Babies, as we know, are dumb. They’ll look at any old thing. That’s why the Shutter Buddy is ingenious. You put this checkered hood over your camera, make a bunch of funny noises, and wham – instant smiley baby. Or instant crying baby. Or instant baby crawling off to the stairs to try to climb up the first two only to slip onto the floor and cry.

Wow, right? If I weren’t so sleep deprived I’d kick myself for not thinking of this.

In all honesty, though, isn’t this ingenious? It’s hard to get baby to pay attention to you so you’ve basically got something that grabs that attention and doesn’t let go. It’s a mere $19 and I’ll try to give it a go with young Milla, our one year old, and report back.

Samsung really wants you to like this camera, as evidenced by the massive media campaign that they’ve been running (smiling monkeys, anyone?) but it seems to have been for naught. Wired reviewed the camera today and they’ve rated this one a 4/10. In addition to the laundry list of problems listed above, the image quality is also poor, much less then you would expect from a 12.2 megapixel camera.

The writer does raise an interesting point, what exactly do we call the new generation of cameras? How exactly do you classify a camera like the Panasonic GF1, or the GH1? They aren’t exactly point and shoot, but they aren’t DLSRs either. Make your contribution to the democratic process (it’s ok, you can still vote if you’re a felon) and pick the new name and acronym.

You and your hot friends now can figure out who to incorporate a Nikon camera with projector embedded inside it into your great, amazing lives. Thank you YouTube viral video by some marketing agency!

You and your hot friends can use the camera to share images of your hot selves! Then you can have sex in a shower! Then you can go under a parachute! Then you can nurse a hangover and wonder if you got herpes.

And you did get herpes.

Sony seems to put a lot of emphasis on 3D, as far as the future direction of their TV and optical media divisions is concerned. The company has now shown a first picture of a powerful 3D camera for professional use [JP] that will be presented to the general public during next week’s CEATEC 2009 electronics exhibition in Japan.

Details are scarce at this point, but the CMOS camera will have two lenses and be able to shoot video at up to 240fps. Sony says this will come in especially handy when it comes to recording sports event. The camera will be sized at 240×200x480mm, weigh 18kg and feature a 3.5-inch viewfinder.

Victor JVC seems to finally have realized how well the Flip sells over in North America. The company has now announced the Picsio GC-FM1 [JP], a mini camcorder recording video at 2.03MP and shooting pictures at 8MP. The Picsio offers 1080p output at a 4:3 ratio (1,440×1080, 30fps). Alternatively, you can go for a 720p, VGA or QVGA mode.

Weighing just 95g, the device measures 53×97x17mm. It features a 2-inch LCD screen, an HDMI interface, USB 2.0, and 4xdigital zoom. Users can record video on SD or SDHC cards in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and upload them easily to YouTube or iTunes through a special “media browser”.

The GC-FM1 will go on sale in Japan within this week (street price: $220). There will be models in black, blue and purple. Victor JVC hasn’t said yet if the Picsio will ever be available outside Japan (which is highly likely).

Via AV Watch [JP]

Admittedly cameras like the Diana+ or the Holga can create amazing pictures, but there’s no way of being sure exactly what you’re going to get when you push that shutter button. Sure, you can take an image from a digital camera and tweak it in photoshop, but that takes away the spontaneity. Now you can take pictures that may or may not come out with your DSLR. The Diana+ company has made a series of adapters that will allow you to attach any number of their lenses to your expensive DSLR.

The basic adapter will set you back a measly $12, so if you already have some of the Diana+ lenses, you’ll be set. Otherwise, you’re going shopping. The 20mm fisheye will set you back $55, the 110mm telephoto is $50, the 55mm is $60. It just depends on what exactly you’re looking to do.

I’ve been excited about four-thirds cameras for a while now. They seem like a great idea – DSLR power in a point-and-shoot package. However, after the Olympus E-P1 I’m worried that manufacturers are treating these cameras as beta hardware and the real models won’t be stable for a few years. That said, I’m still interested in the format and I’ll be impressed once Canon and Nikon get in on the act.

This model was fairly standard. There’s no viewfinder – a big minus – but it has a 12-megapixel sensor and seems to take some nice shots. The size is just right and it has plenty of standard functions like scene modes and full manual control if you need it. I’m anxious to get my hands on one of these and give it a good drubbing.

Also I just noticed what was on the screen on one of these shots. Unintentional, I assure you.

The Canon EOS 7D might still be a rumor, but the company has released a whole slew of new cameras without a DSLR in sight. There are a whopping six new cameras, in four product lines. While the digital ELPHs are great, us camera geeks are mostly intersted in the new G11 and S90. Interestingly Canon dropped the megapixal sensor down to 10.0MP for both of these cameras.

