Wow, what a combo!

OK, what that REALLY means is that we are showing you some of the products we saw at PhotoPlus last month.
Now we only video the products or services we think are useful, or unique. Most importantly something you, our readers, may dig.

The ShootSac caught our eye because it speaks to the shooter who doesn’t want, or need to lug their entire camera bag around at a function where they need to blend. And in a stylish way.

Then the Sony DSC-T200 point and shoot,with Smile detection. Have to tell you, while testing this unit out, it is such a happy thing as everyone wants to see it in action. Yes, it really senses the smiles and will automatically shoot the picture when it “sees” it. And you can adjust the sensitivity. As a friend of ours said, it’s like having a puppy; everyone wants to smile at it.

And sooner or later you may notice strange marks on your images. It just means that at some point in changing lenses, or the environment, dust got on your sensor glass. Now notice I didn’t say ON the sensor.
These things which are the lifeblood of DSLR’s, are covered with glass so you really don’t have easy access.
Visible Dust presents their entree into the field.

Oh, we have lot’s more to go including an in depth chat with Albert Watson, the folks of Blue Earth Alliance, more products, more services. More.

Say, did you get a chance to check out Carlos Mollino’s work in the GALLERY professional section? We are very happy that the folks at Casa Mollino have allowed us to post his work here. A must see.

[photopress:sonydslr.jpg,full,centered] You see, depending on your needs and your finances, there are some amazing options out there for your key DSLR system. At PhotoPlus, there were new cameras shown in the middle price range ($1300-$1800 USD) from the top companies. Sure Sony has come out with their latest in their entree into the DSLR fray. Very high quality camera body, but we had a strong reaction to the reversing of the placement of the focus ring and zoom ring on their lenses.
After years of working a lens one way, they went another. You may not have the same reaction. Visit your local photo dealer and get your hands on it yourself.

Remember , it’s not just the camera body, it’s the lenses and everything else that will grow with you in your photographic life.

If it’s is your first entry point into this level of DSLR, a hands-on look is a must. If your current investment in the lenses and accessories is making the call, you have an easier choice.

The mainstays, Nikon and Canon still own the category in our opinion.

Take a look at what they were showing in New York:

Did you sign up for the NEWSLETTER ? If so you’ll know tomorrow if you have won this weeks freebie.
Tomorrow we’ll have a special “on the site only” free giveaway! Check back on Thursday for details.

[photopress:1105eugenei03.jpg,full,centered] Newly born, Washington, DC, 1990 (from “The Next Step”).
© Eugene Richards – All Rights Reserved
As we went from table to table at the press luncheon, meeting with each photographic master, the time was approaching to leave the rooftop and go inside for the speeches and lunch with the honorees of the 2007 Lucie Awards.
Thankfully, Eugene Richards was willing to wait and talk with us about his work.

This soft spoken gentleman whose images represent a passionate, up close depiction of humanity at it’s best and worst , gives you an insight into his work in this video.

But truly, you should be looking at his body of work to get a sense of the man. At the Lucie Awards show at Lincoln Center the following night, he brought an audience to truly believe in the power of what the awards show was celebrating. The power of the still image to have an effect on the world. And his photographs are some of the best examples of that power.

Whhaaaat?

OK, a couple of explanations here. The Big Brother we’re talking about here is from George Orwells “1984”. And the reference is to the explosion of geotagging (new word to teach your spell check) coming down the road.

And I repeat: Whaaaat?

First of all much of the new technology which we’ll be covering has been developed by the security personnel of the world. Face detection, character recognition, GPS satellite tracking, etc. have all been advanced due to needs other than your driving and photographic pleasure.
Governments want to know where you are, and where who, or anything they want to know about, is. Hence the Big Brother reference.
So now you can be your own “Eye in the Sky” by tracking your life as you see fit. Many of us do it now with directions via Google Maps or your cars GPS unit.
The other part of the “whaaaaat” is adding data to your digital photos by a connection with a GPS device, called geotagging You know that every time you click the shutter on a digital camera, data is created on the photos file. Time, lens,camera,shutter speed,f/stop, size of file, etc. This becomes just another piece of data information.
The way some digital cameras do it, is by a direct connection by cable to a GPS device.The device from Merax called PhotoTrack GPS in this video allows you to use ANY camera , as long as the internal clocks are in sync.
(Please note: this unit is only available for PC right now. MAC compatibility is expected in Jan. 2008)
Now one of the uses described in the video is location scouting. Having been a scout and hiring them on a regular basis, there is more to it than the aerial view, maps, longitude latitude, time of day etc. You have to know how to get a crew and equipment in and out, plus legal jurisdictions, direction photo was taken and more.

Plus the issue of reliability and accuracy comes into play. Some GPS devices are accurate with a block. Some within inches. Depends on your needs.

This is going to be a huge growth area to watch, as tagging digital images with as much useful information as possible becomes the standard. And of course the ease of operation will be key. Lots of players trying to do it now, but it’s pretty cumbersome and very time consuming. Here is one simple solution. On the pro side, make sure you look at Red Hen and their Blue2Can systems.

Hmmmmm…. how about a camera with wireless upload and tracking data all in one? It’s here, but very expensive and not too practical. It’ll be coming to the general consumer real soon, I promise you.
We’re close with the eye-fi card but the geotagging still needs to go through a computer.
Darn.

Yep, that’s right. After being mentioned on TECHCRUNCH a year and a half ago, the Eye-Fi 2Gb SD card is now shipping. Just in time for the holidays.[photopress:eyefipressx.jpg,full,alignright]

So here is the deal: The SD card works in any camera that uses that format (sorry Sony), you download the software to you PC or MAC, shoot em up, and when you are near your network or another wireless zone, except Hot-Spots we’re told, you images float up to your chosen account.

And we’re talking support for sharing and printing websites, including Fotki, Shutterfly, dotPhoto, webshots, phanfare, Picasa Web albums, flickr, TypePad, Wal-Mart, snapfish, VOX, smugmug, facebook, photobucket, Kodak Gallery, and Sharpcast.
So all you do is buy the card, install the software,no other fees to pay EVER. Click on the card image above and check their video. Continue Reading »