While i'm totally holding out for that intense mini pro-sumer RED Scarlet, and for now i'm shooting video with my tiny Canon TX1... i am quite intrigued by the little Flip Video cameras, with overly simplified usability i've been told... the perfect gateway video camera for the not so computer savvy is what i heard most all through the holiday season... simply flip out the USB, stick it in your computer, and that was that - ready for youtube-ing. I was skeptical.

But today the Flip Video cameras came up again, and i was browsing the accessories, and i must admit i'm terribly intrigued - they have an Underwater Housing coming soon! And they already have an Action Mount! The Action Mount is basically a standard tripod screw in mount with velcro straps that you can attach to bikes, helmets, trees, cars, anything you can strap it on to! Can you imagine how crazy random reviews and spontaneous videos could be with something this tiny when accessorized for any type of weather/mounting? I know this isn't the only option to accomplish these things, but it did get me thinking about everything from car-videos to underwater product reviews... and for a mere $140 for a 2GB Flip Video Ultra, it's a pretty tempting idiot-proofed toy.

Anyone tried out the quality of the video and the user experience? Is it worth it? Close ups of the accessories i'm curious about on the next page...

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Tags: camera - technology - video

There has been much talk of NOTCOT TV... actually scratch that... by *talk* i mean *pressure*. And we're definitely interested, but keep in mine we're 2 people running 4 sites, with help from a tiny handful of part timers who help when they can. If you asked me what i'd be doing now, three years ago, this wouldn't have even been in my realm of possibilities! BUT, that being said, i've been buzzing with ideas, just not the time/resources to pull it off quite yet... and when i saw the new Red Scarlet "pocket professional" camera that got announced at NAB 2008, i couldn't help but drool a little. Before even getting to the insane guts this thing has, the aesthetic alone is drool worthy...

As Engadget describes "The teensy 3K resolution camcorder is based on a 2 / 3-inch Mysterium X sensor, can shoot at 1 to 120 FPS and records to dual CompactFlash cards, which can handle up to 100MB per second of REDCODE RAW HD video. You can preview your shot on the 4.8-inch LCD, and there's a 8x RED zoom lens included. HMDI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 inputs are built in, and the device is compatible with "many" RED ONE accessories. WiFi control is also included." - and it has still mode too!

NO Pre-orders, and it's supposedly going to be just under $3,000, slated for early 2009... So i'm sayin' it right now, if somehow people manage to get one of these in my hands to play with, i will make NOTCOT videos happen, and they will be fun and quite probably quite unlike what you're used to seeing in podcasts today. (Notice how i'm basically not promising you video until earliest 2009? I guess i'd better start brushing up on my final cut now... and/or looking for people to work on this potential new project...)

More pics to drool over after the jump as usual...

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Tags: camera - gifts - shopping - technology - video

I think i nearly drooled on my keyboard reading about this Adobe Light-Field Camera. I am by no means a traditional (or even a good) photographer. I know i'd be no where without Photoshop, playful compositions, and a fancy camera. As a product of my technology, i am sitting here dreaming about what could be done if each image could contain 19 different depths of field... a magical adobe "focus brush" that would paint using the seemlessly morphing interstitial images the software already created from all the image data. Watch the video after the jump.

Seriously this fly-eye lens capturing multiple perspectives and instantly being able to process all the various pieces of data completely changes the possibilities of not only photo-editing, but HOW we perceive photography and imagery... ok, i'm giddy for the day. See more images and the video below!

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Tags: camera - photography - technology

iHole... yes, someone has gone and done it - made use of that gorgeous iPhone box and turned it into a camera! Scot Hampton announced "the world’s first iHole™; the revolutionary analog photographic device constructed from the recycled packaging of digital technology." (i wonder if he really trademarked that?) on his blog Feb 13th... see more of the fun pics after the jump. He suddenly has me overflowing with silly homemade cameras from recycled packaging ideas... like a collection of portraits of products as taken by their packaging?

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Tags: camera - iphone - packaging - phone - photography - technology

I gave in the day after xmas and finally went over to the Red Monkey store/workshop in West Hollywood, played with all their beautiful leather goods, and ordered one of their camera straps (i wrote about them before and featured them in the photography gift guide!)... what i didn't know was how sweet the packaging was, with the strap in bubble pack, with sticker and warranty, in a black matte plastic chinese take out container with the logo pressed into it! Also the store itself is pretty sweet as well, if you're anxious, jump ahead to the store pics here, with guitars hanging from the walls, chandeliers, mirrors, motorcycles and more. The quality of their workmanship is really high, and their service and really fast turnaround for custom jobs was quite impressive (they got this one ready for me in half the expected time)... Anyhow, browse the many pics below!

