May 8th, 2008
Top five (last-minute) digital camera accessories
Don’t worry–you still have a couple of days to get it together for Mother’s Day. If your favorite mom already has a digital camera, getting her one of these cool camera accoutrements is sure to put a smile on her face.
Pandigital PanTouch Photo Frame
Pandigital’s latest line of digital photo frames adds a cool new interface that utilizes touch-sensor controls. Rather than a touch-screen (which would leave you with fingerprints all over the photo display) the PanTouch’s touch sensor is in the surrounding matte. I tested out an 8-inch model ($169.99) and found it to be surprisingly intuitive, with good image quality. Flip through “pages” of photos with forward or backward swiping motions (think iPhone) or tap to activate adjacent on-screen icons that the plentiful access menu options. The frame comes with 512MB of internal memory as well as a 6-in-1 memory card reader and a USB 2.0 port which allows you to connect a camera directly or even a thumbdrive. I wish the frame had built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, but it is compatible with both so you can add a WiFi or Bluetooth adapter in the USB port. Check out a nice video review from CNET here.
Mountainsmith Cyber II Digital Camera Pouch
The Cyber II pouch from Mountainsmith lets you protect your digital camera and the environment at the same time. The fleece-lined, padded pouch uses fabric made from recycled soda bottles and comes in four sizes (X-Small, Small, Medium, and Large). It has convenient features like an internal memory card sleeve and velcro opening (for fast access) as well as a more-secure zipper. Belt and shoulder strap options let you carry it in various ways ($13 for X-Small, $22 for Large).
SanDisk MicroMate Card Reader 
I have way too unidentified cables lying around my office, so I’ve gotten rid of all my camera connection cables and use an SD card reader exclusively to download photos from my camera. This little gem from SanDisk is simple and effective and small enough to drop into a purse or pocket so you can take it with you wherever you go. When I need to travel light, I take one with me and download images in a hotel business center or Internet cafe. At just $19.99, you can snap a couple up so you have a spare.
LensPen Panamatic
This clever little device helps you take perfectly aligned panoramic photos. Just screw it onto your tripod, attach your camera, and the gadget will let you turn and click your camera to 12 fixed-interval positions, keeping it completely stable horizontally. Your resulting shots will be perfectly aligned and can be stitched together cleanly into a perfect panoramic image. LensPen sells them for $24.95.
Millipod/Wrap-up Combo
The Millipod is a cleverly designed, super-compact tripod that mounts to the bottom of your compact digital camera. So slim you can leave it permanently attached, the legs fold up under you camera adding just a 5mm thick attachment at the bottom. The Millipod/Wrap-up Combo combines the mini tripod with a nice wraparound case for camera protection. Made of stretchy neoprene, the case fits cameras up to 1 inch thick (and fits the Millipod inside as well). You can get the Combo for $34.95 or buy the Millipod alone for $24.95. Wrap-up cases are available separately for $19.95 and come in a variety of designs (including zebra stripes, fuzzy pink dots, and different neoprene colors).
May 6th, 2008
Top Five Digital Cameras to Get for Mom
Still scrambling to figure out what to get your favorite mom for Sunday? A little help: Here are my top picks for the perfect Mother’s Day gift (hint, hint).
Best Budget Camera: Canon PowerShotA470
This 7.1-megapixel camera is a steal, especially if you snap it up for $109.50 at Beach Camera (with free shipping). It’s bulkier than my favorite Canon point-and-shoot, the PowerShot SD870 IS, but for less than half the price, the A470 is a great option if your mom is a digital camera newbie. It takes two AA batteries, which is nice in a pinch for those who aren’t used to recharging their cameras. The camera sports a 38- to 132mm equivalent f/3.0-5.8 lens, a 2.5-inch LCD, and 14 automatic shooting modes. And if mom wants to get a little creative, there are manual overrides for ISO speed, exposure compensation, and white balance–nice touches in an entry-level shooter. Oh, and you can pick from models with blue, orange, red, or gray color accents.
