Cameras

Livin' large with Memory Stick Pro-HG

Just when you thought that SD memory cards, with their fancy new SDHC spec, were pulling ahead of Sony's Memory Stick Pro format in terms of capacity and data transfer rates, here come Sony and SanDisk with an upgrade. The two companies have teamed up to keep Sony's proprietary memory card format up-to-date by increasing the maximum capacity to 32GB and bumping the top theoretical data transfer rate to 60 megabytes per second. That makes this new format three times as fast as current Memory Stick Pro media, according to the companies, though the new cards will be … Read more

Local Shopping to the rescue!

Problem: My friend was looking to buy her boyfriend a Canon PowerShot SD600 for Christmas, but she needed it ASAP because he was leaving the country for the holidays.

Solution: CNET Shopper.com's Local Shopping to the rescue!

We have this great feature called Local Shopping. Enter your zip code to see if a product is in stock locally within your zip code. I entered my zip code and voila! I get 94105 Canon PowerShot SD600 availability. You can view the store address and the store hours, and map the address. So, if you are ever in a panic … Read more

Fuji to release two fives in early '07

Fujifilm decided to stop being coy and tell us when, and for how much, we'll be able to buy its recently announced S5 Pro dSLR and Z5fd ultracompact cameras. We first told you about the 6.3-megapixel FinePix Z5fd in November, but at the time we didn't know whether it would be sold in the U.S. at all. Now we can say with confidence that Fuji intends to ship the FinePix Z5fd in March 2007, and it will set you back about $230.

First deets on the FinePix S5 Pro hit the blogs back in September, and … Read more

Self-portraiture for the friendless

To quote a wise philosopher we once met, this thing is so stupid it might actually be smart. Even so, we're not sure we'd want to look as dorky as the couple in this photo.

The "Quik Pod" is aimed at people like ourselves: those who are either too slow or slow-witted (or both) to use the camera's automatic timer. But if you must prove to your friends back home that you really did go to the Superbowl--and your Photoshop skills are kind of shaky--this may come in handy to record your attendance.

And as … Read more

Hello Kitty camera and the apocalypse

Great, yet another thing to make us paranoid. But unlike the eggs and Swarovski crystals of our nightmares, something tells us we're not alone in our discomfort with Hello Kitty.

Actually, we know for a fact that the macrocephalic feline has been alternatingly irritating and creeping out people for nearly three decades (chills). So it was really just a matter of time before it happened to us.

We started to sense something amiss while reading about the latest Hello Kitty MP3 player. But then we had to avert our eyes upon viewing the "Tink Pink X Hello Kitty DC571&… Read more

SkinIt lets you customize your camera

If the standard silver or black (and the occasional pink) of Kodak's cameras aren't enough for you, then you're in luck. Kodak has announced a partnership with SkinIt, a company that makes custom vinyl skins for gadgets. According to a recent announcement, SkinIt will offer exclusive skins for 28 different Kodak EasyShare digital cameras, ranging from sports logos to bands to comics. SkinIt will also offer custom skins from users photos. SkinIt vinyl skins for Kodak EasyShare cameras will ship next year and retail for $10 and up.

Ceiva unveils new line of photo frames for holidays

Ceiva Logic, one of the early pioneers in the digital photo-frame space, has two new digital photo frames just in time for the holidays. The frames, which come in a 7- and 8-inch models and black or wood finishes, have a sleeker look, higher resolution, slots for all major memory-card formats, and options to receive photos via a broadband or wireless connection instead of standard phone lines.

For those who don't know already, Ceiva's the company that offers a subsciption service that allows you to send images to a frame or frames via the online Ceiva Network. The … Read more

Look skinnier in a snap

Studies suggest that Americans probably gain about a pound during the winter holiday season. If you are, like me, afraid of taking pictures of yourself in January after you just came back from the holidays, then HP has a solution for you. The HP Photosmart R927 has a built-in feature that squeezes an image so the subjects appear slightly leaner. Now you can enjoy photo sharing without feeling all self-conscious. Useful hint: Try to stand in the middle for best result. Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for overeating during this holiday season!

Let your peers pick your next camera

Are you one of those people who needs a new digital camera but who's a little insecure about where to plonk down a few hundred bucks? Perhaps you should let the wisdom of crowds chart your course.

Flickr, Yahoo's popular photo-sharing site, provides a Camera Finder site that details what cameras are most popular among its users and which produce the most photos on the site. The company bases its figures on camera data that's embedded in about two-thirds of photos.

The answer, if you're curious: The Canon Rebel XT, a digital SLR, wins hands down, … Read more

If James Bond needed a scanner

Here's yet another stocking stuffer for the 007 wannabe in your family. When he/she is on a mission and doesn't have a miniature spy camera to photograph secret documents, the "DocuPen RC800" might well come in handy.

Portable scanners have been around for years, but this one claims to be the smallest ever made. It isn't really pen-sized--unless you happen to have unusually large hands--but it's close enough, weighing only 2 ounces and scanning a full page in 4 seconds. The drawbacks are the price ($300 or $350) and a few usability issues … Read more