November 24th, 2009
Swarovski glamorizes the Olympus Pen E-P1
You’ll either love it or hate it, but Swarovski has taken the Olympus Pen E-P1 and bejeweled it with their traditional crystal gems.
Spreading tiny gems all over a camera isn’t exactly traditional (it sounds like a kid putting stickers all over a camera), but the jewels combined with the already retro-look of the E-P1 is downright bizarre. I think this look would work for certain personalities, and it’s actually kinda cute, in a kitchy way. (Although not everyone likes it.) And it’s definitely something you shouldn’t do to a professional camera.
But with the £1,999/$3,300 price tag, it’s no toy. A regular Pen E-P1 is more than half that price. It also won’t be easy to get your hands on, as it’s only available at Harrods’ Micro Anvika department in the UK.
What do you think of the flashy look on this camera?
November 24th, 2009
Creative unveils third-gen Vado HD mini-camcorder; selling at $179.99
In case you’re looking to give a camcorder for this holiday season and haven’t found the right one yet, there’s a new option in the mix: the new Creative Vado HD (3rd Generation) mini-camcorder. Read the rest of this entry »
November 18th, 2009
Digital cameras enable Web-based Spontaenous Smiley art project
When I read about Ruth Kaiser’s Internet-based conceptual art project, I had to, well, smile. The Spontaneous Smiley Project combines digital photography, social networking, and just pure goofiness into an undeniably appealing, feel-good communal art project.
Kaiser photographs smiley faces that she finds in everyday objects like a slice of bread, a rusty old sink, or even a rock. In February of this year, she launched a project that calls for people to take pictures of smileys they find and upload them to her Web site or Facebook page. She’s collected thousands of photos from dozens of countries across the globe and has a self-published coffee table book and a gallery show opening November 21 in Berkeley, Calif.
In an Oakland Tribune interview, Kaiser says the project has taken off because digital cameras have made photographing and sharing smiley faces so much easier. “With a digital camera, suddenly I had the ability to show (people) what I was seeing and then people would say ‘I get it.’”
In fact, on her site, she describes an example of how people have been drawn into her project:
One day as I was crouched with my camera in hand over Spilled Soda on the Sidewalk Smiley, a man came a long and asked, “What in the world are you taking a picture of?”
I showed him the Smiley. He smiled. I smiled. He went on his way.
About two minutes later, he came running back in my direction.
“Quick. Bring your camera. I found one.”
November 18th, 2009
Ultra-slim Casio EX-G1 is ready to take on some damage
Casio’s brand new Exilim EX-G1 is being praised as the world’s slimmest and toughest pocket camera. To start, it’s ultra-resistant to extreme conditions, including water, shock, dust and below-freezing temperatures. Ready?
November 18th, 2009
Carl Zeiss upgrades F-mount lenses for Nikon
Carl Zeiss recently unveiled a new line of upgraded F-mount lenses: eight ZF.2 lenses with electronic interfaces (CPU) inside.
November 16th, 2009
Casio upgrading Exilim models to EX-FC150 and EX-FH25
Casio has two new systems lined up for its Exilim series: the EX-FC150 and EX-FH25. Their upgrades from the EX-FC100 and EX-FH20, respectively, are very subtle, mainly some new model codes and backlit CMOS sensors, plus a few other tweaks. Read the rest of this entry »
November 13th, 2009
Panasonic debuts digital photo frame with audio
Panasonic has announced the upcoming release of a digital photo frame, the MW-10, which will also feature an audio system and iPod dock. Read the rest of this entry »
November 12th, 2009
Intel announces a digital camera that can read to you
Electronic book readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook may be poised to take the holiday shopping season by storm, but the new Intel Reader (announced earlier this week) promises to give the gift of reading to those with vision- or reading-related disabilities. Essentially a digital camera combined with an Intel Atom processor, the Intel Reader allows users to photograph printed text and then listen to the words read aloud by a computer-generated voice. Developed by by Intel’s Digital Health Group (the original concept came from an Intel researcher with dyslexia), the new reader costs a steep $1,500, so it’s obviously not meant to compete with the mainstream e-book readers.
Check out a detailed demo video from Intel below, and read more about the device from fellow ZDNet bloggers, Christopher Dawson, Tom Foremski, and Rachel King.
November 12th, 2009
New DVDs store digital photos for centuries
Though many people still back their irreplaceable digital photos to CDs or DVDs, they’re really not a long-term solution. The dyes and reflective layers of conventional recordable CDs and DVDs can deteriorate in two to five years depending on environmental factors. A new long-lasting DVD technology aims to dramatically increase that lifespan by using physical etchings on a rock-like substance to record data.
Makers of the Cranberry DiamonDisc (who exclusively license the technology from Millenniata for the consumer market) claim a shelf-life of 1,000 years, and while the claim obviously can’t be proven, testing based on ECMA International standards indicates the discs will indeed last as long as there are drives that can read them (i.e., most standard DVD drives).
A single 4.7GB DVD (which holds about 2,000 photos) will set you back $34, and unless you want to cough up $4,995 for your own Cranberry Disc Writer (which comes with 150 blank discs), you’ll have to upload or mail your files to Cranberry to have them burned onto a DVD and mailed back to you. A Cranberry DVD Vault option provides a duplicate disc that is kept in a secure storage vault by Cranberry (and costs $89 annually for up to 25 DVDs).
November 11th, 2009
ImageSpan and Digimarc partner for new image management venture
ImageSpan and Digimarc are announcing plans to form a joint venture dedicated to creating a program for managing and monetizing image assets at the 6Sight 2009 Conference.
ImageSpan has been been making a lot of friends lately, announcing a partnership with liveBooks a few months ago. Under this new partnership, ImageSpan, a Northern California-based image management company, will use their LicenseStream platform for processing licenses and royalties, and then publishing. Then Digimarc comes in for adding digital watermarks to images in order to copyright them and provide a link back to the photo owner from anywhere the particular image is found on the web, making them easier to purchase. The plan also calls for a Content Tracker system, in which will be constantly surfing the web of every image (sounds difficult since there are a lot of them out there), and then send reports back about where the images are being used. Sounds simple, but how much will all of these services cost?
To read the complete release, click here. For you pro photographers out there, does this venture pique your interest?
Rachel started playing with her mother's old Brownie camera when she was just a toddler, working her way up from a Hello Kitty point-and-shoot to training on both film and digital SLRs. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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