Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

A lot of high-end DSLRs still use compact flash cards instead of the ever-more-popular SD and its smaller cohorts. (The Nikon D3 comes to mind.) But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to buy a CF card which are getting harder and harder to find these days. These handy adapters from PhotoFast allow to use standard SD and microSD cards in your camera via a CF type II compliant adapter. And I particularly like the model in the lower right-corner which actually comes with a built-in RAID controller allowing you to use up to 4 microSD cards at the same time, theoretically giving you about 64GB of storage with 4 x 16GB microSDHC cards.

All 3 of these adapters appear to be available from the PhotoFast website and range in price from about $25 for the SD to CF adapter to about $30 for the microSDHC to CF adapter. Though the microSDHC model with the RAID controller won’t be available until mid-July.

[ PhotoFast CF Adapters ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Chris Scott Barr

I won’t pretend to be a professional photographer, but I have taken a few good shots here and there. Growing up in the digital age, I never really dealt much with film cameras, except with my old point-and-shoot camera from when I was a kid. I know that I’m missing out, having never shot anything with Kodachrome film. Unfortunately it looks like I won’t have many opportunities in the future either.

Kodak has announced that they are ending production of their Kodachrome film. While many photographers swear by the colors produced by Kodachrome, it only amounts for around 1% of all still film sold by the company. It’s difficult to describe how it is different from other still films, but you’ll probably at least recognize this photo, which was taken with it. If you happen to stock up on this stuff, you’ll want to use it up and have it developed by next year sometime. Currently Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons Kansas is the last place that still processes it, and they will only continue to do so through 2010.

[ Kodak ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

After using an iPhone for a couple of years now, I only yesterday realized how poor the camera’s macro capabilities were. Now obviously it’s not something I use on a regular basis, but the ability to snap usable photos of text from magazine articles or even business cards can definitely come in handy. So the options for iPhone 2G or 3G users are to either upgrade to the new 3GS, which could be rather expensive depending on your current contract, or just grab this Clarifi case from Griffin Technology for just $30.99 (currently on sale).

Not only will the durable polycarbonate case protect your phone, but it also features a sliding macro lens on the back which improves the iPhone camera’s focus distance from about 18 inches down to 4 inches, allowing you to finally take half-decent close-up shots.

[ Griffin Technology Clarifi Case ] VIA [ Cool Hunting ]

By Evan Ackerman

When I reviewed the Eye-Fi wireless SD card back in May, one of the quibbles I had with it was that there was no way to decide which pictures you wanted to upload. The card would send ‘em all… Good ones, bad ones, naked ones, everything you take just goes. In fact, here’s what I said: “there isn’t any way to designate specific pictures to upload, or not to upload. But of course, there isn’t really a way to integrate that sort of functionality into the card itself.” Yep, I said that. Happily, I’m here to report that I’m an idiot and Eye-Fi is a genius, because they’ve made it happen: you can now selectively upload pictures from your camera.

It’s quite simple, really: using the online manager, you can set up the card to only upload pictures (or videos) that you’ve designated on your camera as locked. That’s it. The rest of the pictures will stay on your card for you to do whatever you like with. On my Nikon D40x, the lock button is right next to my thumb. It’s easy, it works, and as of today it’s available for free for all Eye-Fi cards.

Also released today is a new, uh, level? of Eye-Fi card, the Eye-Fi Pro. It costs $150, and is able to handle RAW files, as well as connect to a computer via an ad-hoc wireless network, i.e. no router necessary. These are certainly nice features, although RAW support at least seems more like a firmware upgrade, and it would be cool if Eye-Fi would push that option out to their other cards, even if it’s for a small fee, so that people who want to be able to upload RAW don’t have to buy a whole new card. I guess I shouldn’t really complain, though, since we’re getting the selective upload update for free.

[ Eye-Fi ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s an understatement to say the iPhone’s built-in camera isn’t the greatest, but that doesn’t mean the phone itself can’t be a useful tool for serious photographers. A company called Pixelexip has a couple of apps currently available on the App Store for $0.99 each that might come in handy, even if you’re shooting with thousands of dollars worth of professional camera equipment.

