3 photo sharing sites for your new shutterbug - Holiday Gift Guide

If you know someone on your gift list is getting a camera or is a new shutterbug, you might want to consider getting them a "pro" photo sharing account where they can upload all their new photos. This is a nice gift for several reasons: 1. A pro account is a must have since most free accounts have a storage limit that the average photographer will easily exceed. 2. Pro accounts are ad free. 3. Pro accounts have more features and allow the upload of larger file sizes. 4. As the giver of the account, it stands to reason you might be given access to your shutterbug's photostream, although, it's equally possible you might not.
Here are my top picks for investing in a pro account. (Many thanks to our readers for enthusiastically recommending Smugmug).
Flickr - $24.95 per year. And they make it super easy to gift.

• Unlimited photo uploads (20MB per photo).
• Unlimited video uploads (90 seconds max).
• Unlimited storage.
• Unlimited bandwidth.
• Unlimited photosets.
• Archiving of high-resolution original images.
• The ability to replace a photo.
• Post any of your photos or videos in up to 60 group pools.

Photobucket - $39.95 per year

• Up to 10 GB of space for images and video clips.
• Unmetered bandwidth
• High resolution images – Up to 5MB or 2240 x 1680 pixels per image.
• Up to 10 minutes video play length.
• Custom URLs for up to 100 albums.
• Up to 100 images per slideshow.
• SWF file support.

Smugmug - plans start at $39.95

• Unlimited storage.
• Unlimited bandwidth.
• Choose themes.
• Display geotagged photos on google Maps.
• Ability to moderate, enable or disable comments.
• Galleries that auto size to fit any display.
• Friends and family editing.
• Disable downloading, viewing larger sizes.
• Make selected photos/galleries private.

A word of caution if you are considering a photo sharing account for a child - get the child's parents' approval first. Although there are privacy controls at most services, many parents are understandably cautious about their kids uploading and sharing photos online.
[Via: Download Squad ] [Tag: flickr, hgg, photo sharing, photobucket, PhotoSharing, pro account features flickr, pro account features photobucket, pro account features smugbug, ProAccountFeaturesFlickr, ProAccountFeaturesPhotobucket, ProAccountFeaturesSmugbug, smugbug, smugmug ]

Nikon outs D3x in own Pro magazine

Uh, oops. Sorry Nikon but your D3x is now even less of a mystery. According to your own Pro magazine, the D3x will sport an FX-format, 24.5 megapixel sensor shooting 5fps at full resolution or 7fps at a reduced 10 megapixels. Nikon made a few other tweaks including an extended ISO 50-6400 range but the body design, AF, metering, and main functions remain the same as the D3. The only thing we need now is a price and confirmed release date. Back to you Nikon. One more shot detailing the features after the break, full details beyond the read link.

[Via: dpreview forums ] [Tag: breaking news, BreakingNews, d3x, fx, nikon ]

Creative's $200 Vado HD pocket camcorder ready for pre-order

We've seen these Amazon "leaks" time and again. So while the December 7th date for the Vado HD might be an educated guess, the details including that $200 price tag certainly look real enough. The display still measures 2-inches, but the beefier 3.3 x 7.9 x 6.3-inch solid state camcorder now brings 8GB of storage for up to 2 hours of 720p MPEG-4 recordings -- 8 hours at VGA quality. It also ships with an HDMI cable for instant playback to your like-equipped television. Otherwise, slot the cam into your PC's (XP and Vista, only) USB port to instantly share your works to YouTube and others with the help of the cam's built-in Vado Central Software. With this, the Kodak Zi6, and Flip Mino HD, there certainly won't be any shortage of pocket HD cameras of suspect-tweener quality to choose from this holiday season.
[Via: epiZENter ] [Tag: amazon, camcorder, creative, pocket camcorder, PocketCamcorder, vado hd, VadoHd ]