Best Vacation Camera: Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW isn’t just waterproof to 33 feet, it’s also designed to withstand a 6.6-foot drop or 220-pounds of pressure (not to mention 14-degree temperatures), so it can pretty much take whatever abuse a family vacation can throw at it. Add to that some fine camera specs like the relatively wide 28- to 102mm, f/3.5-5.1 zoom lens and a 2.7-inch LCD; 29 shooting modes, including underwater still and movie modes; and an in-camera Panorama mode that captures three images and stitches them together automatically (perfect for those Grand Canyon shots on the family road-trip). You can buy one for about $350 at Amazon.com.
Best Soccer-Mom Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35
The 10.1-megapixel DMC-FX35’s extra-wide zoom lens (25- to 100mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.6) means you can squeeze the whole team in your shot without having to back up across the entire field. A High-speed Burst setting lets you shoot about 6 frames per second to capture your kids in motion–or better yet, try the 1280×720 HD resolution video capture at 30 frames per second (and play the video back on your HDTV with an optional component cable). Optical image stabilization saves your images from hand-shake blur while Intelligent ISO Control helps reduce motion blur. A cute touch is the slideshow with soundtrack capabilities–a fun way to share your shots with the team. You can find the camera selling for as low as $278 (at Buydig.com).
Best Digital SLR for Mom: Olympus Evolt E410
No, I didn’t mean the new Olympus Evolt E420. Now that its successor is out, you can get a sweet deal on the E410 ($450 at Amazon.com with kit lens, for example). I like the 10-megapixel DSLR for mom because of its super-compact size and the Live View mode, which is increasingly common in DSLRs, but a bonus in such a low-priced camera. Since most moms have enough stuff to lug around, you might even think about getting a body-only model and waiting for the 25mm F2.8 Zuiko pancake lens (0.9 inch thick!) that was announced along with the E420 and should be shipping May 20.
Best On-the-go Camcorder: Flip Video Ultra
Everyone I know who has one of these loves the thing. The beauty of this little gizmo is in its simplicity and since most mothers I know need a little simplicity in their lives, I had to add it to my list. You might have the fanciest HD camcorder out there, but it won’t capture those priceless moments if you don’t have it with you. The Flip is so easy to use, cheap ($149.99 for 1GB version and $179.99 for 2GB), and durable that moms won’t hesitate to leave it rattling around with their keys in a purse or pocket, so it can always be at the ready when the occasion arises.
April 30th, 2008
SeaLife Announces DC800 8 megapixel waterproof Camera
Another day, another waterproof camera announcement. Unlike the Ricoh G600 announced last week, though, the SeaLife DC800 is a true underwater camera. To be precise, it’s really a 8-megapixel point-and-shoot in a waterproof housing, so it can be popped out of the housing and used on land as well. This particular point-and-shoot, however, is designed expressly for underwater photography, offering five unique underwater modes to help you capture sharp and colorful photos in various underwater settings. With a nice and wide 28- to 112mm equivalent f/2.7-5.4 lens and solid specs, it’s a full-featured camera for both in and out of the water.
The housing is guaranteed to a depth of 200 feet, so you can really scuba dive with it, and is relatively compact at 3.5×5.5×3.4 inches. There’s a 2.7-inch LCD and a high-capacity rechargeable battery that SeaLife claims will power the camera for a two-tank dive and over 200 photos. The camera is currently shipping for a suggested list price of $549.95.
April 23rd, 2008
Ricoh announces G600 ruggedized camera in the U.K.
I’m always on the lookout for a good waterproof camera so the announcement of the new Ricoh G600 caught my eye, even if it’s only for our cousins across the pond.
The 10-megapixel G600 is not the sleekest looking compact camera out there, but it sure looks like it can take a licking. Indeed, it can withstand falls from about 5 feet “onto 26 surfaces” which apparently complies with the U.S. Department of Defense standards (even though it isn’t being sold in the U.S.). The ruggedness specs don’t actually compare that favorably to the slimmer Olympus Stylus 1030SW, another 10-megapixel weatherproof camera. In fact, the G600 is only “water resistant” down to about 3.3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes, whereas the Olympus model is waterproof to 33 feet. And despite the Ricoh’s more rugged appearance, the 5 feet drop resistance doesn’t match the Olympus’s 6.6 feet.