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Tags: camera - gifts - photography - reviews - shopping - technology

On upcoming things to look forward to at CES ~ Liquid Image ~ the ultimate underwater third eye cam? A new level of strap-on waterproof wearable tech? But this really would be pretty fun for everything from diving to playing in the pool, bathtub, hot tub, fish tank? And the images aren't bad with the camera coming in a 3 and 5 megapixel option for pictures and videos! See examples below!

Another option? How about they have strap on bluetooth camera/headset in my mask/regulator? and then my phone can just come with in a drysack? With voice activated "email image to..."? And while we're at it might as well add a heads up display in the mask? and google maps with gps and instead of traffic it could have current tracking? with a dot for where i am and where my boat is? Ok ok, so maybe getting a bit out of control here, since my favorite part of scuba diving was always that serene relatively tech/internet free peacefulness of the vast unknown under the surface.

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Tags: camera - gifts - outdoors - photography - shopping - technology

Gift Guide Day 2 ~ the second to last of our 31 Days of Gift Guides! So today's is all about Photography! Unexpected mounts, tripods, suction cups, lens distorters, look around corner adapters, sd-usb sd cards, rockstar guitar straps.... you know, the fun stuff your camera needs! Afterall, what fun are the holidays without lots of pictures to document it with?

Tags: camera - gift guide - gifts - photography - shopping - technology

My camera situation has evolved quite a bit the last two months... first there was the addition of the 10-22mm lens to my ancient (2+ yr old) Digital Rebel. And with that i needed a better bag to carry it in (enter, Botkier Satchel), which was perfect running around Paris. But the day i got back, i couldn't resist and picked up the new Canon 40d, and that coupled with the 10-22 has been my baby i've been carrying everywhere. The reviews are just starting to roll in, but overall, i'm smitten. And as much as people seem to hate having to manual focus on live view (and there are some work arounds) ~ i'm just thrilled to be able to see it live at all! And the fact that you can zoom in so ridiculously close while in live view, actually makes the focusing far better than i could have ever done on my slr... combined with a 3" screen this is really fun for my "put camera on floor to shoot" tendencies - and it's SO much faster! And feels more solid than the newer rebels.

Anyhow, next phase of camera evolution... i need a good strap. My old camo neoprene one from high school is reaching the end of its lifespan (it used to be on my AE-1). So when i saw these Red Monkey straps at Acquire, i think it was love at first site. Rockstar strap for my camera? I can pick any leather i want? Distressed, dyed, painted... And these guys are the real deal (their press archives are full of rockstars who have been wearing their guitar straps, and their watches seem big with the celeb set too... very cool story behind them as well)!

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Tags: accessories - camera - gifts - shopping - technology

Question of the day i'm posing to all readers: What camera bag do you use for your dSLR? The reason i ask? I got a new lens for my "much overdue for an upgrade to the 40d" digi-rebel, and it got me hunting again for camera bags. What IS the nicest, most elegantly designed camera bag? I couldn't find any. I went through every camera store online, and then the brands official sites from there, and even trailed around through all the randomness on amazon. The nicest looking options really are going the messenger bag route which moves you away from screaming "there's a camera in here" slightly. But the issue i'm having is, i want the protection for the body and lens, but i dont want to have to sacrifice needing to schlep yet another bulky thing around (usually i've just been sticking it in whatever purses i have that it barely fits in). So i'm curious what you use or recommend?

My solution of the moment is my Botkier Bryant "Camera bag" Satchel. just wide enough to fit it nicely (as well as all the other contents of my purse, which usually include my smaller digicam and huge wallet, etc)... and i'm thinking of making a light foam insert for the bottom and around the lens. So i'm just curious, am i the only one who doesn't treat my dslr with the loving care i know it deserves and just sticks it in my purses? Isn't it about time someone designs some bags for those of us who take our camera everywhere with us, but don't want the hardcore photographer look? (I'm no photographer, but i do love taking the random snapshots at gallery openings and such for here) Ok i'm done griping... time for solutions!

Tags: bag - camera - fashion - photography - shopping - technology

Remember building periscopes as a kid? Either to pretend you had a submarine... or to spy around the corner at neighbors and siblings... that excitement of tracking down empty paper towel rolls (or emptying paper towel rolls) and finding some mirrors... of chaining together complex structures of mirrors and cardboard tubes just to see how far you could push it? If not, go do it, you were deprived. If so, keep reading.