Canon EOS 5D Mark II spotted for sale in the wilds of Shanghai

It looks like that hint at a release date we got earlier this summer turned out to be right -- well, within a few weeks anyway. It's November and Canon's new 21 megapixel shooter, the EOS 5D Mark II, is now available. But, for the moment at least, it looks like you need to be a resident of China to pick up one for the local equivalent of $2,900 for the kit minus the lens (no word on what the full kit's going for). The picture above was taken at a Shanghai retailer, and while this particular hand model might prefer that you consider the A900 instead, those of you with duffels full of Canon glass would be well advised to get those credit card balances raised; this hot DSLR is sure to be dropping elsewhere in the world within the next few weeks.
[Via: 1001 Noisy Cameras ] [Tag: canon, canon eos 5d mark ii, canon eos 5d mkii, CanonEos5dMarkIi, CanonEos5dMkii, dslr, eos 5d markii, eos 5d mkii, Eos5dMarkii, Eos5dMkii, in the wild, InTheWild, slr ]

Aptina producing cellphone image sensor that shoots HD video

It sounds like your camera phone's video capabilities may get exponentially more awesome in the near future. Aptina -- a division of Micron that manufactures one out of every three sensors for mobile phone cameras -- has announced the high resolution 5 megapixel MT9P013. There are better sensors out there already, but this one will also be able to record 720p HD video at 60 frames per second, and 5-megapixel video at 15fps. The sensor is going into production in January of 2009, according to Aptina, so it shouldn't be too long before we start seeing much better quality amateur films out there in the world.

[Via: SlashGear ] [Tag: aptina, camera, camera phone, camera phones, CameraPhone, cameraphones, mt9p013, sensor, sensors ]

Creative Vado HD pocket camcorder makes a few cameo appearances

Creative's Vado pocket cam hasn't been nearly as popular as the various Flips or the Kodak Zi6, but it looks like the company is taking another shot at it -- hot on the heels of the Flip Mino HD's introduction, we're seeing hints that a Vado HD is on the way as well. All we know so far is the S$299 (US$195) pricetag printed in Creative's Singapore holiday catalog, but the short HD videos posted by a user named "Vado" on Vimeo look nice enough. Check 'em after the break -- hopefully we'll find out more soon.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: creative, hd, pocket camcorder, PocketCamcorder, vado, vado hd, vado pocket video cam, VadoHd, VadoPocketVideoCam ]

Casio's EX-FH20 reviewed: perfect for YouTube slow-mo junkies, nobody else

The key to any good pseudo-educational show featuring demonstrations that typically result in explosions (i.e. Mythbusters) is super-duper slow-mo sequences that expand those fleeting instants of incredibly expensive pyrotechnical glory into multiple minutes of time wasted between commercial breaks. If you're looking to record your own similar antics, amateur-style, Casio's time-stretching shooter the EX-FH20 is for you, delivering decent image quality and a bevy of burst and slow-mo modes that will capture 7 megapixel stills at 40 fps and 1000 fps video at 224 x 56. However, if that sounds rather gimmicky to you, according to PhotographyBLOG's full review there's really nothing noteworthy about the machine which, at $600, is out-paced and under-cut by other, similar SLR-lite options like Canon's PowerShot SX10. 'Nuff said.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: casio, casio ex-fh20, casio fh20, CasioEx-fh20, CasioFh20, ex-fh20, reviewed, slow motion, slow-mo, SlowMotion ]

Skyla Memoir Digital Photo Frame Has In-Built Photo Scanner [Photo Frames]

Looks like digital photo frames are beginning to move from nice-to-haves to actually quite useful: Skyla's Memoir photo frame has an in-built 600dpi scanner so it'll digitize your hardcopy photo archive for you. It's got a 1GB memory, apparently good for about 200 4 x 6-inch prints (the maximum size the scanner can take). Plus it's a respectable 800 x 600-pixel 4:3 ratio screen, and has two USB ports so you can sync the frame to your PC and plug in flash drives and the like. Not too shabby at all for $220 when it comes out in December. [Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ] [Tag: ]

