Photography

Panasonic certainly has something to brag about today. Two of their products, the TC-P54Z1 VIERA Plasma HDTV and the LUMIX GF1 digital camera, were just named "The Best of What's New" in the Home Entertainment and Gadgets categories by Popular Science magazine.

The winner in the Home Entertainment category is the Panasonic TC-P54Z1 VIERA Plasma. Sporting an ultra-thin 1-inch profile, this Plasma can be placed in areas you never would have considered before! And, it uses wireless technology with a maximum transmission rate of approximately 4Gbs, allowing full-HD uncompressed video and audio signals to be transmitted up to 30 feet from the TV. Also, the remote is RF, so the external box that houses all the electronics and connections can be placed out of sight. Read more

"This is a rugged camera? It's too pretty!" was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the latest entry from Casio. But sure enough, the new EXILIM G1 is a shock-resistant, waterproof, and dustproof digital camera. And, at only 0.78-inch thick, it is also the slimmest shock-resistant digital cam on the market today.

Thanks to the camera's two layer construction of stainless steel and resin, the EX-G1 can be dropped from seven feet and can be used underwater at depths of 10 feet for 60 continuous minutes. It even withstands freezing temperatures as low as 14 degrees!

The 12.1 megapixel EX-G1 will hit store shelves in December 2009 with an MSRP of $299.99. It will be available in black and red.Read more

Pandigital just added two new portable photo scanners to their PhotoLink line, the PhotoLink One-Touch 5x7 Scanner and PhotoLink Personal Photo Scanner.

Ready to go right out of the box is the new PhotoLink One-Touch 5x7 Scanner (PANSCN04). You can easily scan 5x7-inch (or smaller) prints onto a memory card or PC, with no software to install. The scanner supports SD, MS, MS Pro, MMS, and XD memory cards. A 512MB SD card is included. To use, just insert a photo into the feed area and push the button to start. The result is a digital image at 1800x1200 pixels and 600 dpi.Read more

LEICA just announced a new, limited special edition of their M7 – the LEICA M7 Edition Hermès. With all of the features of the standard M7, this limited edition adds silver chrome with a choice of two calfskin leather colors…and, of course, the Hermès name. Two colors of leather are available – Etoupe and Orange. Only 100 cameras are available in each color.

The LEICA M7 Edition Hermès set includes a silver anodised LEICA SUMMILUX-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH. wide-angle lens, a matching classic round lens hood and a LEICAVIT M rapid winder in silver chrome. A leather Hermès carrying strap is also included, and it comes in a linen-covered, silk-lined box.Read more

PENTAX just announced a FOCUS ON SAVINGS rebate that offers a $100 prepaid card on a choice of PENTAX lenses. From now until January 15, 2010, K-7 buyers can select from more than 20 lenses (listed below) and receive a $100 VISA prepaid card rebate for each and every qualifying lens* purchased at the same time. Read more

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and with that comes the holiday shopping season. If you are in the market for a new digital camera for someone on your gift list, one to consider is the Nikon COOLPIX S70.

Not only does the S70 feature 12.1 megapixels, it has a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen display. OLED technology gives you excellent color reproduction, sharp contrast and the absence of afterimages. And the touchscreen? Thanks to it, there is only one button on the camera, the shutter release button. Using the Touch Shutter feature, you can take pictures completely "button-free" by just touching the camera's display. You can even retouch images, zoom in or out and switch between thumbnail and full screen views by using pinch and swipe movements, similar to using the touchscreen on the iPhone. The camera adds a couple of new touchscreen controls too, such as on-screen sliders to adjust the brightness, and the new Scene Effect Adjustment gives you controls specific to the scene mode you're using.Read more

Panasonic this week announced an audio system that is not only a CD player, AM/FM radio and iPod dock, but a digital photo frame as well! The new MW-10 gives you audiophile-quality sound from the CD player, and its FM/AM radio tuner has 45-station (30-FM/15-AM) Preset Memory. The Universal Dock for iPod plays your music and videos too. A remote control is also included.

Pure, crisp sound is achieved from the speaker which is made from bamboo cones, and it has diffusers in front of the speaker units which disperse sound over a wide area. Panasonic didn't forget about the bass either. The unit has a D.Bass function which enhances bass in conjunction with the volume level.Read more

What camera company does NBC's Saturday Night Live turn to when they want to shoot a new opening title sequence? None other than Canon. The entire opening montage for the new season was shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the new EOS 7D digital SLR cameras.

For the opening, the director and crew wanted to capture characters that make up the New York City nightlife…and they wanted it to look as natural as possible. The EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D Digital SLR cameras were the answer, thanks to their low-light performance, small size, and amazing depth-of-field, which let the crew shoot without using big lighting gear. Another plus, the crew could easily shoot around the city without drawing a crowd.Read more