G11

• 10.0MP (strangely low, right?)
• 5x optical zoom - 28-140 mm
• 2.8-inch vari-angle PureColor System LCD
• RAW shooting mode
• HDMI out
• No HD video recording mode
• October release for $499

S90

• 10.0MP
• 3.8x optical zoom
• 3-inch LCD
• RAW shooting mode
• October release for $429

PowerShot SX20 IS Digital

• 12.1MP
• 20x optical zoom
• 2.5-inch vari-angle PureColor System LCD
• 720p video recording mode
• HDMI out
• AA batteries
• September release for $399

PowerShot SX120 IS

• 10MP
• 10x optical zoom
• 3-inch LCD
• AA batteries
• September release for $249

PowerShot SD980 IS Digital ELPH Camera

PowerShot SD940 IS Digital ELPH Camera

Need to make sure no one blackmails your car shop! Press the button and record video! It is a tire clock that looks like a tire and is a camera! 12FPS! $69.

Pinhole Lens
Resolution: 352 x 288 pixel
FPS: 12 frame per second
Recorded file format in AVI
Color Video and Audio
Built-in 2GB Memory
Rechargeable Li-ion battery

Wired has some info that the new iPods will have built-in video and audio recording and should support Skype chat.

“Wired commenters” have also said that you can add the Touch to a Verizon MiFi hotspot and create a Verizon network which is just crazy talk.

UPDATE – Now there’s a freaking Nano case with a hole in it!

In short: your iPod Touch will soon take video and pictures. This will destroy the casual video recording market. Sucks to be Flip.

So I’m at the Hotel on Rivington in Manhattan at the Olympus press conference and we’re getting the first hands on with the Olympus E-P1 in North America. Dana Wollman from Laptop was kind enough to be my hand model so these aren’t my hands on the Olympus, but I am shooting with one. I’ve included two test images shot at ISO 200 and ISO 6400 shot with the 14-42mm lens. Oh, I forgot to mention that Olympus has done away with the XD format and gone with SD. Yay!

You can download the JPEG for the ISO 200 image here and the ISO 6400 image here.

The Details
Using the QuikPod is extremely easy. 1) Attach the camera to the QuikPod:

2) Extend the arm. It has three levels of extension, so you can get up close and personal, or farther away for a wider shot. Be sure to set your camera’s self-timer so that it’ll snap a photo automatically.

3) Line up your shot. This isn’t terribly hard, but it does take a little practice to figure out how to align the camera for the best shot given the scant few seconds before the self-timer on your camera activates.

To help you line up your shot, the QuikPod includes a tiny little “self-image” mirror:

It’s a nice idea, but in reality it’s too small to be terribly effective. I found myself aggravated trying to use it, and ended up just guessing how to align my shots.

Similarly, the QuikPod Pro+ Precision includes a level attachment, so you can ostensibly tell when your camera is aligned properly horizontally and vertically:

Again, I found this too small to be very practical. And depending on the lighting or environmental conditions in which you’re shooting, this thing won’t help much. Besides, everyone knows that a slightly skewed photo is more dynamic than some boring straightedge photo. And if the skew is too much, just tell people you were going for the Dutch tilt.

The Good
The QuikPod Pro+ Precision is small, lightweight, and easy to include in any camera bag. It’s super easy to use, and stays out of your way when you’re not using it. The feet attachment make for a nice addition, giving you a fairly complete tripod without the usual bulk associated with even small tripods.

The Bad
As previously mentioned, the self-image mirror and the level aren’t terribly useful. Save the $10 and skip the “Precision” model.

The construction of the QuikPod itself was a little less than I had expected. It’s basically a plastic tube. As soon as I opened the package, I thought that perhaps I had been sent a Swiffer Duster instead of a QuikPod:

The Swiffer and the QuikPod are essentially the same basic product, with a different head unit.

I did try to put my DSLR camera on the QuikPod, just to see if it could handle it. I could tell almost immediately that the weight was too great for the plastic shaft. If you have a DSLR, you could get the QuikPod DSLR, but really: if you’re using a DSLR then the chances are high that you care more about your photos and are more likely to have a real tripod for your shots.

Bottom Line
The QuikPod is a nice little addition for the casual photographer. It’s an easy way to get a better photo of yourself, or a small group of friends. At $25, the QuikPod Pro isn’t a bad deal. For an extra $5 you can get the QuikPod Pro+ which includes the adapter legs to convert the QuikPod into a tripod. That seems like a pretty decent price to extend the functionality of this thing. The $35 for the QuikPod Pro+ Precision seems overkill: the level just isn’t worth it.

Bonus
I hooked up my Flip video camera to the QuikPod and took it for a spin on the Oval at The Ohio State University. I imagine you can find several more creative ways to use the QuikPod in your own content production efforts.

Chances are that the good stuff was shipped to the stores that were to remain open a while ago, but I found filters, bags, binoculars, and other random items at honest to goodness sale prices. Plus the store had the usual assortment of frames and photo albums at low prices. The glass cases were empty of cameras and camcorders, but there were a few lens and flashes still available. What I’m saying is that it might be worth your while to vist your local Ritz Camera store before it closes forever.