RED's Digital Still and Motion Camera System now official

After a morning of drip-fed images, RED just went official with its DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) System. The system starts with your choice of the professional Scarlet or "master professional" EPIC brains which can then be bunged into about 2,251,799,813,685,248 possible camera configurations, RED only half-jokingly chides. The brains are built upon Mysterium-X and Mysterium Monstro sensors which start at 2/3-inch and end at a whopping 6x17-cm -- when a new sensor comes out you just upgrade the brain. Scarlet will launch in 4 choices ranging from $2,500 (and possibly less) to $12,000 with a variety of lens mounts (yes, Canon and Nikon) capable of shooting 3K @120fps on up to 6K @30fps. Epic will offer similar mounts with capabilities spanning 5K @100fps ($28k) to 9K @50fps ($45k) -- a 28K system hitting 25fps is expected in 2010 for $55k. Still image resolutions will range from 4.9 megapixels to a freakish 261 megapixels. The first Scarlet systems could come as early as Spring of 2009 while EPIC should arrive by summer. Of course, the brain is just the beginning of the costs. RED also introduced a 3D camera today in true, "one more thing" fashion. See all the details in the gallery below, 3D camera after the break.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: breaking news, BreakingNews, dsmc, epic, monstro, mysterium, mysterium monstro, mysterium x, mysterium-x, MysteriumMonstro, MysteriumX, red, red digital cinema, RedDigitalCinema, scarlet ]

Official RED Scarlet and EPIC pics are sure to induce drool [Updated with OMG]

While the announcement isn't scheduled for another 7 hours and change, RED's Jim Jannard is whipping his fanbase into a frenzy with a steady stream of fragmented pictures. The one above looking every bit the 5D Mark II-killer we've been expecting. Jim's even dropping facts about Scarlet and EPIC being "completely modular and upgradeable in every way." What's more, he's offering hope to RED ONE owners who might feel cheated by today's introduction of Scarlet and EPIC. After all, he did promise to make "Obsolescence Obsolete" with his modular approach to camera building. So in addition to a TBD upgrade price for RED ONE owners to make the jump to a Mysterium-X sensor, owners will also have the option of trading in their cams for a $17,500 value towards the purchase of "any EPIC" (there's more than one?) or keep the RED ONE and receive a 12% credit on a Scarlet system. Nice... expensive, but nice. Check the gallery for all the images including one that looks like a telephoto lens for a RED DSLR.
P.S. Jim confirmed that, "Scarlet and RED EPIC are part of the same DSMC system." While you may not know what DSMC stands for, we're pretty sure that Canon and Nikon are well aware that DSMC means Digital Still & Motion Camera.
Update: Three-pound Scarlet and four-pound EPIC Mysterium-based "brains" capable of shooting 3K and 5K video, respectively, pictured after the break -- choose the brain then build a system around it. What look to be final (and complete!) product shots added to the gallery.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: breaking news, BreakingNews, epic, jim jannard, JimJannard, mysterium, mysterium x, mysterium-x, MysteriumX, red, red digital cinema, RedDigitalCinema, scarlet ]

Target gift card for the holidays multitasks as adorable digital camera

Okay, we don't know who came up with this idea, but we have to give them some credit for innovation, not to mention (in our opinion) some pretty attractive design sense. Yes, Target's new gift card gimmick this holiday season is that it doubles as a cute, disposable digital camera. The little device runs on two AAA batteries, has a self-timer, and is packaged with a USB cord, driver disc, instruction manual and a voucher for 40 free prints from Target. The camera itself is a 1.2-megapixel affair with 8MB of memory on-board, which means it can store about 50 images. Now, we know this just a ploy to get us to buy Target gift cards, but we're kind of smitten with this little thing. Oh, and: Bah! Humbug!
[Via: Coolest Gadgets ] [Tag: disposable, gift, gift card, gift ideas, GiftCard, GiftIdeas, gifts, target ]

Sigma acquires Feveon, maker of the X3 image sensor

Foveon (developer of the X3 image sensor for digital cameras) has just announced that they have been acquired by Sigma, the Tokyo-based camera and lens company. According to the press release, Foveon -- whose image sensors are already being used in Sigma's entire digital camera line -- will remain in San Jose, continuing to "evolve and improve the X3 sensor technology." Congratulations, you crazy kids! And best of luck to you. We mean it.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: camera, digital camera, DigitalCamera, dslr, foveon, foveon x3, FoveonX3, image sensor, ImageSensor, sigma, x3 ]

RED teases again with exposed ports

We've less than a week before RED announces something special on November 13th, but it's not letting you creep any closer to that magical day without two more teases (one after the break) beforehand. As it's already done on a number of occasions, RED's Jim Jannard has posted up a new duo of teasers of the purported DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera) DSLR, this time showing off a number of ports that you're surely anxious to slip your connectors into. Oh please, get your mind out of the gutter.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: camera, DSLR, DSMC, Epic, RED, Scarlet, tease, teaser, XLR ]

