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Nikon D3000 dual-lens-kit deal of the day

When I put together my list of five great enthusiast camera deals for less than $500, I was perturbed by a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't offer for a couple of entry-level dual-lens kits for dSLRs. But one of them popped up again just in time for Cyber Monday: a $449.99 deal on the Nikon D3000 with both the 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses at Best Buy.

The camera is a few years old, but it's still pretty solid, and as a total kit, it covers the zoom range you need for most typical family and vacation shooting. Plus, even if … Read more

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS megazoom drops below $100

If you've got someone on your shopping list who wants to learn more about controlling camera shutter speeds and apertures, Canon's PowerShot SX150 IS is a good and inexpensive option. Even more so now that Target has dropped its price to $99.99.

The 14-megapixel camera features a 12x, f3.4-5.6, 28-336mm lens with optical image stabilization, a 3-inch LCD, and full manual to full auto shooting modes. It's also powered by AA-size batteries, so it's a good choice for travelers, too, who don't want to worry about easy battery replacement.… Read more

PC gaming does Cyber Monday: Desktops and laptops

If you've been eyeing a high-end, hand-built gaming PC, today might be the day to pull the trigger. Here's a selection of the Cyber Monday deals available from the dedicated PC vendors.

Alienware Alienware's high-end desktops aren't as competitive as they used to be, but its laptops and budget-price desktops still have some appeal.

You'll find Alienware's best deals on its highest-end hardware. The M14x and M18x laptops, and the Aurora gaming desktop all offer discounts of above $400. The best deal of that bunch is the M14x, with a starting price of $2,… Read more

Triggertrap camera-triggering app free for the holidays

An interesting low-cost gift for your favorite photog, the $24.99 Triggertrap Mobile Dongle lets you use an Android or iOS device as a remote shutter release for digital SLR or advanced compact cameras.

The dongle is compatible with more than 280 cameras, but you'll still need to download and install the iOS or Android app to actually use it. Those apps usually costs $4.99, but starting today the apps are free for the holidays.

That's not a huge savings, but it does mean that if you pick up the Triggertrap Mobile for a gift, the recipient … Read more

YouTube programmer Maker Studios raises $40M -- report

Maker Studios, a company that delivers professional programming to YouTube, is getting a big cash infusion from Time Warner, according to a new report.

Time Warner Investments, the venture-capital division at the media conglomerate, is leading a $40 million round of financing for Maker, All Things Digital reported yesterday, citing people with knowledge of the deal. The round is expected to close by the end of the year.

Maker Studios stands with Machinima, a company that produces gaming videos, at the leading edge of what has become a more professional push on YouTube. Maker Studios offers what's called "… Read more

Five great enthusiast camera deals for less than $500

When it comes to holiday shopping, I tend to take a conservative approach: decide what you want, then look for good prices. That makes you a little less likely to be swayed by faux bargains, like bundles with mediocre bags or accessories you really won't use. The one exception is for lenses -- provided they're ones you'll actually use -- which do increase the value of a bundle, though you don't want to buy a mediocre body just because the two-lens kit is cheap. With that in mind, I found a handful of models that take … Read more

Compact cameras for advanced shooters (roundup)

Editors' note: This story was originally published on November 21, 2011, but has been updated to reflect more-recent reviews. The latest update adds a discussion of the Nikon Coolpix A and the Ricoh GR in the section about the Fujifilm X100S.

It's a common complaint: you want the photo quality of a dSLR but find you're leaving the camera at home because it's so large.

The compromise is a compact camera with a sensor larger than a typical point-and-shoot -- sometimes even the same size as a consumer or midrange dSLR -- raw file support, and sufficient … Read more

Samsung reveals Black Friday camera deals

Samsung still doesn't have much of a name when it comes to cameras, but it's managed to compete with other manufacturers with one feature: Wi-Fi.

For that reason, people shopping this holiday season for a camera for someone who is addicted to shooting and sharing should check out these Black Friday deals.

Anything that's branded as a Smart camera will have Samsung's built-in 802.11n wireless, which can be used to connect to your Wi-Fi network for automatic backups to a Windows computer or Microsoft SkyDrive, viewing photos and movie clips on DLNA-equipped devices, or sending … Read more

Digital storage basics, Part 2: External drive vs. NAS server

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series. For the other parts, check out the related stories.

Now that you have some ideas about internal storage vs. memory after reading Part 1, here in Part 2 I'll talk about the two main types of external storage devices: direct-attached storage (DAS) and network-attached storage (NAS).

DAS and NAS share a few things in common. They both use one or more internal drives (hard drives or SSDs) on the inside, and they utilize the same methods to combine drives' storage space (when multiple drives are used). But before we … Read more