Amazon is selling the 10 megapixel Panasonic DMC-F2K Lumix compact camera for $69 today on its deal of the day Gold Box page. If you’re looking for a cheap camera for yourself or as a gift for the upcoming Christmas season, you might want to take a look.
Deal of the Day: Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2 Digital Camera (via The Online Photographer)
A French book titled “Obtenez le maximum du Nikon D800″ (translates to “Getting the most from the Nikon D800″) has popped up on Amazon and decitre.fr, possibly leaking details of an upcoming successor to the Nikon D700. The description is computer translated as,
Sold in August 2008 at a price of 2,800 euros, the Nikon D700 (top of the line) was a great success. He will be replaced in late 2009 by the Nikon D800. Among the improvements of the device: the doubling of the sensor, which increases from 12 to 24 megapixels. The D800 is likely to be sold between 2000 and 2500 euros. This book is a comprehensive guide to discovery, empowerment and development of the Nikon D800.
The book is scheduled to be published on February 9th, 2011, so if this is legit the camera should be announced prior to that date (i.e. in the next few months). The D700 has been out for two years now, so an announcement soon would make sense.
What do you think of this supposed leak?
(via Nikon Rumors)
There hasn’t been much directly photo-related news at CES 2010 today, but the announcements of newly redesigned e-readers might be key to drawing in a wider e-reader audience and — dare we speculate? — might bring some vigor back to traditional print publications.
While promising e-reader sale increases and recovering print publication’s mojo might be an optimistic goal, the recently revealed Skiff reader design is so innovative that it might just catch on.
Skiff reader content will be designed to look much like the designed content on a physical copy of a publication. Thus, newspapers and magazines can retain their carefully designed layouts, which conveys ranked importance, dominant headlines, featured artwork and photographs.
It may be a stretch, but Skiff could potentially bridge the gap between those readers reluctant to quit their physical newspaper and magazine subscriptions and those readers who only read e-versions of publications. However, print media will still technically die (or continue its current trend of rarity) … but the content (and subscriptions and ad revenue) could be more accurately transferred onto a new medium.
In the long run, publishers could potentially stop bleeding money on printing and distribution costs, while upping their circulation — that is, if Skiff finds favor amongst thus far critical e-consumers and outbids the efforts of Amazon and other e-reader distributors.
The Skiff e-reader is extremely flexible and thin, with a display size 9 inches by 11 inches, and a thickness of 0.268 inches, and weighs 17-9/16 ounces (498 grams) — that’s roughly the weight of four iPhones . It is made of silicon thin-film-transitors on a flexible stainless-steel substrate, which Skiff says makes the display is shatter-proof and crack-proof.
The device is 3G and WiFi enabled, has a USB 2.0 port, an internal memory of 4GB, a built in speaker, audio jack, an SDHC card slot, and a battery that lasts about a week before it needs to be recharged. Where does it fit all of that?
The color touchscreen display has resolution of 1200×1600 pixels at 174 ppi.
The Skiff e-reading service is set to launch with the Sprint 3G network this year.
Skiff has also partnered with the Hearst Corporation, the major news corporation that owns several newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, and has interests in several other major news groups, magazines, and major newspapers. LG Display and Marvell also had a hand in Skiff development, so it appears to be off to a hot start by connections alone.
Read more about Skiff and other e-readers at CNN.
Here’s a little DSLR accessory that might be a great Christmas present for a photographer you know. The Aputure Gigtube is a “remote viewfinder” that allows you to use the “live view” functionality of your camera off-camera. You can either mount it on your hot-shoe, or use it separately as a remote shutter release.
This off-camera view allows you to use you to compose shots in situations that you previously had to guess in. For example, you could have your camera high above you head on a monopod, yet still compose your photo using the off-camera live view. It’s also great for self-portraits and for shooting video, since the LCD swivels like the detachable LCD screens in point-and-shoot cameras.
The Aputure Gigtube is currently priced between $189-$190, and can be found for pretty much any Canon or Nikon camera that supports Live View.
Aputure Gigtube on Amazon (via Imaging Insider)
