Photography

The holiday season is here, and most of us will take photos to capture our holiday memories. If you want to get great results (and who doesn't?), here are some tips from Nikon for taking amazing holiday photos this winter season. Whether you are taking photos with a point-and-shoot or D-SLR camera, these tips are sure to deliver beautiful pictures.

Holiday Photo Tips

1. Keep your eyes on the camera and look at the lens, not the flash, to avoid red eye and blinking
2. Find a simple background; it's about the people not the holiday props (so lose the elf ears)!
3. Focus on what's important; faces! It's called a background for a reason. Nikon cameras also offer a great face detection feature to help you
4. Don't get too close when using a flash, because too much light overexposes faces
5. Lighten up on the flash! If you're shooting holiday lights try turning off your flash and holding your camera very steady for a more stunning photo
6. Try new angles for posing; once you have your family and background set, take pictures from different angles to add some creative variety
7. Take lots of pictures: The more pictures you snap, the greater chance you will capture a special holiday moment

With these tips, you'll be sure to get great results! For information on Nikon cameras, visit www.nikonusa.com.

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