Cameras

Joby noodles with flexible monopod

LAS VEGAS--Joby announced its latest Gorillapod model Wednesday at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here, the one-legged Solo.

Joby just finished its first year selling monopods with flexible, rubberized legs that can be flexed to deal with uneven perches or wrapped around poles or tree limbs. The Solo has just one stalk and comes in a $30 20-segment model or a $40 30-segment model.

The new model, currently available only off the company's Web site, can hold up to two pounds worth of camera, but the company expects it to be popular holding other photographic equipment such as … Read more

Panasonic, Leica tout monster SLR zoom

LAS VEGAS--Panasonic and its lens-making partner, Leica, announced a zoom lens with a whopping 14-150mm range Wednesday at the Photo Marketing Association's trade show here. The $1,000 lens is due to ship this month.

The lens, formally graced with the name of Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm/F3.5-5.6 Asph. Mega O.I.S., is a member of the Four-Thirds system. That means it can attach to digital SLRs from Panasonic, Leica and Olympus. It also means its focal length equivalence is 28-300mm on a 35mm film SLR camera.

The lens offers some direct competition to Nikon's … Read more

Boss can now get in your face remotely

This is either a great meeting tool or a dream come true for suspicious bosses who want to keep tabs on workers in remote locations. Or both.

The "Giraffe Video-Conferencing Robot" from HeadThere is basically a mobile video-conferencing system that can roam around the office floor like a surrogate supervisor. "Because people near the robot can see and hear the user, they interact with him as if he were truly present. In a sense, the robot acts as a stand-in for the user," the company says. Creeped out yet?

The 5-foot-8 Giraffe, which can be controlled … Read more

ATP CF hits 300X

Update: I had a chance to talk to the company this afternoon and garner some details. The CF card uses UDMA Mode 4 to attain its fastest speeds, which, as yet, no digital cameras support, and it will be a little while before we see any.

Been worrying what flash card will be able to keep up with your new Canon EOS-1D Mark III? ATP will be ready for you with a 300X (45MB/sec) ProMax II CF card in 2GB ($64.99), 4GB ($129.99), and 8GB ($249.99) capacities. Like its ProMax predecessors, the ProMax II is water, … Read more

Kodak's new ultrazoom, high-ISO, and budget cameras

Kodak just announced four new digital cameras at PMA 2007. The different models range from budget snapshooters to photographer-minded ultrazooms, and none of them cost more than $300.

The Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS is the company's newest superzoom camera. With a 36- to 432mm-equivalent, optically stabilized lens, the 7-megapixel Z712 IS offers a generous 12X zoom power. Like most ultrazooms, the Z712 IS is modeled more after digital SLRs than snapshot cameras, with many more manual controls and a much bulkier design. The Z712 IS's 12X zoom isn't quite as impressive as the upcoming 15X Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H7 and DSC-H9, … Read more

Spy bot or alarm clock?

At first glance, we thought this was just another version of the "Clocky" runaway alarm clock, in a different color. But then we noticed the small camera that seems precariously perched on top.

It's not the amateurish design of the "Spy-Cye" that bothers us; it's the price--$695. That's because mobile spy bots are rapidly approaching commodity status. Target's toy department even sells one for kids.

It's true that the Spy-Cye can be controlled on the PC, as Red Ferret notes, but that's not unique either. Besides, counter-surveillance technologies are … Read more

Photoshelter's $1,000 terabyte

Photoshelter has announced that it will now offer its standard- ($29.99 per month) and professional-level ($49.99 per month) members one terabyte of redundant storage for $1,000 per year. If that's too much storage for you, you can also opt for 500GB for $600 per year. Obviously this won't appeal to snapshooters, but it is among the most affordable Web-based bulk storage options for professional photographers at the moment. Photoshelter's standard members already get 35GB of storage with their monthly membership, while professional members get 100GB. The site also offers a basic membership with 10GB … Read more

Nikon's 10.2-megapixel D40x

Just in case the D40's 6-megapixel sensor was keeping you from making the plunge into the world of digital SLRs, Nikon has just announced the D40x, which sports a 10.2-megapixel sensor. Despite the larger pixel count, Nikon still manages to bump the new camera's continuous shooting speed up to three frames per second for up to 100 shots, compared to the D40's 2.5fps. If you often shoot in very bright conditions, you'll appreciate the D40x's wider range of ISOs, which stretches from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 (Nikon calls it H-1). The D40 … Read more

Photo Safe lets you leave your laptop behind

At PMA today, Digital Foci announced a new portable hard drive designed for on-the-go photographers who want to transfer images from card to hard drive, but don't want to lug around a laptop. The lightweight (0.6 pound with battery) Photo Safe drive comes in 40GB, 60GB, and 120GB capacities, and sports a memory card reader that works with all of the popular formats (some require an adapter). To transfer your photos, simply insert the card and press the autocopy button. Digital Foci claims the drive can copy a full 1GB card in about five minutes.

The drive has … Read more