Nevertheless, the Ricoh is a more flexible shooter, with a broader shutter speed range (8, 4, 2, 1 to 1/1500 seconds) and ISO sensitivity range (up to ISO 3200), as well as a more impressive focal length of 28- to 140mm equivalent, f/3.5-5.5, (vs. the 1030SW’s 28mm to 102mm, f/3.5-5.1). Furthermore, Ricoh augments its built-in flash with a flash hotshoe for even more shooting flexibility. I particularly like the nice wide-angle lens and the big 2.7-inch LCD, and don’t mind the lack of optical viewfinder, though I know others will miss it. Having recently returned from Europe, where the appalling Euro/Dollar exchange rate brutalized my wallet, the G600’s £ 349.99 price (about $695 at today’s exchange) is the worst thing about this camera. It ships in the U.K. and Ireland in May, but no word on whether it will ever make it stateside.
April 21st, 2008
Forget WiFi, how about built-in GPS in your digital camera?
While camera makers like Panasonic and Nikon are busy adding Wi-Fi capability to their cameras, Taiwanese ODM Altek has announced a point-and-shoot with built-in GPS and automatic geotagging capabilities which it expects to begin shipping by summer.
So now it looks like the 3G iPhone isn’t the only tech toy I’ll be jonesing for this summer (image quality be damned!). As an avid traveler (50 countries and counting), I’m way more interested in being able to attach geographic coordinates to image files than uploading photos while I’m at Starbucks (though I suppose if I were here…). Altek’s camera will allow you to geotag images on the fly and then map the locations via sites like Google Earth, Google Maps, and Flickr. You’ll also be able to use the camera as an actual GPS navigation device and browse maps or search for points of interest.
Detailed camera specs (and pricing) are unavailable, but Altek does note that the camera will feature an 8.0-megapixel CCD, a 3-inch touchscreen LCD, and include a bilingual handwriting recognition system (English and Chinese) in addition to the GPS chip.
As an ODM, Altek doesn’t market digital cameras itself, so the new camera will be sold under a different brand. No word yet on who the takers are, but note that Altek–which has a 10 percent market share of digital cameras worldwide and manufactures cameras for Kodak, Pentax, and HP (adding Sanyo as a client at the end of last year)–is one of three digital camera makers bidding for HP’s brand license after the company announced it would no longer manufacture its own cameras.
April 17th, 2008
Panasonic introduces first Wi-Fi Lumix digital camera
After announcing a collaboration with T-Mobile back at CES 2008, Panasonic has finally introduced the first camera to come out of that partnership. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50 is essentially a Lumix DMC-TZ5 (announced at PMA back in January) plus Wi-Fi capabilities. So what does the Wi-Fi give you? 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity, 12-months of free access to T-Mobile hotspot service, and uploading to Google’s Picasa Web Albums.
Like the TZ5, the TZ50 is a 9.1 megapixel megazoom, with a 28mm equivalent wide-angle lens, 10x optical zoom, and the ability to record HD video at resolutions of up to 1,280×720 at 30 frames per second. Unlike the TZ5, the TZ50 will let you connect to your wireless home router or a T-Mobile hotspot to upload one or more photos directly to Picasa. Unfortunately, Panasonic only lets you register one e-mail account with the TZ50, so after you upload your photos to Picasa, you can have the album’s URL sent only to that registered account. This means that unless you have a laptop, smartphone, or other e-mail-enabled device with you at the T-Mobile hotspot, you won’t be able to forward your uploaded photos to friends and family on the fly. You can, however, browse your albums and delete uploaded photos directly on the camera.
The DMC-TZ50 will be available in May for $449.95, which means you’re paying about $100 over the TZ5 for the Wi-Fi capabilities. If you like the TZ5 and want the flexibility of uploading at T-Mobile hotspots (and can live with the inflexibility of only being able to upload to Picasa), it’s a decent deal. Otherwise, you might want to consider spending the $100 on the Eye-Fi wireless-enabled SD card, which will let you use any SD-compatible camera to upload to any of 20 popular photo-sharing, social networking, or blogging sites (including Facebook, TypePad, and more), but doesn’t work well at public hotspots.