LightSource turns your iPhone (or iPod Touch) into a customizable light panel for accenting still-life or low light photo shoots. In reality the app is nothing more than another flashlight, but it features a wide array of settings for specific light sources like fluorescent or gaseous lights, and it could be just the thing for adding a distinct catch light in your subject’s eyes, or adding a specific tint to a scene.

GrayCard is basically the same idea, another glorified flashlight, but it turns your iPhone into an adjustable gray card for white balance reference and corrections later on. You simply select how your scene is lit, daylight or tungsten lighting, as well as a cool or warm setting depending on how you want your shots to turn out. Now I’m actually a little skeptical as to how well this app would work when using a flash, given the iPhone’s reflective glass screen and limited viewing angle, but in certain situations it might be better than carrying around 20 different filters.

Thanks Wook!

[ Pixelexip - LightSource & GrayCard ]

By Evan Ackerman

This isn’t some weird Photoshop filter, it’s a picture taken with a digital camera that’s been modified to capture in the infrared part of the spectrum. Cool, right? Try this Google Image search for more examples of infrared pics.

VIA [ Gawker ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re running around with a P&S camera grabbing shots of friends and family at a party, then white balance and proper color calibration are probably not that important to you. But if you’re shooting RAW images with a DSLR in a studio environment, there’s a good chance that white balance is something you’re worried about. And if the term ‘gray card’ means anything to you, you’re probably going to find the SpyderCube as tempting as I do.

It’s a spectrally neutral 3D cube that’s painted white, gray (true 18%) and black allowing you to correct color temperature issues and accurately adjust shadow and highlight detail when you’re processing your RAW photos. But it also features a ‘black trap’ hole that’s not affected by light from your flash, providing you with a true black reference, as well as a chrome sphere on top for capturing specular highlights.

The SpyderCube also comes with a threaded post allowing it to be mounted to a tripod, as well as a short lanyard for hanging if that’s more convenient. And even at $59, I think it’s a pretty solid investment for any photographer, professional or hobbyist.

[ SpyderCube ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Sure, $120,000 might seem like a little much to spend on a lens, particularly a used one, but there’s some important backstory for this lens that you need to be aware of before you do your morning spit-take. Here’s an excerpt from the B&H newsletter:

The Canon 1200/5.6L USM (priced at $120,000… and if you live out of state we don’t need to charge you tax!) has been built on a special-order basis since 1993, and the ‘official word’ is there are “more than twelve, less than twenty” of them in existence. With a price tag equivalent to a pair of his-and-her sports coupes, they were produced at the rate of about 2-per-year and a delivery time of about 18 months. National Geographic magazine, Sports Illustrated, Canon Professional Services, and a few well-heeled enthusiasts are counted among the fortunate few who own these unique optics.

The lens contains 13 elements in 10 groups, stops down to f32 and has a minimum focus distance of 45.9 feet. You’ll of course need a tripod if you hope to use the behemoth, since it weighs 36 pounds and is about 33 inches long. To make things even more fun, the lens’ reinforced aluminum case is actually heavier than the lens itself, so you’ll want to set aside a few extra bucks for a wheeled cart if you plan to take it anywhere. And if you’re curious what kind of shots you can get with this thing, head on over to B&H’s site where they’ve posted a few amazing samples.

Thanks Sam!

[ B&H - Canon Super Telephoto 1200mm f/5.6 EF USM Autofocus Lens ]

By Andrew Liszewski

GigaPan has updated their robotic camera mount line with the new Epic 100 which can now support a camera and lens combination of up to 3lbs, accommodating larger P&S models and smaller DSLRs. Other notable upgrades include a backlit display making it easier to setup the mount for night-time panoramas, an adjusted gearing pitch allowing for “greater holding torque and finer precision movements” and most importantly, the ability to capture multiple shots (up to 9) at each image location, facilitating those who like to take HDRI photos.

Of course if you read my review of the GigaPan Epic, you’ll know that while it’s a must-have tool for any photographer who’s into the whole panoramic thing, the battery life was lacking at best. And given the Epic 100 will be moving around heavier cameras on the same set of 6 x AA batteries, I have to assume the battery life situation isn’t any better, but hopefully not any worse.

[ GigaPan Epic 100 ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]