Mcor launches Matrix 3D printer, only asks for your paper and glue

We wouldn't go so far as to say that 3D printers are growing tired, but we are growing short on patience waiting for a commercial version that the average joe / jane can afford. Thankfully, Mcor is up to the challenge, recently delivering its Matrix to the UK and gearing up to bring it to other parts of the world in 2009. Put simply, this carving creature uses traditional A4 paper and PVA glue to create objects like the ones you see above. Throw in a nice, sharp blade and a little bit of computational prowess, and you've got yourself one wicked 3D printer with running costs "up to 40 times less" than competitors.
[Via: SlashGear ] [Tag: 3D, 3d printer, 3dPrinter, Matrix, Mcor, printer ]

Tomy xiao digital camera has built in Zink printer, the spirit of Polaroids

Like just about everyone else, we miss the Polaroid film format; maybe it's just nostalgia, but we enjoyed having something we could hold on to (and shake) after taking a picture. Polaroids may be dead, but the basic concept lives on -- remember Zink, that company whose technology prints digital photos on the spot without ink? It's joined forces with toy-maker Tomy to make the xiao TIP-521, a digital camera with a printer built in. The xiao has a modest five megapixel resolution, so we might wait and see how Polaroid's own Zink camera turns out, but in either case we're stoked the tactile experience is back.
[Via: Market Watch ] [Tag: digital camera, digitalcamera, polaroid, polaroids, portable printer, portableprinter, printer, to-521, tomy, xiao, xiao tip-521, xiaotip-521, zink, zink paper, zinkpaper ]

Canon announces XH A1S and XH G1S prosumer HD camcorders

Just in case the XL H1S and XL H1A weren't really your style, Canon's hoping to snag a fair chunk of your short-term savings with a new duo of prosumer HD camcorders. The HDV XH A1S and XH G1S both feature a 20x HD video lens, manual zoom / focus, three independent manual adjustment rings, an "unprecedented" range of image / color settings, 60i / 30F / 24F frame rate options, Instant AF focusing system, the DIGIC DV II proprietary digital signal processor, two built-in XLR terminals with separate audio-input sensitivity settings, line output level switching and support for optional HDD recording in the field. The XH G1S adds in HD-SDI / SD-SDI output, SMPTE timecode input / output, and genlock input, which are all features that probably won't be missed by greenies baffled by the mere mention of those inclusions. Get set for showtime next month as the pair sells for $3,999 and $6,999, respectively. [Via: Engadget ] [Tag: camcorder, canon, hd camcorder, HdCamcorder, HDV, prosumer, XH A1S, XH G1S, XhA1s, XhG1s ]

Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds Lumix DMC-G1 reviewed: only knock is the price

The question has been on your mind since we first got wind of this so-called "Micro Four Thirds" concept back in August: how will it stack up? Now that Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G1 is filtering out to the world, we're able to kick back and digest a mammoth review of this here camera thanks to the fine folks at Digital Camera Resource. Without going into dissertation-level detail in this space, we'll tell you that the biggest issue critics had with the G1 was its price. Not the image quality. Not the size. Just the price. In other words, Panny has delivered a superb camera that offers up "very good quality photos, an unmatched live view shooting experience and a nice collection of both automatic and manual controls." Deemed the first to "truly offer a point-and-shoot experience on an interchangeable lens camera," the DMC-G1 looks to be a real winner if you've got $800 to blow.
[Via: 1001 Noisy Cameras ] [Tag: DSLR, G1, live view, LiveView, lumix, Lumix DMC-G1, LumixDmc-g1, LumixlDMC-G1, micro four thirds, MicroFourThirds, Panasonic, review, reviewed ]

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G1 ninja-ships to consumers

Panasonic had us fooled with that press release dating its micro Four Thirds camera, the Lumix DMC-G1, for mid-November. We're not sure what Panny was trying to pull, but when we took a gander at its online store today we discovered that the G1 has already started shipping. The price is $799.95 as expected, so your time has come if you've been dying to try this slim and sexy micro Four Thirds thing out -- though we might wait for a few reviews to drop to confirm that the performance matches the price.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: camera, digital camera, digitalcamera, dmc-g1, dslr, lumix, lumix dmc-g1, lumixdmc-g1, micro four thirds, microfourthirds, panasonic, shipping ]