April 9th, 2008
How to get more from your WiFi digital photo frame
I don’t know why anyone would buy a digital photo frame without WiFi uploading capabilities (well, I suppose if they didn’t have a WiFi network…). Remotely uploading photos to a frame is such a brilliant way of sharing photos with far-away friends and family, especially the less technically inclined sort. In fact, I’d like to get one for my parents, who still rely on me to download photos off their digital camera. Until recently, I figured I’d get them a Kodak frame so I could manage photos through their EasyShare Gallery online. But then I discovered FrameChannel, an even easier-to-use service that offers more flexibility of content and supports a variety of photo frames.
This terrific–and better yet, free–Web-based service not only lets you remotely upload and share photos but it also supports photo sharing from sites like Facebook, Flickr, Webshots, and Picasa. The frame does more than just photos, too. It also serves up over 200 channels of customizable content from the FrameChannel library, including news, sports, weather, traffic, entertainment, and more. There are even channels featuring slideshows of professional photographs, such as themed photos from National Geographic, for example. You can also add text-based RSS feeds from your favorite blog or news site. FrameChannel will convert the headlines and story summary into graphics and update the content on a regular basis.
It was super simple to get the service up and running on a Digital Spectrum photo frame in my office. The web-based interface is attractive and intuitive, and updates showed up on my frame in seconds. There’s even a “Preview my frame” option which is handy if you’re uploading the content to a photo frame at a remote (say, grandparent’s) location. I ran into a little trouble getting the preview to work at first–it displayed “Sorry, your user name and PIN don’t match” even though I was already logged in with my correct user name and PIN and was able to view all my customized channels properly. But after I logged out and logged back in, all went well.
FrameChannel currently supports photo frames from Samsung (SPF-72V), Digital Spectrum (8-, 10-, and 15-inch wireless frames), PhotoVu (all wireless models), iMate (adding FrameChannel specific support this month), and the adorable Chumby, and plans to add more.
April 6th, 2008
The highs and lows of digital camcorders: Flip Video Ultra vs. Sony Handycam HDR-TG1
There’s been a lot of renewed media interest of late in Pure Digital’s Flip Video (aka, The Flip), the super-simple, low-res, flash-based video recorder (with flip-out USB dongle) that has taken the camcorder industry by storm in the year since it was launched. David Pogue reviewed the lastest version a couple of weeks ago, and CNET TV’s Crave video featured it last week. The newest edition, the Flip Ultra, hit the streets last September and comes in 1GB ($149.99) and 2GB ($179.99) versions, which hold up to 30 and 60 minutes respectively of “high-quality” video (Pogue describes it as “not as sharp as a tape camcorder or even digital still cameras, but far superior to cell phone video” and with low-light abilities that “trump even $1,000 camcorders”). The best-selling camcorder on Amazon for at least six months now, the Flip Ultra is simplicity defined, and its success is a tribute to the YouTube generation where higher resolution isn’t always better. Pogue calls the gadget’s 640×480 pixels, 30 frames per second, “TV resolution” but that’s only if you have a standard definition TV like my Trinitron that everyone (including the Verizon FiOS installation guy) makes fun of.
For those of you HDTV snobs (yes, that’s you, FiOS guy) out there, you’ll be more interested in the other camcorder that was in the news last week: The Sony Handycam HDR-TG1, which records 1920×1080 high-def video onto MemoryStick ProDuo flash memory cards–a 4GB card is included in the whopping $900 price tag (yes, you can buy enough Flip Ultras to feed a large family for that kind of cash). Actually somewhat similar in size to the Flip (4.7×1.3×2.5 inches, vs. the Flip’s 4.17×2.16×1.25 inches), the HDR-TG1’s $900 will buy you HD video, Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound (albeit from a built-in zoom mic), face detection, 10x optical zoom, a 2.7-inch flip out touch-screen, and other fancy features. The Flip? Um, well, it has a 1.5-inch fixed LCD and relatively useless 2x digital zoom, but the best features (besides the flip-out USB dongle) are of course its simplicity and low price (which includes a carrying pouch–a little nicety that Sony has the audacity to charge extra for on a $900 product).
So which one of these pocketable camcorders is for me? You only have to take one gander at my 27-inch CRT setup to know.
