little light to make out details with the naked eye, just as we have with the larger (and pricier) Nikon D3S. Our resulting scenes look like they were lit with sophisticated rigs, or in an environment that allotted far more natural light than was actually available. Low-light shooting is but one benefit of the Mark III, however, so join us past the break for a closer look in our field review.