Well take that "technology" and apply it to these silly fixed direction webcams (particularly on the mac laptops) with with two mirrors and a mount.... *poof* you can now record whats on the *other* side of the laptop. This is precisely what ecamm has done with their Huckleberry... and they've smartly packaged it with their iGlasses software (the one that lets you tweak your ichat videos to your hearts content)... unfortunately neither the design (although simple), packaging, or their web page leave much to be desired.

Now to take that one step further - according to Gizmodo, "Ken and Greg Aspeslagh [the ecamm guys] claim that they created the application at the C-4 Developer Conference's Iron Coder Live this weekend, winning first prize." And thus video chat on iPhone is now possible... Read more about it on the ecamm-ers blog Mac Daddy World.

Tags: camera - gifts - laptop - shopping - technology

Bubblescope... bringing the 360 degree omni cam into the hands of any and everyone! This on brings me back to my UCSD HCI Lab days, where we had our omnicam strapped to the top of Infiniti Q45, capturing 360 degree video data of subjects' drives... which were then used to process lane changes, driving behaviors, etc etc... fascinating stuff, naturally i was amused with watching the circular video footage both in circle form and after you stretch them back to normal.

But enough about that, the Bubblescope!= was over on Josh Spear and i hadn't had time to write about it until now (with all that iphone madness and what not)... Tom Lawton is turning this into a water bottle looking camera for everyone. Now we can ALL take 360 view images... its especially fun indoors as well as capturing vast expanses of fields, etc... really fun way to completely change your perspective of a space. Point and shoot panorama's anyone?

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Tags: camera - photography - shopping - technology

Introducing my latest tech impulse buy - welcome the Canon TX1 to my pile of purse gadgets. Still in NY for Design Week, but to be honest i've been completely spent mentally and physically... so today has been incessant posting and enjoying the hotel room, with a minor excursion - where on the way back i stopped by the legendary B&H which happens to be across the street. I've never been! And i was amazed and horrified with the crammed amount of technology and lines... it was like disneyland, with a line for EVERYTHING (to check in my bag, to talk to the digicam guys, then to pay, then to pick up the products, then to pick up my bag...) it felt like a super dense overly efficient fry's like technowonderland. And i've been quietly stalking and hoping to find a Canon TX1, which were supposed to be out this month, but no one has them! Even amazon is saying 1-3 weeks before shipping. So imagine my surprise when the guy behind the counter tells me he hasn't seen them yet, but will check. And they have 3! The clerk next to him says he just checked this morning and there are none... but NOW there are three. So i couldn't resist. (and yes, even the most serious of the B&H clerks were ready to drool over this incredible little piece of tech)

I don't think you understand till you play with this hybrid digital camera/video TX1... its about the size of the tiny elph cameras. It is 7.1 mgp for stills with 10x OPTICAL ZOOM... and it shoots HD video. and its new physical UI is a pleasure to use, and the automatic lens cap is brilliant. And rotating lcd (so no more purse scratches for me). Not to mention image stabilization, and up to ISO 1600. Now - if only i had managed to get this a few days ago, my purse would have been much lighter (been shooting with the Digital Rebel) - and there might have been some videos... well, there's still part of tomorrow left!

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Tags: camera - photography - reviews - shopping - technology

We at NOTCOT love our tech and gadgets. We love Batman and James Bond because they're more or less just regular guys (however fictional... sigh) with awesome stuff. So what if they lived in, say, the 1880s? Perhaps they'd have this tiny pocket-watch camera (although it's actually a lady's watch... so maybe it's one for Batgirl?). For some reason this just totally amuses me to no end. I keep picturing two spies hanging out, and one has this super techy tiny digital camera with satellite link up or something, and the other one busts out this antique thing. But at the same time, I gotta say this looks beautiful and intriguing. I'm sure someone spent a lot of time making it, and someone spent a lot of money to acquire it... it recently sold at auction for £18,000!Via Boing Boing.

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Tags: accessories - camera - photography - shopping - technology

The cult like world of Lomography ~ announces a notebook... and it looks great! (and no no don't compare it to moleskine already, since the elastic around is so standard these days, and its not as if they invented it)... there's something nice about a notebook that gives you your space to doodle and ruminate at will... yet also inspires you on every page with some little tips and tidbits and pictures. And everyone knows it can sometimes be hard to fill a notebook in one calendar year depending on your usage and how many you have... this one has calendars fro 2007-2010! As if they knew some of us like the plan ahead... as well as dialing codes and time zones, for us international types. Lomographic Notebook (more info and images below as well!)

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Tags: books - camera - gifts - photography - shopping