March 28th, 2008
Adobe launches free Web app and photo sharing service, Photoshop Express
Every product has its naysayers out there and Adobe’s Photoshop Express is no exception, but I think Adobe’s entry into photo sharing and Web-based photo editing (public beta launched yesterday) is awesome for several reasons (in no particular order): Robust online photo-editing tools with an unmatchable pedigree; super-slick, Flashy, Flexy, Web 2.0-ish interface; allows upload and download of original resolution files; seamless interface with FaceBook and other social networking sites; free vanity URLs for your galleries; Flash-based slideshows (that you can e-mail) with cool transitions/animations; and last but not least, it’s FREE. Lots of chatter going on about it, so read more ZDNet blog posts below and don’t miss Lori Grunin’s excellent review.
Adobe’s Photoshop Express and the big picture (Between the Lines)
Concerns raised over content ownership, terms with Adobe Photoshop Express service (The Apple Core)
Photoshop Express a fine, free tool for teachers and students (ZDNet Education)
March 26th, 2008
Don’t lose another photo: The easiest way to back up your digital files
As folks in the storage industry like to say, backing up your hard drive is like flossing your teeth. We all know we should do it, but most o f us don’t do it as often as we should. Few things are as irreplaceable as your personal photographs, but without a backup solution it takes just one hard drive failure to lose years of memories. So why don’t more people back up? With the huge number of relatively simple backup options available today, could it be that people are waiting for one that is utterly foolproof and requires virtually no thought at all?
Well, I may have found just such a thing. The ClickFree HD700 is about as much of a no-brainer to operate as backup gets. My mother could probably use this product unassisted (and if you’d ever seen her try to operate a VCR, you’d know what a miracle that would be). Essentially a slim, external USB 2.0 hard drive, the HD700 automatically launches a backup of your PC’s data files when you plug it in. No buttons to push, no software clicks required. Or at least in theory. When I plugged my eval unit into a XP notebook, it did require me to restart my computer (which did then require a mouse-click and would probably throw my mom-can-do-it test out the window). But once I restarted, everything went off without a hitch.
The ClickFree software backs up your data only, searching your drive for over 400 content file types, categorizing them into: Photos, Music, E-mail Files, Artwork and Drawings, Favorite websites, and All Others (which includes tax files, DAT files, ZIP and everything else.). The upside to this method is that you back up only irreplaceable data files and you don’t have to direct the drive to specific locations. The downside is that if you’ve renamed your files with unusual extensions decipherable only by you, ClickFree won’t find them.
The interface is great and almost as easy to use as the backup is, reassuring you in unambiguous terms like “Backup complete. Your files are now safe.” It’s configurable and allows you to do simple, but useful tasks like renaming each PC (in case yours is named something unintelligible by default).
My first backup of a 60GB drive (45GB used space) took about an hour and 25 minutes (subsequent backups are much faster) and required absolutely no intervention from me. In that time, ClickFree found 15,781 items (29.9GB of data) including 6,845 (9.5GB) photos. With a capacity of up to 120GB, you can backup up to five PCs on each device. The HD700 sells for $160 and is scheduled for widespread release on April 1.
The company also sells the ClickFree DVD Photo Backup (5 pack for $14.99), which includes the ClickFree software on the disc, so all you do is drop it in your DVD writer and away it goes. Currently only Windows-based PCs are supported, but Mac support is scheduled for Q3 2008.
Janice Chen has been covering technology for almost two decades. She got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
Recent Entries
- Top five (last-minute) digital camera accessories
- Top Five Digital Cameras to Get for Mom
- SeaLife Announces DC800 8 megapixel waterproof Camera
- Ricoh announces G600 ruggedized camera in the U.K.
- Forget WiFi, how about built-in GPS in your digital camera?
Most Popular Posts
- Top Five Digital Cameras to Get for Mom
- Forget WiFi, how about built-in GPS in your digital camera?
- SeaLife Announces DC800 8 megapixel waterproof Camera
- Panasonic introduces first Wi-Fi Lumix digital camera
- Ricoh announces G600 ruggedized camera in the U.K.
- Top five (last-minute) digital camera accessories
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