While we have been away, the consumer level cameras have just gotten better and better. Now you really only have to point and shoot.
Cameras have auto-exposure. And auto-focus. The flash can be set to fire only when needed. Flick another switch, and the camera automatically compensates for subjects that are lighted from behind.
Newer models even boast “face recognition” software, so the person’s face is properly exposed - and “red eyes” eliminated.
These features are imbedded into the cameras. And more features are in the imbedding process as the holiday buying season moves in. via TheLedger.com.
I was doing a little random surfing this morning and found a very cool video. The video shows water turning into ice when thrown into the air. You need two things for this to work. First, boiling water as boiling water is so close to vaporizing into a gas that it breaks into small droplets fast enough to freeze (via WGN). Second, Very cold air.
Now for the cool video of this occurring:
Hat Tip Will at Clicked
Vivitar has announced the new 10 Megapixel Vivicam X60 at the CES Show this past week. Most of the Vivitar cameras are rebadged versions of other brands, but Vivitar has come out with this camera that is there own development which tells us they are looking to be a player in the digital camera marketplace. Lets Go Digital has some more information they got at CES.
According to Alan Tsao, Vivitar’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, “The Vivitar X60 represents the epitome of Vivitar engineering for truly extraordinary photography. The ViviCam Vivitar X60 provides the photographer with a 6x optical and an 8x digital zoom enabling the user to photograph subjects at great distances while keeping the image sharp and clear. The Vivitar X60 has a huge 2.8 inch color LTPS screen and features a 10 Megapixel 1/1.8 inch CCD image sensor.
In addition to very high resolution stills, the Vivitar X60 digital camera captures movie clips at 640 x 480 at 30fps allowing the photographer to become a videographer at will. Our market research,” Alan continued, “confirmed what the serious photographer was looking for in a serious camera, ease of use with sophisticated capability. The Vivitar ViviCam X60 digital camera meets those needs and more.” The new Vivitar model is Vivitar’s top model and will be available in the second of third quarter of 2006. via Lets Go Digital
The Kodak Easy Share P880 offers a quality camera that is the top of the Kodak available in their EasyShare line. Steve’s Digicam reviews it:
The P880 Zoom is the flagship of Kodak’s new EASYSHARE P-Series of advanced digital cameras. The Easyshare P880 Zoom is an affordable, high performance camera for serious photographers. It incorporates a 24-140mm (35mm equiv) wide-angle, Schneider-KREUZNACH VARIOGON zoom lens with a high resolution 8-megapixel imager for very large, professional-quality prints. visit Steves Digicams for more.
The Canon Powershot SD30 Digital Elph was reviewed today in PC Magazine. They said “Small, sleek and stylish, the Canon PowerShot SD30 Digital Elph ($399.95 list) comes in four bold colors—gold, red, purple, and black. It’s easy to slip into a shirt pocket or handbag. But the slick packaging doesn’t quite make up for this ultracompact’s mediocre performance. It’s not the cheapest ultracompact on the market, and on our tests, we found it to be just an average camera in slick clothing.
The SD30 is a 5-megapixel camera with a 2.4X optical zoom—less than the 3X most ultracompacts have. Maximum apertures on its 6.3 to 14.9mm zoom (the 35mm equivalent of 38 to 90mm) go from f/3.2 to f/5.4 across the zoom range. It comes with a small, not particularly sturdy cradle, like that of the Kodak EasyShare V530 or V550. We like the cute little remote control that comes with it. The SD30 also has the My Colors feature, which we reviewed in the SD500 Digital Elph and found as much fun and easy to use as on the other Canon cameras. But we were disappointed at the small size of the 1.8-inch LCD, especially since the camera has no optical viewfinder. It’s hard to choose a camera with a small LCD when Casio, Kodak, and Sony are offering much larger displays. “
The camera is very sexy, but this review does not inspire me to run out and buy one.
The days of mass market film photography are coming to an end. Nikon has announced that their manufacturing of film cameras is coming to an end. Once their inventory of film cameras are done, they are closing up that division.
Nikon, the iconic Japanese camera maker, has put another nail in the coffin of traditional photography with plans to stop selling most of its film models in favor of hot-selling digital cameras.
Nikon said it will end production of all but two of its eight single-lens reflex (SLR) analogue models and axe all of its non-digital compacts, signalling the end of its more than 50 year history of selling film cameras.
Sales will end when stocks run out — news that could trigger a rush by camera buffs to snap up the remaining ones.
Experts believe the days of conventional film cameras are now numbered. Yahoo! News.
Fugifilms has announced for the CES show in Las Vegas the new FinePix V10 Ultra Compact camera. This camera features a 3.4X Optical Zoom lens, 5.1 Megapixel sensor, and the ability to record still photographs and videos. The V10 is expected to be released in March 2006.
Features of the FinePix V10 include:
Real Photo Technology featuring a five MegaPixel Super CCD HR sensor working in tandem with the critically acclaimed RP Processor for sharper photos and more vivid color reproduction with less noise than in comparable camera models.
A 3.4x optical zoom lens from world-renowned lens manufacturer, Fujinon, which provides broadcast-quality lenses for television and movie production. The lens on the FinePix V10 widens to F2.8, a setting that allows additional light to hit the Super CCD. This enables the FinePix V10 to shoot at faster shutter speeds, and a quicker shutter reduces camera shake due to hand movement as well as blurring caused by moving subjects.
Six scene modes ensure precise and correct camera settings for a variety of shooting environments and conditions. These settings help the user maximize picture quality even in the most difficult picture-taking situations.
A 30-frame multi-frame playback mode for viewing groups of photos.
Consumers can purchase the FinePix V10 in March 2006 at a retail cost of $349.