Rock your camera

If rock music and photography are your passion, then you will like this camera strap.

The X-Stitch Studded camera strap will complement any hardcore rocker's image (assuming they like to take pictures) and is useful for keeping pesky groupies at bay after a concert. Made of dyed leather, the strap is adjustable to different lengths for comfortable slinging. And, when you decide to chuck the camera, you can always use the metal-studded strap as a collar for your dog.

At US$140 from Red Monkey Designs , this strap doesn't come cheap. But hey, you get to feel like a rockstar!

Adobe brings Photoshop Express to the Web

Adobe has just launched its latest addition to the Photoshop family--Photoshop Express. See our photo gallery of screen shots.

Photoshop Express is an online application based on Flash 9 technology that allows users to edit their photos from within a Web browser, or run it at full-screen mode. I tried it on my 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor and I must say it looks great.

Getting everything up and running was a breeze. First we'll need to sign up for a free account which entitles us to 2GB of online storage. During the registration, it will ask us to state where we are from, but the only option available was the US. So, we lied, like everyone else.
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S$9,999 for a film camera?

If you have just too much dough to blow, why not consider getting a customized Leica M rangefinder? The creme de la creme of all cameras, it was revered by photojournalists for its stealthy and unobtrusive characteristics. Renowned street photographer Henri Cartier Bresson stood by his, even when the world was swamped by digital cameras.

Now, for a hefty price starting from S$7,650 (US$5,625), you can build your own camera from Leica. On its Web site, there is a page which will bring you through nine different configuration options. You start off with choosing which camera body you want the unit to be based on, and the rest of the options let you decide the color, type of rewind crank, engraving (if any) and even the material covering the unit. Note that certain options come at a price and these will add on to the cost. After placing your orders, a technician from the German company will assemble together some 1,300 parts.

I tinkered around with the options, and there you have it. A manual, film-based camera that cost S$9,999 (US$7,352.21). Mind you, this is just for the camera body. An additional lens from Leica would burn another hole in my already threadbare wallet.

Now excuse me while I join the queue to buy lottery tickets.

Sony's "flagship" dSLR to be launched by end 2008

In the competition for producing pro-dSLRs, Nikon and Canon have always been leapfrogging each other. But now it seems Sony wants a piece of the pie as well.

The Japanese company told us we can expect its "flagship" dSLR (rumored to be the Alpha 900) by end of the year. Although this full-frame dSLR had already made its appearance at the Photo Imaging Expo last week in Japan, the company remains tight-lipped regarding its availability and price.

But what Sony can tell us is that this "Exmor" CMOS full-frame sensor will have a resolution of 24.6 megapixels, and the camera body is going to be equipped with Super SteadyShot. There will also be optional vertical grip and hotshoe flash for this highest-end Alpha dSLR to date.

There are reports on the Web about the Alpha 900 sporting a retro-looking pentaprism (a set of glasses to reflect the image from the lens to the viewfinder) on a modern, professional camera body. Online sources also mentioned Live View for the Alpha 900, which will be the third pro-dSLR body to sport this feature, besides the Nikon D3 and the Canon 1Ds Mark III.

Full-frame comes at a price, and it is not cheap. We wonder how the Alpha 900 will be priced. Will it lean toward the Canon 1Ds Mark III range (since both bodies are sporting sensors more than 20 megapixels), or compete with the slightly less pricey Nikon D3?

For current Alpha system owners, this is no doubt good news, especially if they already have a good range of lenses from Sony and are looking to switch to a compatible full-frame body.

Keep a lookout here, because we're going to find out more about this elusive camera.

Update: The above image of Sony's prototype flagship SLR as it was displayed at PMA earlier this year is taken by our CNET.com counterparts.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Polaroid's kiddy attempts

It seems that long-time Instant Film maker Polaroid is making an attempt to target kids with their digital cameras. The Pixie CKA-00301S (we wonder who came up with the name) is a 3-megapixel shooter shaped like a handheld gaming device and, yes, it comes with 8 in-built games to entertain the little ones.

Kids can use either the 2.4-inch LCD to frame their shots or the two viewfinders located above the display. We think the camera looks like a mask when kids bring it up to look through the viewfinder.

The pixie digital camera comes with 2x digital zoom, 16MB of internal memory and SD flash memory expansion slot. It is powered by two readily available AAA-sized batteries.

Available in two color schemes: Yellow/pink for the girls and orange/blue for the boys, the pixie digital camera is available online for US$79.99.

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