Cameras and Photo

Article Recap for the Week Ending Apr 10, 2009

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Cameras and Photo, Computers, Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Portable, Site News, Software / By /

Here’s some of the notable articles and gadgets from this past week:

A few weeks ago we reported on Legacy Locker asset access scheme in case of death, well now it’s live. Residents in Broughton, UK, decided that they didn’t like Google’s StreetView intrusion, and got a bit angry with the StreetView driver. In some positive Microsoft news, downgrades are going to be available for Windows 7, much like the XP downgrades from Vista.

Back to tangible gadgets: Guitar Hero enthusiasts will like these new Guitar Hero cufflinks (no batteries needed!), and Flip has a new tiny HD camcorder.

We made an attempt to answer the question “What is a Gizmo?” (a.k.a “What is a Gadget?” ).

Last but not least, the Conficker worm has gone live so it’s important to get your computer and security systems up-to-date.

Olympus Stylus 770

Cameras and Photo, Gizmo of the Day / By /

olympus-stylus-770

There are many people who love to take outdoor pictures and some of them find it hard because they are worried about dropping their camera and breaking it. Many people wish that they had a camera that could withstand some dropping. Now there is one company that has released one of their toughest digital cameras available. This camera is the Olympus Stylus 770 SW compact camera. This is the perfect camera for anyone who lives an active lifestyle and enjoys taking photos.

This ultra-compact camera offers 7.1 megapixels of resolution, a large 2.5 inch screen and a 3X zoom. There are many other amazing features that this camera comes with this camera making it perfect to shoot pictures in any environment. One is that it is waterproof to a depth of 33 feet. It also has the ability to withstand temperatures as low as 18 degrees below freezing. This camera is shatterproof against falls up to five feet and can hold loads up to 220 pounds of pressure. These are great features for people who are going to be shooting pictures outside. There are several different types of shooting modes. There are four modes that are devoted just for underwater shooting. Then there are 19 additional scene modes for you to choose from. You will be about to shoot about 246 images on a single charge. Next time you are looking for a camera that will allow you to shoot in any type of environment, this is the camera you should look at buying.

Buy now!
Price: $139.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Written by “Latest Devices“

Canon PowerShot SD630

Cameras and Photo, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

canon

Mobility is something that many beginning photographers or recreational photographers look for when they look for a new camera. They also look for a camera that is both mobile and has all the great features that are in other cameras. If you are looking for an ultra-compact and ultra-slim camera then you need to look into Canon. The Canon PowerShot SD630 Digital ELPH digital camera is just the camera you might be looking for. This camera offers many great features while being a slim and compact camera and will cost you around $600.

The Canon PowerShot SD630 offers that user 6 megapixels and a 3X optical zoom. There is also a F2.8 maximum aperture. For the first time on a Canon camera there is a 3 inch LCD screen that offers 173,000 pixels of resolution. This will allow you to clearly see your pictures after taking them. Weighing nearly 6 ounces makes this camera heavier than you might expect from a small camera but being small enough that it fits comfortably in your shirt or pants pocket. The camera is quick to start up and will take pictures quickly as well. If you put the camera in its manual mode you have the ability to change advanced settings. Some of these advance settings include white balance, exposure compensation and metering mode. There are many features that make this camera useful. This is the perfect camera for someone who is looking for a great camera that they can take anywhere they want to go.

Buy now!

More info from the manufacturer
Price: $599.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Written by “Latest Devices“

Sony Webbie HD Camera

Cameras and Photo, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

A fun camcorder/camera for fun times. Sony’s Webbie HD weighs in at 7 ounces and is pocket-sized allowing you to record all your crazy life moments.

The camcorder records 8.5 hours of HD MP4 video which plays nicely with YouTube. The Webbie can also take and store thousands of photos using a built-in 5MP camera. Of course the number of photos and length of video depend on the size of the memory stick. So, since this is a Sony product, what memory stick do you think the Webbie uses? I hope you guessed a Memory Stick PRO Duo… 8.5 hours of video or thousands of photos are based on 16GB memory card.

So record your next adventure with impeccable detail as the Webbie can film in high-def (1440×1080/30p, 1280×720/30p) or standard definition (640×480/30p)… all for under $200! That’s right, the Sony Webbie is listed at $199.

Analog to Digital Converters – Round Up

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Books, Music and Movies, Cameras and Photo, Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Recommended, Software / By /

Slide and Negative to Digital Converter

Here we have a furious round up of some of the many analog to digital converters we’ve featured over the years to persuade you to digitize your precious analog collections of audio cassettes, vinyl records, photographs, slides/negatives and VHS tapes. Let’s go!

Audio Cassettes

With CDs looking like they’re being overtaken by new performance discs and music simply being downloaded and stored on computers, it’s amazing that some people still have audio cassettes – we’ve said our goodbyes, now it’s your turn. The Ion Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck lets you do that by sticking your tape into the slot and transferring it to your computer in MP3 format. Audacity and EZ Tape software suites are included to make make everything run smoothly and is compatible with PC and Mac.