I’ve been avoiding this moment for a month. Before I left for Europe, Kodak sent me their latest ultra-zoom camera, the Z980, and I’ve been carrying it for over 30 days and through five countries. I’ve taken about two hundred photographs and I’ve gotten to know this thing fairly well. My initial conclusion? I’m going to say this just to get it over with: I miss my DSLR. Now, read on for a bit of clarification.

The Kodak Z980 is Kodak’s $399.99 ultrazoom camera. It is a 12-megapixel monster with 24x optical zoom and flash. It has a huge 3-inch back LCD and a false, LCD-based viewfinder. There are multiple modes including Manual, Scene, Auto, and Aperture- and Shutter-priority. It also takes video in full HD. It also takes panoramic photos using a built-in stitching system.

First, my quick look from a few weeks ago:

The Good – The zoom is quite stunning. I doubt many of us have used a lens this long and the ability to bring distant scenes into focus without much blur is impressive. This is by far the camera’s biggest selling point.

The pictures are clear and nicely balanced. In the bright sunlight we were able to take consistently acceptable vacation snaps. With a bit of tweaking we were able to get strong performance in most light although most of the best shooting was outdoors. The panorama mode, for example, was dead simple and allowed us to take some cool shots of Malta and Rome.

The camera has a nice wide ISO zone from – 64 to 6400 – and bracketing. There is no manual white balance but it shots 1fps in burst mode.

This, in a nutshell, is fine for 80% of the prosumer market. Birdwatchers and vacationers will enjoy shooting with the Z980. However, I have reservations about recommending the camera to those who might fall into that 20% set of consumers who are looking for something a bit more powerful than a standard point-and-shoot.

The Bad – Because that’s what the Z980 – a point-and-shoot bolted onto a large lens. And the lens, a SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON, is great. The click speed is about as fast as a standard point-and-shoot and although you can reduce the wait by turning off preview mode you still have about two seconds lag between most photos unless you’re in a special mode. At 12-megapixels you suffer from both lag and then, when you check the pictures on the LCD, you discover the poor quality of the LCD which blurs the pictures to heck and back and offers a pale imitation of what you can expect when you see the pictures on the desktop.

Then you stumble upon some decidedly odd design choices. Instead of depending on the orientation sensor built-in the camera has a “sideways” switch which activates a buttom on the right edge of the camera and changes the way the buttons on the back work. This decision is baffling and Kodak explained that they couldn’t get the position sensor to work under the requirements they had in terms of design and price. They even included a little thinger you connect to the bottom to make it easier to hold – and bigger. This camera doesn’t need to be any bigger.

Finally, the physical design is garbage. For example, the lens cap is junk. It fell off constantly and the camera lay in my bag with the glass exposed for most of the trip. One good drop and this thing is toast. Once the battery compartment opened randomly spraying batteries all over the street. In real world travel this is a major issue.

Finally, this thing is big. It takes four AA batteries – included – and is as big as a Canon or Nikon DSLR. So there we find the crux of my argument: why buy a $399 ultrazoom when you can get a DSLR with similar functionality and buy a zoom lens. Now, the most obvious reason against this course of action is price and if that’s your only concern then go out and get the Z980 right now if you need the 27x zoom for a specific purpose. It’s a strong camera and there are ways to work around its limitations.

However, the additional features and speed you’d get for a $200 bump in price with a DSLR – excluding the zoom lens – is fairly compelling. The ultrazoom category is obviously very specific to the consumer and I see a place for it. The Z980 is a good camera. It takes great pictures and is fun to use. But I missed my Rebl. I would have been fine not being able to take the tip of a church steeple from 500 feet away. The artifacts I got when shooting with the zoom lens were quite distracting. As you can see from this zoom example, the power and potential is stunning but the results are less so.

The Zoom

Bottom Line – Kodak makes a nice camera. They’ve redefined the low-end of the market and this is a strong addition to their portfolio. But, again, I’m not a fan of ultra-zoom cameras. This camera is bulky and its relative limitations hamper its otherwise impressive and pleasing performance. Comparing and contrasting this model with slightly more expensive DSLRs is a must, just as you would when dealing with any ultrazoom camera from any manufacturer.

The SprintCam is a pretty heavy-duty slo-mo camera. This version, v3, can take 1,000 frames per second, resulting in a look at physical actions in full HD that is unprecedented. How much does it cost? Lots and lots, but just look at that footage.

Can you pinhold camera? Is it penetrated into your Life? It costs $66. It is hidden in the TIE pattern! Check carefully and have a remote! Add to cart! 2GB memory for store video!

# Specifications:
# Pinhole Lens
# Resolution: 352 x 288 pixel
# FPS: 12 frame per second
# Recorded file format in AVI
# Video and Audio
# Built-in 2GB Memory
# Rechargeable Li-ion battery

I’m too lazy to translate the page and the video is pretty self-explanatory. Watch and be amazed.

Erwan Grey via NOTCOT