Mobile phones that can take photos are ubiquitous today, but with tiny image sensors and lenses and severe budget constraints, they vary widely in their ability to take good photos. Mostly all that buyers have to go on is a megapixel count, which isn't terribly meaningful when it comes to such small sensors. The International Imaging Industry Association, a consortium whose mission is to make imaging better for consumers, is trying to come up with a better way.
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Japan Sony Style is offering customers a special edition of the Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 for the year-end festivities. The shooters will be engraved with a variety of patterns and a message of up to 15 letters.
Other than snow flakes, there are also Racing, Heart and Safari patterns to choose from. You can also pick from three colors for your snapper comprising pink, gun-metal gray or silver. So, if you're shopping around for a swanky-looking camera for you recipient, this customized TX1 might be your answer.
The iPhone 3GS has a 3.2-megapixel fixed-lens camera and that seems to satisfy most users, but not Bhautik Joshi. The engineer with ILM Research took apart his Apple handset and retrofitted it with a couple of optical drive lenses, then stuck a few PVC pipes to accommodate his 18-55mm Canon glass. Read more »
This campy camera gun is, quite literally, that. The Aimat is a squirt gun-looking digital camera that you, well, point and shoot. Conceived by designer Franziska Dierschke, it's a concept device and not for sale, and for good reason. We can't imagine packing this piece through airport customs or even any sensitive area for that matter, where a shooter like this could be misconstrued as not at all funny. One can also expect the picture quality to be pretty Lomo-esque. Still, despite its "for laughs" intentions, this "firearm" could be aiming to be a shortlived novelty, given its notable lack of a viewfinder, zoom function, memory expansion options and all the other niceties we expect in our cameras today.
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If you'd seen our Holiday Gift Guide, you'll notice the oh-so-desirable Red One modular videocam which costs a staggering US$17,500. Well, now you don't have to fork out so much for a Red system. The US company has just announced the availability of the Scarlet 2/3, an affordable 3k-resolution video camera. That is, if you find US$4,750 cheap.
Red initially unveiled this vidcam late last year with a price tag of US$3,750 for just the body and a lens. However, the firm recently added more features to the modular system to justify for the US$1,000 price bump. Users will get a 2/3-inch sensor, 2.8-inch touchscreen, CompactFlash card module, RedMote Pro, battery and charger. The shooter has a fixed 8x optical zoom lens, but if you're looking to use your own glass, the firm is offering a kit with the body and lens adapters for Red, Canon and Nikon optics at a mere US$2,750. More information available here.