Buy now! – $125

Slides, negatives, photographs, vinyl records and VHS tape still to come. Read on.

…

Analog to Digital Converters – Round UpRead More »

#CES09: Ten One Design’s Gadgets Fix Fustrations of Capactive Touch Screens

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Cameras and Photo, CES, Computers, Gizmo of the Day / By /

Ten One Design launched several products lately including the Pogo Stylus in September and the Pogo Sketch less than a month ago.

Ten One Design’s gadgets help consumers that are frustrated by the capacitive touch screens of the iPhone, iPod touch and MacBook due to consumers with fingernails that are a bit too long to accurately use the touch screens or due to fat-fingering.

Pogo Stylus is the world’s first iPod touch- and iPhone-Compatible Stylus while the Pogo Sketch provides drawing capability using the latest multitouch MacBook trackpad. The trackpad is actually transformed into a pen tablet for premium drawing programs and other artistic applications.

The Pogo Sketch’s tip is made of advanced material that acts as a bridge by transferring the signal from the display to the user’s hand.

Both the Pogo Stylus and Pogo Sketch are available from the Ten One Design website for starting at $14.95.

#CES09: Powermat says wireless charging mats are close

Books, Music and Movies, Cameras and Photo, CES, GPS, Home Automation, Phones, Portable / By /

Powermat has a wireless charging solution that uses, you guessed it, a mat that you just place your gadgets on, and voila!, they’re charged up. It uses magnetic induction just like many of the other (promised) solutions. They have a wide range of products ranging from the small, folding to the large desktop variety. Apart from the added price, the only 2 drawbacks that I can see is the limited number of devices that they support, and that you need some kind of device adapter and/or support pre-built-in.

Devices: iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, Razr, GPS unit, handheld game, laptop computer. Not yet available, but expect $100 mats and $30 chargers.

#CES09: Dlink’s All In One Router and More

Cameras and Photo, CES, Computers, Networking & Internet / By /

Dlink has announced the Xtreme N Storage Router. This router is touted as a “All In One” router and comes in an impressive little package sporting a small picture frame, wireless N router, 4 1GB ethernet ports, SATA drive bay, and 2 USB ports for hard drive or print sharing. The router allows users to share and view as well as backup data such as music, video and photos on your network. There is even a built-in FTP server allowing you to share and access the files over the Internet. This will be available for around $300.

Also being shown was a 2-bay Network Video Recorder (NVR) supporting all D-Link cameras. You can remotely manage and view cameras connected on your network using various recording methods included scheduled or motion capture. The NVR supports 2 SATA drives in RAID 0 or 1 format. Two cameras were being shown including a pan and tilt for $299 and another camera that support N wireless or wired for $179 and $149 respectively.

For consumers, Dlink now provides a Network Storage Enclosure supporting iSCSI in RAID 0, 1 Standard and JBOD Support. You can transfer files over the Internet using ftp with SSL encryption.

Finally, a couple not-ready-for-production products were displayed including a SideStage 7″ USB LCD Monitor and an Ethernet to Coax Adapter. No pricing or availability were given for those products.

#CES09: Phanfare – Photo/Video Sharing Service

Cameras and Photo, CES / By /

While Phanfare has been around for a couple years, Andrew Erlichson was showing off Phanfare Photon which turns your iPhone into a wireless digital camera storing images on your Phanfare account. The iPhone application also supports full album viewing and management experience on the iPhone.

Phanfare allows users to upload from a camera, iPhone, the web or your favorite desktop organizer (soon to include Picasa on a Mac). You can then share your photos and videos on an iPhone, Phanfare’s full-screen slideshows, print to books, cards and DVDs or your monitor could become a picture frame. Phanfare even has a Facebook applications that allows you to show your photos and video albums to your Facebook friends.

Finally, utilizing your Phanfare account you have safe and secure online storage of your video and photos, album security and privacy, fullsize archival originals. Phanfare uses Amazon’s S3 storage and provides free storage up to 1GB and unlimited storage at $54.95 per year.

Picasa available for Mac

Cameras and Photo, Software / By /

Picasa on a MacOnce again the Geeks must keep an eye on the happenings at MacWorld while at CES as Google announced a Mac version of Picasa.

Previously Google offered only a Windows version of Picasa and placated Mac users with a standalone Picasa Web Albums uploader and an iPhoto plugin. Picasa and Mac lovers can now rejoice as the Mac release finally provides the advanced sharing and sync features of Picasa to the Mac OS X users and the release provides the “it-slices-and-dices” feature list that covers everything from color balance to collages.

Picasa for the Mac works like other platforms by offering some great trademark features including non-destructive editing, and the ability to keep track of photos anywhere on your hard drive, then automatically account for new images as you add them. This last feature finally tackles an issue I have had with iPhoto!

To run Picasa, you’ll need an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.4 and above.

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